Good Cop, Bad Cop and Brady Is The Eye Candy!

It is the oldest routine in the book, the good cop, bad cop ploy. Except at West Ham, like everything else, it is arse about face. First Sullivan comes out and lays into the team, but in truth is trying to bully Zola into resigning. I suspect he would have got his way too, but for Clarke, who being a Scot will be looking to bank a payoff. I wouldn't be surprised if Clarke has quoted Pulp Fiction, responding to Zola's suggestion that they resign with the words, "That's pride f***ing with you. F**k pride!"

With the ploy failing, Gold steps in today as the good cop, offering himself as a bridge over troubled waters and telling the World that Zola has the "full backing" of the owners and that he will be the West Ham manager for "years to come". What an absurd statement! We are teetering on the brink of relegation. Does anybody seriously believe that Zola will be allowed to stay on if we go down? Can you think of anybody less well equipped to lead a team of journeymen out of the Fizzy Pop? Imagine Zola's short passing game in the Championship! We would drop another division!

So Gold's comments today are a sticky plaster. He knows that the club is tearing itself apart and that the chances of us beating Stoke are zero if we go into the game in a state of internecine warfare. The attempt to humiliate Zola into resignation has failed so now it is time to pretend everything in the garden is smelling of roses. Sniff deeper and instead of the rose petals you will smell the bullshit fertiliser!

Good cop, bad cop, it makes you think of that TV series, Life On Mars. Going back in time are we? Who is that standing on the touchline looking impotent? Glen Roeder appears shorter these days!