IS THIS HOW IT STARTED?
A CHELSEA FAN SOMEHOW EVADES STEWARDS AND MAKES HIS WAY TOWARDS THE IRONS SECTION BAITING THEM AS HE GOES BEFORE QUICKLY DOING AN ABOUT TURN AFTER THIS IMAGE WAS TAKEN. IDIOCY OF THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE ORDER.
West Ham are being put on trial by media who appear to have hung, drung and quartered us after crowd disturbances in the final few minutes of a magnificent EDL Cup vitory over Chelsea last night (Wed).
But all many not be as it seems and later this morning Sean Whetstone our associate editor here at ClaretandHugh will bring his first hand of report, having been right at the centre of what is being described – ridiculously as an area turned into a “bomb site.”
Sean – representing ClaretandHugh – has been interviewed three or four times on BBC Radio so far today but will bring our readers precise details of how bad it really was – it wasn’t.
If the media – and mainly the red tops are going to try cruifying us – we at ClaretandHugh will give it to you as it actually was.
For the record we DO believe that any who were inolved in anyt throwing of ANY objects or becoming involved in the melee should be dealt with in the appropriate manner.
But what is being written about our great club is in many cases wrong and improper as Sean’s report will show later.
COYI
From where I was sat, it appeared to be the Chelsea that were trying to kick something off. Of course, it would have been nice if our lot had only responded with chanting and laughing at them, rather than the way they did
‘Hammers condemn violence’…. and show they should but I see no headline that says ‘Hammers condemn their own naivety’… in moving to a stadium that has no appropriate segregation for away fans. Just when was the meeting when they decided it would be OK , my first visit was for Bournemouth hame (was away for the pre season stuff) and my feedback then to friends and family was ‘it’s a disaster waiting to happen’…and I am no professional, just a law abiding Irons mad supporter who is fed up with cocks ups such as this dragging my club through the dirt. Sort it Lady B or give back your gong or whatever it was you got.
I’m tired of all this stuff stealing the headlines from the football. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the bad publicity prior to the game helped to advertise it to and attract the wrong type of person to the game. I had a birds eye view from the east stand. I watched them. You know the type. They have a few beers and they want to fight the world. They had no interest in what was going on on the pitch. Ban the lot of them and let’s go back to talking about the football.
I watched the game online. After the Fernandes goal, I thought “listen to that noise. I wish I was there with my daughter”. Then I saw the footage of the fighting and thought “perhaps not yet…”.
Of course it’s a small minority in a small section of the ground – not the 5,000 Chelsea fans against 47,000 ravenous, vicious West Ham fans as the Daily Star would have it – but still, it makes me sad. I know some of you will say “but most of the ground is safe” and “I take my kids and we don’t see any issues”. I get that, but uncontrolled violence, both inside and outside the game will always be a worry.
I know we’ll get it right. I have no doubt that Chelsea fans started it – it would’ve been seen as a perfect opportunity to drag us through the dirt for those people intent on marring football with violence – but we have our own element of morons who think it’s okay to fight in public. It’s pathetic. With the correct surveillance equipment in place, each person could (and should) be identified and banned for life.
I could see the twit in the picture from the BM at the other end of the ground.He should have been arrested to warn others off.Obvious where to have 40 police or so during the match.
Segregation after the game seemed effective enough.
Great match and atmosphere – place was rocking all night. It was a bit of a time bomb though – I was sitting with my mates and we knew something was going to kick off at some point, which it did. To an earlier point though – the Board reaps what it sows. I’m not banging on about ‘lets go back to the Boleyn’ but this could have been avoided with better planning other than the Board’s assumption that everyone will just behave.
What doesn’t help is that once it kicked off inside the stadium, lots of fans can move freely beneath the stands, and get to the flash points without anyone or anything stopping them – as I witnessed last night. Outside after there were numerous incidents, as mobs of West Ham taunted the Chelsea escort all the ways down to Stratford tube. I was surprised the police took the Chelsea fans on the route they did…it was asking for trouble.
Thought they were going to take them to Pudding mill lane DLR?
EDL?
hahah… I know Rick… lol 😉
Loool Matte,too late 😀
The BB has struck again, Rick… lool 😀
The route out of the stadium was a joke! I understand the need to protect shoppers and diners but the way we were routed was banal. they could have got the fans out much faster had they not sent us on a route March to Marland and back.
If you remove people quicker you have less chance of trouble. SIMPLE. This whole thing needs a properation good looking at!!! Several idiots were left waiting, chanting and swearing their heads off only for police to escorts several Chelsea fans right through the middle of the crowd!!! what was that all about???
All the West Ham fans in this photo should be banned for life. The segregation between fans was much larger than this but a large group of West Ham fans moved towards the chelsea fans. Of course, Chelsea fans take some blame as well but lets not exonerate the West Ham fans and try to pretend we didn’t start this. I’ve noticed in the last few years we have attracted a lot of wannabe hooligans. Kids who probably watched Green Street and then were inspired to act tough. Mindless idiots who are spoiling West Ham’s good reputation.
If you think it was bad last night wait for the Tottenham game, I was speaking to a mate of mine and he said a lot of the old faces are already planning to come and cause trouble inside and outside, the trouble is all the old faces and some new ones know this Stadium is perfect for hooliganism, even if they get banned it might be one or two last hurrahs, I expect every game we are allowed to play this season will have similar stories and our name will be dragged through the mud, everyone that is involved in it if found guilty by a court should be named and shamed publically so that there families and employers can judge them also. Up until the final 5 – 10 minutes or so the atmosphere was brilliant. Throwing coins into areas where there are small kids and women that are frightened as well as being wrong on every level it should come with a serious sentence from the courts. Yet again last night the stadium was wide open to anyone that were they of a mind too could walk into without a ticket, sooner or later and probably sooner a fatality will occur if the Stadium operator doesn’t get a grip on this and secure the stadium against these mindless idiots hellbent on causing as much trouble as possible.
Sorry – but anyone who thinks West Ham and trouble is a new thing clearly has no idea. We have ALWAYS had a hooligan element and it’s nowhere to how it used to be when I first started going as a kid in the late 70s. So let’s get real and stop overreacting like the press. As for banning every West Ham fan in the photo…what a drama queen. As far as I can see, one fan is waving, a few are using phones to video and the rest are mocking the Chelsea idiot. We’ll have no one left apart from the tourists and cucumber munchers if mocking is now a banning offence. whether we like it or no, the reason the atmosphere was so good last night is because of the edge and the fact that some of the “old school” fan were able to get tickets last night. It’s no coincidence.
Totally agree RaymondsPeg..drama queens is right.The atmosphere was brilliant lastnight.Personally i couldnt care less about a bit of trouble.Though i appreciate others see it differently.
Theres too much popcorn floating about these days thats the problem lool
Ban the idiots that are trying to get into each other too fight, not sure how much you saw of it but it wasn’t just waving going on, there has always been a hooligan element and I used to go in the late 70’s and early 80’s when it was at its peak, stadiums took measures to prevent it, they fenced away supporters off and looked at all possible ways to prevent what we are seeing, this included having stewards that would intervene and deal with troublemakers. Our new stadium the owners and LS185 seem completely oblivious of the fact that this is a stadium built for events and not for rowdy territorial football supporters, they open up the stadium every half time where all and sundry can walk into the stadium with or without tickets, if they were of a mind too could hide any weapons outside of the stadium to avoid the completely inadequate checks prior to entry and pick up those weapons at half time and come back in if they were stupid enough to want too. The point isn’t that nothing has been that serious so far it is that this stadium is a perfect environment for hooligans both inside and outside add to that a completely incompetent management company and innocent people are going to get hurt, why wait for a fatality, the horse is already bolting time to lock the doors before it gets out.
You’re wrong RayStewartsRightPeg. So leave the insults off. The fans in the picture were not seated there. Taunting and waving is one thing. Walking from one end of the stadium towards the Chelsea fans is something else. The gap between the fans was huge and the people in this picture purposely moved towards the Chelsea fans looking for trouble. Chelsea fans were also responsible for trouble but a lot of the West Ham fans in this photo are the same ones who were throwing coins and acting like complete morons. Anyone who is more interested in walking towards the opposition fans and goading them rather than watching our great team is a moron. Thankfully they are in the minority, but they should still be banned.
Who has been insulted Jazz?
Some of our fans are big girls blouses these days.Storm in a tea cup which gives people with nothing better to do something to gossip about & turn into a huge deal.
ripping up seats and throwing coins at kids is a storm in a teacup?
To put in an article that the trouble is being over hyped is just foolish the truth is both west ham and Chelsea fans were causing trouble and there’s no excuse for it people are responsible for their own actions and although there has been of an effort to improve the stewarding the segregation and allowing home and away supporters to mix before and after the game is just naive hope and sure these problems will improve coyi!