Alan Can See Clearly Now

Good luck to Alan Curbishley in 2007, because he’s going to need it in the fight to avoid relegation at West Ham United – something he is not too familiar with after firmly establishing Charlton Athletic as a Premiership club.

Now, in his absence, the wheels have come off at Charlton and the man charged with fixing them is Alan Pardew, his predecessor, who was sacked because the wheels came off at Upton Park.

And if Curbs didn’t know exactly what he was up against when he signed up, he certainly does now after a 6-0 drubbing from Reading. The good news is that he called it perfectly when he said that Reading are now where West Ham were a season ago and it’s time West Ham started living in the present – before they lose everything.

Fortunately for them, the club have the right manager. All that remains to be seen is whether the players have the right attitude.