Galey's West Ham Way

FORMER Hammers star Tony Gale believes Hammers are playing the West Ham United way, especially at Upton Park, this season and insists that Alan Pardew's side will have to go at Manchester United to take anything from the Old Trafford giants.

"It was a great point against Tottenham last weekend," he began, "and the way the team approached the game, really taking it to Spurs, is exactly the way they'll have to play against Manchester United.

"While keeping them out will be a major priority, Hammers will have to go at United on Sunday. That's the way they have been playing at Upton Park all season, and it was great to see them take that approach on the road at Spurs.

"The Boleyn Ground crowd appreciate that positive attitude and have responded by really getting behind the team this season. It's the true West Ham way and the crowd are enjoying seeing their team play that way.

"I saw United beat Charlton at the Valley last week and I have to say they looked back to their best on that occasion, particularly in the final third.

"Rooney was outstanding, and he is the one who rightly takes a lot of the publicity at the moment. But Paul Scholes played excellently in that game too and is still the best one and two touch player in the Premier League.

"They move the ball so fast, West Ham will have to accept that for periods of the game on Sunday United will dominate. How the Hammers deal with those periods will be important and the crowd will play an important part in that, because they have to really get behind the team when they don't have the ball.

"But the Boleyn Ground crowd love an audience and I'm sure the live TV cameras will bring the best out of them. They'll certainly be making a huge amount of noise on Sunday and that support is going to be crucial against United."



Tony was delighted last Sunday to see teenage midfielder Mark Noble given his first Premier League start of the season. And the emergence of yet another major talent from the Hammers Academy earns praise from Galey, who believes the Club's youth system remains the cornerstone of West Ham United's success.

"I was delighted to see Mark Noble on the pitch," he enthused. "Alan could have taken the easier option and played a more experienced player. But he went like-for-like in bringing in Mark and it is great to be blooding a young player in games like that.

"Mark is going to be some player and coming up against the likes of Edgar Davids at this stage of his career is an incredible learning experience for him.

"You can have all the talent, but it's also really important that players grow up with the right habits and you can see Mark has done that. Those habits have been instilled in him from a young age in the Academy and it's another big well done to Tony Carr and his staff."

Of course, there will be two high-profile Academy graduates on show on Sunday, with Hammers central defender Anton Ferdinand lining-up against older brother Rio for the first time.

"I haven't been surprised about the progress Anton has made this season," explained Galey. "He's another player that has grown up with great habits and he's shown a lot of maturity this season.

"He's a tremendous athlete and I think he's shown this season that he has the qualities to compete at the top level. His major advantage is that with his pace he can go one-on-one with players and that gives the team a huge advantage.

"Alongside Danny Gabbidon, Anton has formed a great partnership. It's been tough on James Collins and Elliott Ward, who are both very good players, but a settled back-four is really important because defenders always play better once they have learned each others' games.

"They'll both have a big role to play on Sunday in that should be a great game for the fans at Upton Park. After the draw at Spurs took Hammers to eighth in the table we're in a good position and now the main thing is to keep the momentum going through what will be a tough Christmas period."