Yossi Benayoun has revealed why he chose to move to West Ham instead of Bolton in the summer.
Speaking in an interview with Maariv, the 25-year-old midfielder told how he reached his decision with both clubs - amongst others - vying for his signature, whilst accusing Sam Allardyce of bad-mouthing the Hammers after Benayoun told the Bolton manager of his decision to choose London over the North West."Bolton decided to release confirmation that I had signed for them - and that was exactly when I knew that West Ham was the club for me," he said.
"Alan Pardew called me and congratulated me, wished me all the best of luck and said that his door is always open if there's any room left for further negotiations.
"Sam Allardyce on the other hand was much more negative when he found out I intended to sign for West Ham. He said what a big mistake it would be, and that 'West Ham are sure for the drop'."
Yossi has already done his level best to shove Allardyce's words back down his throat by producing some excellent displays and scoring two goals - giving the Hammers the kind of goalscoring threat from midfield that they have missed since Frank Lampard - who averaged 10+ goals per season whilst at the club - left for Chelsea.
He has also settled in well to his new surroundings (Woodford Green, to be precise) despite Fat Sam's misgivings - although he confesses that he has found some of his team-mates customs a little 'unusual'.
"Marlon Harewood is the star behind the scenes in the dressing rooms," he adds. "He chooses which music to play - very loud stuff, a lot of rap - and they really lose it when they're dancing around.
"But the lads here are really great; I've made a lot of friends in a very short period. Lots of players meet up for evening dinners once in a while.
"Teddy Sheringham has been helping me out from day one; he gave my his phone number right from the beginning and invited me for dinner a couple of times. He also gives me useful tips, like when to take my foot of the gas in training and general information about English football.
"It's a big change; different football and a different mentality. The football itself is much more of an experience than in Spain. But I'm enjoying myself much more, that's for sure."
Already a firm fans favourite, Yossi added that he had been delighted by the response he has received from the Boleyn faithful in his few home games so far - and how impressed he had been by the level of support given by the supporters thus far this season.
"The fans here are exceptional in the sense that they are here to get behind the team and support the players for 90 minutes," he said.
"My former club, Santander, has a much smaller ground with an average of 12,000 fans per match ... no atmosphere at all, they just come over to sit and watch football.
"But here at West Ham the fans actually 'live' it; you can see men, women, parents with their children - all together for the same cause. They are at the stadium hours early; it seems like a whole culture.
"When I head the ball, or make a tackle, they go wild. Maybe it's because of my body structure that many people thought I wouldn't do well here, but so far every time I get physical the crowd's positive response has given me a lot of confidence."
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