By Daily Sports on January 24, 2017

Last week I had written about how the megabucks Chinese football clubs that are enticing big stars away from their clubs have seemingly turned the players into strange species, making them to behave in unsavory ways, ostensibly to force the hands of their clubs into selling them.

One of the players I had mentioned in the article was English premiership side West Ham’s attacking midfielder Dimitri Payet. It was reported about a fortnight ago that the very skillful French international had refused to train with his club, while demanding a move away. However, it has emerged recently that the player is not interested in a move to china but back to his homeland where he wishes to join French division 1 side Marseille.

West Ham’s have duly refused to cede to the player's request and have frozen him out of the first team squad. Payet has been the club's best player for the better part of about a year now and in leaving the sulking super talented midfielder out there were always going to be genuine fears that the club, which was having a poor run of form in the games leading to the impasse, would just continue to crumble and that the spirits of the players would take a collective hit.

The contrary has been the case. Since Payet was excluded from The Hammers, Manager Slavan Billic’s men have looked like a rejuvenated side. They have won their last two games (recording an impressive 3-1 away win against Middlesbrough last weekend) and have shown remarkable signs of improvements in their movements, team play and desire to get stuck in battles. Whatever Billic has told them to galvanise them seem to be working to perfection.

One of the most fascinating things about football is how a sense of high collective will to perform can take a seemingly ordinary team, with the odds of the whole world seemingly against them, to the greatest of heights. We see it in the FA Cup both in Nigeria and in England how unfancied sides with a strong togetherness can upset a club full of top stars who don’t have much desire to play.

It seems West Ham’s players have decided to band together and put in stronger performances, even against the biggest of sides in order to send a message to contract rebel Payet that with him they can survive. There may have been something about all the attention on Payet that may have put the rest players off and resulted in them collectively resolving to show their real good stuff.

Billic must be commended for his handling of the Payet saga. The player can leave if he likes,  but West Ham paid a lot to sign him and they have a valuation for him that should be met by Marseille or any other team, otherwise how has to sit and respect his contract.

Source Daily Sports

Posted January 24, 2017

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