During a three hour meeting with West Ham Vice Chairman Karren Brady at the London Stadium a wide range of topics were discussed.
These subjects included: the quality of stadium stewarding, ongoing filming of supporters, honouring former legends, making the stadium feel more like West Ham’s home, shelving for drinks around the bar areas, more betting booths, the use of Supporter Liaison Officers on match days, the use of former Boleyn Ground stewards, the request to increase stadium capacity to 60,000, the return of season ticket holders to block 114, retractable seating and the distance from the pitch, searching children on entry to the ground, Westfield and boxing day matches, faster serving of beer at half time, why Palace were allowed to bring in drum on Saturday, whether fans could bring in more flags, accessibility buses and the wait times post match, the distance from Stratford underground to the stadium, the article on the official website by Martin Samuel, food outlets including the Rib Man and Pie and Mash, scarf/badge and memorabilia sellers outside the stadium, The West Ham Supporters Club (Social club), moving seats at the end of the season, season ticket renewals, the ticket exchange system and Dimitri Payet.
Present at the meeting included ClaretandHugh, KUMB, WestHamTilliDie, , Hammers Chat, Blowing Bubbles Fanzine, West Ham World, Sex, Drugs and Carlton Cole, The West Ham Way, West Ham Fan TV and Jack Sullivan.
Feedback from the club during the meeting:
Stewarding is a top priority for the club, they want to employ more former Boleyn Ground stewards and have already deployed former Boleyn ground stewards to blocks 113 and 114 for the last two games.
Filming of supporters has been related to identification of those involved in missile throwing at the Chelsea game and is not intended to be a permanent if there is no repeat of the troubles since at the Chelsea game. LS 185 have promised the club it will cease.
West Ham are still working on bringing the Green Street Champions statue to Stratford and honouring other West Ham legends subject to agreement and planning permission.
Karren has spoken to LS185 to commission shelving around the bar areas to hold drinks subject to approval by stadium owners E20. Caters Delaware North will speed up serving of drinks at half time by pre-pouring pints from the Man City game.
West Ham will allow supporters to send them flags which will be put up for games around the stadium and taken down and stored safety post match. Details will be published soon.
West Ham plan to increase the number of match day SLO’s to 50-60 and pay them the London living wage. The club will increased the number full time SLO’s from two to three. There will be 30 match day SLO’s in place for the Manchester City game.,
West Ham will ask the stadium operators to apply for a capacity increase to 60,000 to the Safety Advisory Group (SAG). If successful 3,000 half season tickets will go on sale at band 5 prices.
Children will be no longer be searched on entry to the London Stadium and LS185 will purchase more wands to speed up the search time for adults.
It is not feasible to move the seating in the lower bowl of the London Stadium closer to the pitch because of the roof and shape the stadium.
The club will vet newspaper articles published on the official website if they could be considered to drive a wedge between the club and their fans.
Karren will look at the feasibility of bringing in more more food outlets outside the Stadium which may include the Ribman and a Pie and Mash stall subject to demand.
The club will look into the current Ticket Exchange and forwarding system to look at ways to encourage supporters to use it to leave less empty seats at league games. They will be more transparent on what supporters get back. They give 90% back of what the season ticket paid with 10% going to Ticket master as an admin fee. They will publish a full breakdown of how it is calculated.
The club are happy to meet with the West Ham Supporters Club to see want help they could render to help them move the social club closer to Stratford
Below is feedback from the meeting from Nicky Hawkins from West Ham Fan TV
I am Season Ticket Holder in West stand lower at the London Stadium and before that, I used to stand in the Sir Trevor Brooking Lower Row R seat 159 in the Boleyn Ground and in the Eighties I stood on the terraces of the old South Bank. I am a presenter on the West Ham Podcast called MooreThanJustaPodcast.co.uk. A Blogger on WestHamTillIdie.com a member of the West Ham Supporters Advisory Board (SAB), Founder of a Youtube channel called Mr West Ham Football at http://www.youtube.com/MrWestHamFootball,
I am also the associate editor here at Claret and Hugh.
Lets see what if anything comes of it.Who knows maybe some good will come from it.Though im sure some grumpy b#stards wont even give it a chance because they know best about everything…
Lol LF you know it mate.The old farts will have written it all off already while they open a new bottle of Harveys Bristol Cream & pass round the Liquorice Allsorts 😂😂😂
Lama its a joke..fans call for a line of communication meetings what have you then it happens key points are raised as possibilities for change & it is automatically written off by some no marks.
I cant swear on here but for **** sake at least give it a chance.To see if change is indeed implemented.Some fans are so ingrained with hatred they wont even give things a chance.
There is no winning with some..they really are the ones i do wish would **** off & support someone else..
Im sorry to say it but some fans are not for changing.They have made their minds up fullstop.No amount of communication or changes will sway them from their current views.
If im entirely honest i believe we have some fans who are more than happy to fight the board because it gives them an objective in life Lol.Sad i know but thats the way it appears.
Its the same as the ones who catch a bit of gossip & get straight on their soap box to proclaim the club a mess or words to that effect.
Fellas, I was in the meeting sat next to Sean last night and we’ve already received two emails directly from Karen where a number of our suggestions have already been actioned apparently.
Obviously the proof of the pudding will not be known until Man City but I like to think that I would know if we were being lied to and it seemed pretty sincere to me.
The club want to improve and need feedback and have decided one way to do it is with regular contact with bloggers, podcasters & youtubers who in turn are given suggestions via their audience.
Will it work. . . . who knows? It certainly is unprecedented contact between a Premier Lg club and it’s fans though. Fingers crossed.
… “we’ve already received two emails directly from Karen where a number of our suggestions have already been actioned apparently…”
Why does it take a meeting with the various social media sites six months into the season to make some common sense decisions, for example, shelves for beer – many fed this back to the Club in August last year after the first few games!
For me, the Club know they’re losing the PR battle, and are now trying anything to get fans back on side. The real problems will/can never be addressed so to a large extent what’s being done now is “lipstick on a pig”.
A big thank you to yourself and everybody that attended the meeting on behalf of the fans. Its great that we have such a vibrant and positive independent array of fans blogs and web sites that truly care about the club. I think it says a lot about the people contributing to these various sites that act very professionally with the interest of the fans at heart and don’t just moan and moan but actually does something positive. Hopefully this will be the start of greater on going communication between the club and its supporter base. I for one do believe that the current board have the interest of the club and its supporters at heart. However they have made some fundamental mistakes. This I believe is the way forward and together we can make this club one of the greatest in the world. Congratulations
Sounds good Gonz, lets hope this sort of thing & with WHUISA up & running as well they can address issues & a decent line of communication can be consistent in the future.
Hey im all for seeing how it pans out.We need some voice,so fans cant knock the guys who provide it & we can at least give the club the chance to make changes.As you say,the bun will be in the oven.
Btw the next time you are sat next to Sean can you get me his autograph.He’s my hero lol 😂😂😂
Who on Earth attended this meeting? Was it the Karen Brady appreciation society? Rabbits in the head lights or what? Did nobody think it was worth saying that the food and drink offerings are outrageously expensive? Oh wait it’s ok the drinks are gonna come with shelving. Please!
Did nobody mention the disconnect between the board and the fans? Did nobody ask Karen if she thought she was one of the problems? Did nobody address how we are being marketed. Noble advertising “leisure wear” during game on big screens rather than showing controversial incidents.? Did nobody ask if the owners were gonna say sorry to the fans for the cock up they have made of it all?
Did nobody?
Did nobody?
Did nobody?
It all looks like the usual PR nonsense and it seems you lot have lapped it up. Ooh Karen you are so clever.
And you are one of the sad supporters who just wants to badmouth everyone else & think you are a glowing tribute to all fans who have their heads up their arse and want to still believe they are going to walk through the john lyall gates at Upton Park next home match.
Grow up for goodness sake instead of sounding like an angry toddler.
Mind you your words do sound all too familiar from one of the biggest mouths going on west ham sites.
How f’ing presumptuous. Rather than responding to my point of view (that’s the point of this site I believe) you presume to take a superior stance throwing cheap insults. Dear dear, you really need to start making a worthwhile contribution to these discussions.
I’ve had only been on this site for about two years with this name. Obviously not as important as you big guys who have been here since the get go. I don’t post a lot so probably mine are not usually worth reading. Or perhaps you usually only read your own and your mates. Didn’t realise it was that cliquey.
Lol ok now you are cracking me up.Straight on to the big boys,cliquey line.Good stuff keep going.Sorry mate you wont get an arguement from me.I cant be bothered.
Oh & i apoligise for missing your numerous posts as Punchy.I suspect no one else noticed them either eh.I mean you cant read wasnt isnt there 😂😂
It was a sensible reply wasnt it.You went in to one about presumptious comments when you yourself made presumptious remarks in the first place by decieding people where rabbits caught in the headlights.
Didnt you?
Didnt you?
Didnt you?
😂😂
You lot have lapped it up??..think what you want Tard but i will still be at The Boro with my 74 year old father at the weekend supporting the team..probably while you script your next loads of ****..
Someone take that crack pipe off him..
Ah, the old I’m a better ( and obviously more important) supporter than you argument and therefore no matter how insulting or what crap I talk about you, it has more gravitas. Grow up pal that’s playground nonesense.
Lol so come on then Punchy let us in on your secret who did you used to be on here.You sound very very familiar with your coments.
Usually when it goes quiet on here somebody has to come back to get the sh*t stirring going again lol
Come on dont be shy 😁😁
Really oh ok sorry,been on here from almost the get go.Never seen you post before.Maybe you have always been ‘punchy’ on here just under a different name 😁
Anyway whatever i cant be bothered to argue on here i will leave you to it 😉
Spot on Punchy, definitely a PR exercise and I will be very surprised if we see any real change over the coming months. Like you, I’m surprised so many who attended have fallen for this simply because Karen listened!
Glad the subject of searching children came up. My 10 and 8 year old have been searched on each occasion. I didn’t dare complain directly to a Gestapo steward for fear of not being let in.
I agree with you mate. Searching children just isn’t on. But, these sick b’stards who are looking to cause mayhem in public places by killing and maiming innocent people will not be beyond recruiting children to do their dirty work. It’s a sad statement of our time but perhaps electronic security as at airports is required to keep us all safe.
If the lower tier seats cannot be moved closer to the pitch then we were all lied to
From day one we were told the seating would cover the running track
This is my main issue and will influence my thoughts on renewing
The issues in Club London can be sorted and the club are acting on issues raised alas the distance from the pitch may be too much of a problem for many
Thought the whole idea was to address the gulf between the board and the fans. Please read the post before you go into attack mode. Sick of all the vitriol. Give it a chance,please. if your so anti,fu#k off . We don’t need negativity at this crucial stage. If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything.
I can’t be bothered with all this arguing about the bloody board or Brady.Jesus Christ if some dont believe,some do believe it so effing what.Its everyones own opinion without lame brains giving it the ‘i know best,you lot are mug’ boll*****.
And quite frankly i have better things to do in my life than turn this in to a bloody obsession like some do 😬
Lol to be fair to Punchy i was winding him up a bit because he came on giving it the big ‘un about others but i have seen him on here before & he has posted in the past rarely.I just couldnt help a bit of a wind up while the little ‘un threw up all over me 😂😂
Punchy – I’m not saying searching shouldn’t happen but I have worked in CT for 15 years and not everyone needs searching, especially 10 and 8 year children. The issue is that the stewards are not well enough trained to identify who requires searching and who does not. Bottom line is that they are agency staff on min wage who have no knowledge of the stadium and the environment around it. More importantly, they aren’t football stewards.
No mate. What I’m saying is regrettably they probably need an electronic arch to walk through like they have at the airport. Any physical searching needs to be done by a fully trained operative and not some random steward. I bet they don’t even run a sex offenders search on them. It’s overkill of course. But we’re do you draw the line on safety at public events. Sign of the times.
Punchy they run a sex offenders check if you work in the Co-op these days mate. Trust me they’ll be vetted.
Also what Mooro66 says above – give it time, what’s to lose? These meetings won’t now suddenly stop, they’ve got a starting list of 30 items and they will get to work on them and new items will be added. Karen can’t afford to sit in repeated meetings with nothing being dealt with. Baby steps mate but it ain’t going to help people like you sounding off every time.
Lastly good work Sean. I wish you chaired the WHUISA as I’d actually joined if you did. I still think their no show was a stunt and they’ve gone down in my estimation. I hope they don’t claim the Benicia for stuff achieved yesterday and even before that.
I’ve been reading the KUMB forum on the ISA, it’s being hijacked by all the negative rabble rousers and it is just going to become an angry protest group of people who want to give the club the roughest ride they can.
During a three hour meeting with West Ham Vice Chairman Karren Brady at the London Stadium a wide range of topics were discussed.
Lets see what if anything comes of it.Who knows maybe some good will come from it.Though im sure some grumpy b#stards wont even give it a chance because they know best about everything…
Lol LF you know it mate.The old farts will have written it all off already while they open a new bottle of Harveys Bristol Cream & pass round the Liquorice Allsorts 😂😂😂
Lama its a joke..fans call for a line of communication meetings what have you then it happens key points are raised as possibilities for change & it is automatically written off by some no marks.
I cant swear on here but for **** sake at least give it a chance.To see if change is indeed implemented.Some fans are so ingrained with hatred they wont even give things a chance.
There is no winning with some..they really are the ones i do wish would **** off & support someone else..
Im sorry to say it but some fans are not for changing.They have made their minds up fullstop.No amount of communication or changes will sway them from their current views.
If im entirely honest i believe we have some fans who are more than happy to fight the board because it gives them an objective in life Lol.Sad i know but thats the way it appears.
Its the same as the ones who catch a bit of gossip & get straight on their soap box to proclaim the club a mess or words to that effect.
Fellas, I was in the meeting sat next to Sean last night and we’ve already received two emails directly from Karen where a number of our suggestions have already been actioned apparently.
Obviously the proof of the pudding will not be known until Man City but I like to think that I would know if we were being lied to and it seemed pretty sincere to me.
The club want to improve and need feedback and have decided one way to do it is with regular contact with bloggers, podcasters & youtubers who in turn are given suggestions via their audience.
Will it work. . . . who knows? It certainly is unprecedented contact between a Premier Lg club and it’s fans though. Fingers crossed.
… “we’ve already received two emails directly from Karen where a number of our suggestions have already been actioned apparently…”
Why does it take a meeting with the various social media sites six months into the season to make some common sense decisions, for example, shelves for beer – many fed this back to the Club in August last year after the first few games!
For me, the Club know they’re losing the PR battle, and are now trying anything to get fans back on side. The real problems will/can never be addressed so to a large extent what’s being done now is “lipstick on a pig”.
COYI
A big thank you to yourself and everybody that attended the meeting on behalf of the fans. Its great that we have such a vibrant and positive independent array of fans blogs and web sites that truly care about the club. I think it says a lot about the people contributing to these various sites that act very professionally with the interest of the fans at heart and don’t just moan and moan but actually does something positive. Hopefully this will be the start of greater on going communication between the club and its supporter base. I for one do believe that the current board have the interest of the club and its supporters at heart. However they have made some fundamental mistakes. This I believe is the way forward and together we can make this club one of the greatest in the world. Congratulations
Sounds good Gonz, lets hope this sort of thing & with WHUISA up & running as well they can address issues & a decent line of communication can be consistent in the future.
Hey im all for seeing how it pans out.We need some voice,so fans cant knock the guys who provide it & we can at least give the club the chance to make changes.As you say,the bun will be in the oven.
Btw the next time you are sat next to Sean can you get me his autograph.He’s my hero lol 😂😂😂
Who on Earth attended this meeting? Was it the Karen Brady appreciation society? Rabbits in the head lights or what? Did nobody think it was worth saying that the food and drink offerings are outrageously expensive? Oh wait it’s ok the drinks are gonna come with shelving. Please!
Did nobody mention the disconnect between the board and the fans? Did nobody ask Karen if she thought she was one of the problems? Did nobody address how we are being marketed. Noble advertising “leisure wear” during game on big screens rather than showing controversial incidents.? Did nobody ask if the owners were gonna say sorry to the fans for the cock up they have made of it all?
Did nobody?
Did nobody?
Did nobody?
It all looks like the usual PR nonsense and it seems you lot have lapped it up. Ooh Karen you are so clever.
And you are one of the sad supporters who just wants to badmouth everyone else & think you are a glowing tribute to all fans who have their heads up their arse and want to still believe they are going to walk through the john lyall gates at Upton Park next home match.
Grow up for goodness sake instead of sounding like an angry toddler.
Mind you your words do sound all too familiar from one of the biggest mouths going on west ham sites.
Im not sure about Punchy you sound more Punchdrunk.
How f’ing presumptuous. Rather than responding to my point of view (that’s the point of this site I believe) you presume to take a superior stance throwing cheap insults. Dear dear, you really need to start making a worthwhile contribution to these discussions.
Well how about “rabbits caught in the headlights”.How f#cking presumptious is that you WUM.
Go wind up another site can see straight through you.
I’ve had only been on this site for about two years with this name. Obviously not as important as you big guys who have been here since the get go. I don’t post a lot so probably mine are not usually worth reading. Or perhaps you usually only read your own and your mates. Didn’t realise it was that cliquey.
Lol ok now you are cracking me up.Straight on to the big boys,cliquey line.Good stuff keep going.Sorry mate you wont get an arguement from me.I cant be bothered.
Oh & i apoligise for missing your numerous posts as Punchy.I suspect no one else noticed them either eh.I mean you cant read wasnt isnt there 😂😂
That’s a good un. No sensible response to my comments then.
It was a sensible reply wasnt it.You went in to one about presumptious comments when you yourself made presumptious remarks in the first place by decieding people where rabbits caught in the headlights.
Didnt you?
Didnt you?
Didnt you?
😂😂
Watch gonzos video after the meeting. I think rabbit caught in the headlights is a fare comment imo.
You lot have lapped it up??..think what you want Tard but i will still be at The Boro with my 74 year old father at the weekend supporting the team..probably while you script your next loads of ****..
Someone take that crack pipe off him..
Ah, the old I’m a better ( and obviously more important) supporter than you argument and therefore no matter how insulting or what crap I talk about you, it has more gravitas. Grow up pal that’s playground nonesense.
As above WUM.Come here to get your daily arguement fix did ya.I mean the name aint a give away at all is it..
Seems it’s just insults and no discussion with you lot. Ah well. As little by as you all agree with each other. Mustn’t grumble eh.
Lol so come on then Punchy let us in on your secret who did you used to be on here.You sound very very familiar with your coments.
Usually when it goes quiet on here somebody has to come back to get the sh*t stirring going again lol
Come on dont be shy 😁😁
I have always been punchy on here and have been for ages.
Really oh ok sorry,been on here from almost the get go.Never seen you post before.Maybe you have always been ‘punchy’ on here just under a different name 😁
Anyway whatever i cant be bothered to argue on here i will leave you to it 😉
Spot on Punchy, definitely a PR exercise and I will be very surprised if we see any real change over the coming months. Like you, I’m surprised so many who attended have fallen for this simply because Karen listened!
Glad the subject of searching children came up. My 10 and 8 year old have been searched on each occasion. I didn’t dare complain directly to a Gestapo steward for fear of not being let in.
I agree with you mate. Searching children just isn’t on. But, these sick b’stards who are looking to cause mayhem in public places by killing and maiming innocent people will not be beyond recruiting children to do their dirty work. It’s a sad statement of our time but perhaps electronic security as at airports is required to keep us all safe.
If the lower tier seats cannot be moved closer to the pitch then we were all lied to
From day one we were told the seating would cover the running track
This is my main issue and will influence my thoughts on renewing
The issues in Club London can be sorted and the club are acting on issues raised alas the distance from the pitch may be too much of a problem for many
Thought the whole idea was to address the gulf between the board and the fans. Please read the post before you go into attack mode. Sick of all the vitriol. Give it a chance,please. if your so anti,fu#k off . We don’t need negativity at this crucial stage. If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything.
Punchy aka Fish n Chips / Cometh the Moment is back in the house I see 🙂
Lol GW.Similiar tactics to Fishncometh247.Steam in insult people then go down the dont be rude to me line 😂😂😂
And the original rant is definatley one of Fishncometh247s starting points on here.Nothing changes 😨😀
Spot on GW
Same arse hole different name 🙂 We’ll be accused of bullying him next.
I can’t be bothered with all this arguing about the bloody board or Brady.Jesus Christ if some dont believe,some do believe it so effing what.Its everyones own opinion without lame brains giving it the ‘i know best,you lot are mug’ boll*****.
And quite frankly i have better things to do in my life than turn this in to a bloody obsession like some do 😬
Lol to be fair to Punchy i was winding him up a bit because he came on giving it the big ‘un about others but i have seen him on here before & he has posted in the past rarely.I just couldnt help a bit of a wind up while the little ‘un threw up all over me 😂😂
Punchy – I’m not saying searching shouldn’t happen but I have worked in CT for 15 years and not everyone needs searching, especially 10 and 8 year children. The issue is that the stewards are not well enough trained to identify who requires searching and who does not. Bottom line is that they are agency staff on min wage who have no knowledge of the stadium and the environment around it. More importantly, they aren’t football stewards.
No mate. What I’m saying is regrettably they probably need an electronic arch to walk through like they have at the airport. Any physical searching needs to be done by a fully trained operative and not some random steward. I bet they don’t even run a sex offenders search on them. It’s overkill of course. But we’re do you draw the line on safety at public events. Sign of the times.
Punchy they run a sex offenders check if you work in the Co-op these days mate. Trust me they’ll be vetted.
Also what Mooro66 says above – give it time, what’s to lose? These meetings won’t now suddenly stop, they’ve got a starting list of 30 items and they will get to work on them and new items will be added. Karen can’t afford to sit in repeated meetings with nothing being dealt with. Baby steps mate but it ain’t going to help people like you sounding off every time.
Lastly good work Sean. I wish you chaired the WHUISA as I’d actually joined if you did. I still think their no show was a stunt and they’ve gone down in my estimation. I hope they don’t claim the Benicia for stuff achieved yesterday and even before that.
Nice one Sean.
I’ve been reading the KUMB forum on the ISA, it’s being hijacked by all the negative rabble rousers and it is just going to become an angry protest group of people who want to give the club the roughest ride they can.