The Cockney Deepthroat

West Ham Spy Failed
By Patrick Barclay

West Ham had a saboteur in their dressing room last season, the source of the continual leaks that left the club on the cusp of foundering. Robert Green, the West Ham goalkeeper, does not know the identity of the perpetrator. All he is sure of is that it cannot be allowed to happen again. "The stuff that was getting out was very strange," Green said. "It was obviously coming from within because it was happening every week. It wasn't one person listening in at a changing room door. It was from somewhere within. I'm sure now that this season has come about it will change."

The dressing room is supposedly a privileged forum, where managers and players can say exactly what they think of each other. It is a bit like the Cabinet only, perhaps, more civilised. Green was the victim of one such leak himself, when it was reported that he had rowed with manager Alan Curbishley in the aftermath of the 6-0 defeat at Reading on New Year's Day. "That was a low point for me, that game," Green said. "Later on I went to see the manager and he said to me, 'What's this about us having an argument?' It was news to me as I try not to read the papers - especially after losing 6-0. I mean we're all professionals and passionate about the game. Of course the manager gave us what-for when we came in after that performance. But there was nothing personal directed against me. The stuff that was getting out was very strange. It was one of those bizarre things, and you start thinking 'who said that? No one really knows. Whoever it was looking at the paper was generally mystified as to how it got there. You couldn't start to think who would do that."

The repercussions of these repeated betrayals could be seen in the despairing demeanour of Curbishley, who was having a difficult enough time getting his players to do their jobs on the field with being undermined with stories of dressing room unrest. "The stuff going on around the club, off the field, the stuff coming out of the dressing room mystified him as much as everybody," Green said. "It didn't break him but it could have broken a lot of people." Having taken over from Alan Pardew in December, Curbishley found himself dealing with the melodrama that is inevitable at West Ham, even before the scandal of Carlos Tevez's illegal registration broke.

His captain, Nigel Reo-Coker, had been the subject of hate mail from fans who blamed him for the club's abject form and it was of little surprise that he left this summer, joining Aston Villa for £8 million. Reo-Coker believes he was "hung out to dry" by the club. Marlon Harewood, Paul Konchesky, Yossi Benayoun and Teddy Sheringham have also left as West Ham reportedly made 14 players available for sale at the end of the season. Curbishley's determination to have a thorough overhaul of personnel - including the backroom staff - makes all the more sense after hearing Green's account.

Still Curbishley is not beyond forgiving indiscretion. Anton Ferdinand will be an important part of the squad this year despite going to South Carolina to celebrate his 22nd birthday, having told Curbishley he was off to visit his sick grandmother on the Isle of Wight. That lack of respect was something that Curbishley was not used to and Green believes that, after 14 years of relatively sedate work at the Valley, the intensity of the West Ham job came as a surprise. "I think he walked into something that I don't think he fully anticipated, with the frenzy surrounding the club," Green said. "He was used to press conferences of about 12 people at Charlton, the same people every week. You come to West Ham and it's a media frenzy."

Curbishley has survived and grown stronger. A series of ambitious signings, Kieron Dyer may become the latest - has instilled a hunger for success and Curbishley has reintroduced a code of discipline. "There's a whole new feel," Green said. "He's got his own backroom staff and he is bringing his own ideas and way to train. The players he's brought in are used to winning. In that respect it will be a more solid, professional outfit. As a manager and person he looks more comfortable, building up his team now rather than working with someone else's. It's a different regime. You get the feel that everyone knows their job. It's a lot more structured. I'd be very surprised if there were leaks from the dressing room this season."

Team-mate Mark Noble, the emerging England under-21 midfield prospect, agrees that West Ham will prove to be an entirely different entity this season, far from last season's perpetual troubles, particularly now the protracted Tevez saga has reached a conclusion. Noble said: "Carlos is a great player and above all, a great person, meaning it was a credit to play with him. But with all the new players we've now got here at the club, it's important that we improve on last season's showing and really push on in the league. The yo-yo days are certainly over at West Ham. Last year, everyone thought we were gone but in typical West Ham spirit we dug in deep and proved that we deserve our place in the Premier League. Now, the sky's the limit here."

Taken from Sunday Telegraph