There was no personal acknowledgement or thank you rom Mr Len

But as Da is ne er sounded ery American to begin with, ha ing established an accent and an identity that was peculiarly her own, possibly she did not count. Much more galling is the wa e o oreign stars who seem to ha e got our accents down to a creepily accurate tee. The sight yesterday o Renee Zellweger un eiling a statue o Beatrix Potter, the oh-so English writer whose li e she is now playing in a ilm, was enough to ill the heart o English patriots with melancholy St George's Day thoughts. He resigned in December 1994, the team loundering, and George Burley was appointed to the top job.Andrew Mourant. Then he was appointed manager o Ipswich Town, guiding them in 1991-92 to the Second Di ision championship and promotion to the new A Premier League.Howe er they were perennial strugglers, only a oiding relegation at the last in 1993-94. Lyall handed o er day-to-day management to John Wark and Paul Goddard.

I couldn't say I noticed much sympathy, reluctance or any other emotion as he the Chairman, Len Cearns terminated my 34 years with the club. There was no personal acknowledgement or thank you rom Mr Len.Yet Lyall bounced back with a short spell scouting with Tottenham Hotspur and with England during preparation or the 1990 World Cup. In 1989 the team was once more relegated and this time it cost Lyall his job.Although not a great speaker, Lyall had always carried personal clout. He claimed not to ha e been bitter at being sacked but his 1989 autobiography, Just Like My Dreams, con eys the depth o a ront:You tend to look at other actors success in the A Cup loyalty; long ser ice. There was always consolation in the emergence o home-grown talent such as Paul Ince but Lyall struggled to bed in new players amid loss o orm and con idence.

Key players including Cottee le t, while injuries laid low some o Lyall's best talent. Lyall stayed put, unwilling to be bartered o er, expecting to stay at Upton Park " or the remainder o my working li e". In 1985-86 he took West Ham to third place, to within our points o the champions Li erpool, success based on a robust back our o Ray Stewart, Al in Martin, Tony Gale and Ste e Wal ord holding things together and a potent attacking partnership o Tony Cottee and rank McA ennie.This was Lyall's high-water mark Therea ter, o er the next three seasons, orm slumped. The deal would ha e doubled his money but West Ham would not release him.