Ex-BBC presenter Colin Murray has launched a no-holds-barred attack on Beeb employee Alan Shearer after he criticised Hammers fans on Match of the Day at the weekend.
Following Match of the Day's highlights of West Ham's 3-1 win at Burnley on Saturday, Shearer - a BBC pundit who is not shy in having a pop at the club or its fans - asked "where are they now?" with regard to those who had been critical of Sam Allardyce's tactical approach last season.That led Murray, speaking on his TalkSport show last night to castigate his former colleague - without specifically referring to Shearer in person. "I've heard a few people say on TV and radio at the weekend - so the guns aren't aimed at anyone in particular - where's the Sam Out brigade?
"How insulting that is to West Ham fans, that people are ridiculing them for West Ham having a decent start to the season. They're doing well - and people are goading the West Ham fans? It doesn't mean you can sit on radio or television and lambast a whole fanbase who pay their money week in, week out.
"There was an element of truth on both sides. Sam Allardyce was right to a certain extent to say we don't always play the ball in the air but the stats pointed out they did more often than any other team last season. But it's all relevant to the season we're in.
People said 'where are they'? I tell you where they are - they're in their jobs this morning, working hard and paying money to go and see their football team. Nothing they said was wrong - some of them took it a bit too far at times, but I just hate that idea that West Ham fans, for some reason, have no knowledge of football.
"I've been waiting to get that off my chest for about 36 hours. I couldn't wait to get on and just say 'come on, have a bit of respect for them, they're allowed to have their point of view'. I don't think anything the vast majority did was out of character or wrong. It doesn't mean you can sit and slag them off on TV."
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