Dean Saunders argues with Leeds United fan live on talkSPORT after West Ham United claim
By James Murray
Talksport pundit Dean Saunders had a debate with a Leeds United fan that said they didn’t want to see West Ham win the Europa Conference League.
The Hammers could be in line to lift their first piece of silverware since winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1999 when they face Italian side Fiorentina this evening.
After reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League last season, David Moyes’ side have already gone one better this campaign by reaching just their second major final this decade, having gone unbeaten in the Europa Conference league.
When asked by Saunders and Jason Cundy on TalkSport (6 June) whether she would like West Ham to lift the trophy, Leeds fan Marie said: “I don’t want West Ham to win either – why would you want them to have something you can’t have?
“It’s great that they haven’t won a trophy for god knows how long. It’s superb.”
Responding to her statement, Saunders said: “If English teams perform poorly in European competitions, the number of qualifying positions could be reduced, therefore reducing the chances of your team winning in the future.”
While Marie admitted she understood where the former Premier League striker was coming from, she said: “Everybody knows the Premier League is the best league in the world and everybody knows about English football, we don’t need places in Europe to prove that to anyone.
“To be honest, it genuinely means nothing to me whether there’s two teams or 20 teams in because it will bring out good football anyway. So, I don’t want English teams to do well, I want them to go through the pain I go through.”
A seemingly surprised Saunders responded by saying: “I’m Welsh and I want English teams to win rather than Italian teams.”
Chance of a lifetime
This is the biggest game in a number of years for most West Ham fans and it will be a day that goes down in history if they can claim a victory.
While it is understandable that some fans of direct rivals may not want us to win the game, you would think supporters of clubs like Leeds would perhaps want to see the Hammers lift the trophy in the hope that it could be their team in the future.
The Europa Conference League has opened up a door for teams like ours to go and compete for major honours and even pick up a piece of silverware in the end.
It will, no doubt, be a special occasion when the players do take to the field in Prague this evening, where they will be hoping to keep their incredible, unbeaten record in the competition going.
A victory would mean so much to all those associated with the club and, hopefully, most of the country will be behind us.