It's always amusing seeing fans of other clubs trying to 'get' what it is to support West Ham United.

With the purchases of James Collins, Alou Diarra and Mohamed Diame, Sam Allardyce looked as if he was preparing for a season-long war of attrition, a battle in which every point would be fought over bitterly and with no quarter given.

And that seemed to be the case as the Hammers acquired an opening day win over a toothless Aston Villa in a positive but rather workmanlike way. But the second match, a pasting at the hands of a free-flowing Swansea team in which the Welsh side were gifted two goals and a resigned shrug, seemed to indicate that Allardyce might find his tactics severely tested over nine months.

The cash had already been splashed for Matt Jarvis - a man we assumed would be asked to ensure that Carlton Cole wouldn't feel quite so lonely up-front on his own - and Sam stated quite categorically that there probably wouldn't be any other transfer activity. Then, with alarming speed, we learned that loan deals for Andy Carroll and Yossi Benayoun had been agreed and suddenly Hammers fans were, to use the local vernacular, 'giving it large'.

Amazingly, without us noticing, the squad had been rebuilt and captain Kevin Nolan - a man who West Ham fans have strangely yet to warm too - was asked where he wanted to play and he said 'in the hole'. Instead of playing a 4-3-3, West Ham were suddenly a 4-2-3-1 outfit and, as was seen in a rampant first half display against Fulham, this looked less like a side battling relegation and more like one glancing nervously at the top half of the table and, just possibly, europe.

Of course, this meant that supporters of other clubs took to cyberspace to poke fun at the West Ham fans and warn them of the disaster that would befall any side basing its fortunes on an overpriced and overrated front man and a winger that could reputedly cross the ball occasionally. Liverpool fans were being particularly vigorous in this, presumably to offset the concern that they might have lost out on Carroll twice (Imagine if they let him go and he starts scoring for us?) The accompanying abuse, finger pointing and general merriment was presumably supposed to deflate Hammers fans and put them in their place. But, of course, it didn't work. Supporters of the Upton Park variety know their place, and its generally drinking at a bar called 'Nowhere' looking at the sign that reads 'Please note: All Glasses will be half empty'.

Barely had the ink dried on the loan agreement than the West ham fanzines were buzzing, though not with the usual type of banter you'd get at other clubs. Rather these were musings of a darker nature . 'Can he be recalled?' asked one, 'If Carroll scores ten goals by December won't Liverpool want him back after Christmas?' asked another and, of course, the Hammers fans perennial favourite 'What happens when (not IF, you notice) he gets injured and is out for three months?'

Well, it's not quite three months perhaps, but Andy Carroll did pull a hamstring in the 68th minute of the Fulham game and will miss the England World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine. Although I suspect most Hammers supporters will be eyeing the fixture list and wondering if there's any chance of seeing the ponytail back in action by the time of the next league game, I think it's a pity for the nation as a whole that Carroll won't be available.

News from Upton Park seems to be guarded, with rumours that the injury will be 'three weeks or so' seemingly being touted around. I don't know what Carroll's recovery time is yet - although I'm sure east london's hospitals are on stand-by to tell me very soon - but I would assume a month is probably not an extreme assessment.

Perhaps because of my England correspondent work at ESPN though, I'm already feeling the dreaded fickle finger of fate. The 2014 Rio extravaganza seems a world away at the moment but it has to be remembered that England need to qualify first and that starts this week. Rooney and Carroll are already out, news that Ashley Cole has been injured have just come through and Roy Hodgson will now need to prepare a forward line from Danny Welbeck, Jermain Defoe and Daniel Sturridge. Seeing that trio, it's difficult to imagine that Carroll wouldn't have played a big part in the World Cup qualifiers had he remained fit.

Bad news for West Ham and England perhaps but really, you shouldn't be surprised, so don't assume for a minute I am. Anyone have Dean Ashton's number?

 

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