True to their word, the West Ham United board started the consultation regarding the club badge almost as soon as the ink was dry on the new-era board statement.
Almost universally identified as an emblem of the Brady – Sullivan era, the crossed hammers and ‘London’ legend beneath became a symbol of everything that was not right at West Ham – be it the ploy to attract tourists, the removal of the castle – seemingly everyone had an opinion and most were negative.
We all have our favorites: Let’s hope the design agency pay attention to the club’s heritage
Now the club have published the preliminary results of the consultation and a staggering 85% of respondents want change:
“A total of 15,911 responses were submitted. Of these, 96% were verified as eligible, giving a final total of 15,314 verified responses…
The key outcome from the initial responses is that an overwhelming majority – 85% – of respondents have voted in favour of changing the current Club crest.
An appointed design agency will utilise the focus groups and survey findings to shape possible future crest designs. All eligible supporters will be asked to vote on future crest options later in the process.”
So that’s a big thumbs down for the crest which has flown over the pitch since 2016 when the Hammers departed Upton Park.
What comes next is more consultation with different options for fans to consider. We all have our favourites but probably the most important thing is that the new crest – whenever it appears, and whatever it looks like – will be something chosen by supporters rather than imposed upon them. Sounds good to me.
You were saying that the current crest may have been designed to attract tourists and that got me thinking. I remember other clubs fans scoffing at us having a large capacity sold out stadium every home game. “Full of tourists” they would sneer. Well now we are in the second tier and any tourists such as they might have been, have long gone. Guess what? We still have a large capacity sold out stadium every home game, so those sneering rivals should accept we are the best supported team in the capital. Would Spurs still be selling out their stadium if they had been relegated? I don’t think so. Well done us!