特维斯在西汉姆的口碑相当不错CURBS: HE'LL GET A HERO'S WELCOME
Alan Curbishley reckons West Ham fans will finally get the chance to say thank you and goodbye to Carlos Tevez today. And the Hammers boss hopes the atmosphere created by the return of the Argentina star can inspire his side to one more victory - this time against his new side Manchester United. Tevez scored seven goals in the final 10 games of last season, including the crucial winner on the last Sunday at Old Trafford to keep the club in the top flight. But the Claret and Blue forward then picked up his belongings from the club's training ground early the next day in his favourite pink tracksuit before flying home. Within weeks he had joined the new Premier League champions and is already a firm favourite on the Stretford End. But unlike other ex-Hammers Paul Ince and Frank Lampard, Curbishley is predicting a hero's homecoming for a player whose dazzling displays leading the Great Escape last spring won't be forgotten in the East End. "Not many players become legends here in only ten months," said Curbishley, a former West Ham player himself. "We tried as much as we could to keep Carlos Tevez but it was not to be. We played up at Old Trafford on the final day of last season and he disappeared the next morning. "It will be nice for the players to see him again and the fans as well. "He left us at Old Trafford which was a grand occasion and I'm sure the West Ham fans will show their appreciation. "I was one of the few people here the next morning. He turned up here in an outrageous pink tracksuit which he was never shy in wearing. It was not that flattering, but he had a smile. "I had a little chat with him and he was delighted with what he had helped the club achieve. "He kept the crowd up even when we weren't winning."
Hero Carlos Tevez welcomed at West Ham
By Clive Tyldesley
Last Updated: 12:30am GMT 29/12/2007
Carlos Tevez will be welcomed back to Upton Park today. Not 'welcomed' like Jermain Defoe and Frank Lampard are 'welcomed', he will be applauded and maybe even serenaded. Dirty Den's East End homecoming was happier than that of some former West Ham players, but Manchester United may not have been visiting the Boleyn Ground at all this afternoon if it wasn't for Tevez. Fans don't forget things like that. Well, not at first. They certainly won't forget it if Tevez scores and celebrates wildly. There are certain ground rules that returning heroes must follow if they are to retain a place in the hearts of lost loves. There is no such thing as undying loyalty in football any more. As one Tottenham supporter said following Sol Campbell's defection to Arsenal: "We hate him so much now because we once loved him so much." Joining Manchester United is nearly as difficult for a West Ham fan to stomach. Red carpets are not often rolled out for red shirts at Upton Park. Ask Paul Ince. Or David Beckham, for that matter. But it is a misconception that 'forgiveness' is beyond the supporters there. Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick will be afforded respectful receptions today too. They have done nothing 'wrong'. Ferdinand once scored for Leeds at West Ham and kept his feelings to himself. Such 'credits' are set against the 'debits' of jumping ship. Tevez, the Hammers' Player of the Year last season, still has a healthy balance on his West Ham account. The notion that he single-handedly steered them clear of relegation last spring is harsh on the likes of Mark Noble and Robert Green. But the seven goals Tevez scored in the closing weeks of the season made the difference. The fact that they were scored amid headlines questioning his very right to wear a West Ham shirt just served to make him even more popular. He filled that shirt with sweat after filling it with shrugs for his first six months in England. He didn't have to. This time last year Tevez was a forlorn and forgotten figure on the West Ham bench. His travelling companion, Javier Mascherano, was tunnelling out, while Bobby Zamora and Marlon Harewood were keeping him out. I remember seeing him looking lost and bemused during a conversation with an interpreter before the 6-0 hiding at Reading on New Year's Day. Tevez didn't even get on that afternoon. It wasn't until the end of February that he really got his chance. Good advice has not been a feature of Tevez's career, so one can only assume that the hunger and commitment he gave to the relegation dogfight came from within. He didn't ask for a transfer and has never said a bad word about West Ham, two cardinal rules that Defoe and Lampard broke. The fact that Tevez mysteriously turned up at the Manchester United end-of-season celebration party will be overlooked at five to three this afternoon. Football fans are like starry-eyed lovers. There is little rhyme or reason behind our feelings, but we can't help ourselves from venting them openly. Campbell has recently made an issue of the plummeting depth of the abuse suffered by players. Banter has given way to bile. The lyrics of the song that greeted Defoe as a Spurs substitute at Upton Park last month could not be reproduced in this or any other publication. And yet they were sung to the rafters by man and boy. Joe Cole's gleeful celebration after scoring the winner against West Ham recently was viewed as an act of intimidation by some. It was directly in front of Chelsea fans, at the opposite end from the visitors' section, but it was still out of order. When Peter Brabrook, the West Ham winger of the 1960s, required replacement knee surgery that he couldn't afford recently, his former protege, Cole, paid for it. Good deeds, bad form, they all count for and against an ex-player's acceptability rating, but he never knows exactly where it stands until he runs out in front of old admirers. The Upton Park jury will almost certainly return a verdict of 'not guilty' when Tevez appears before them today. The West Ham fans will applaud him, and he will clap back. He should enjoy the moment, but be wary. Two years ago Steve Bruce gratefully recognised the appreciation of visiting United fans and was roundly criticised by a large number of Birmingham supporters for fraternising with the enemy. Pleasing all of the people, all of the time is not an option in football. | 
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发表于 2007-12-29 01:11:00
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