Liverpool Align With Sullivan as West Ham Fans Get Stasi Style Suppression at Anfield

West Ham yesterday took control and propaganda to Stasi-like proportions when Liverpool’s stewards were tasked with removing anti-board messaging from Hammers fans.

Unsurprisingly, supporters are none too happy with the current state of affairs at the club and many are actively campaigning for the board to be removed. Now before anyone says “just support the team”, it’s not a binary option and it’s completely possible to seek new leadership AND sing ‘Bubbles’ at the top of your voice.

So, as has become the norm, West Ham fans travelled to Anfield with red cards, ‘No More BS’ T-shirts and small banners which adhered to Premier League regulations. Yet upon entering the stadium, many had their paraphernalia confiscated, with one fan told he would have to remove his shirt to gain entry. An even more sinister report suggests that a 13 year old fan was told to remove his sweatshirt before entering. C&H are awaiting full confirmation on this but if true, it represents an unhealthy escalation in the war against fans.

Social media, WhatsApp and pretty much everyone’s inbox was littered with stories of banners and cards which had been confiscated by Anfield staff. Many confirmed they were under instruction to remove anti-board propaganda, as the red half of Merseyside turned North Korea style just before 3pm.

Attempts To Control The Narrative Backfire

Quite what the powers that be believe they are controlling is uncertain, but they are certainly making things worse for themselves. As the old saying goes, those who ignore history are bound to repeat it, and silencing and banning dissenters rarely ends well in the long term for oppressors.

It is also my understanding that the club are not doing themselves any favours with opposition clubs, with many of the Liverpool stewards reportedly feeling uncomfortable confiscating items from West Ham fans. That said, it’s incredible to see a club of Liverpool’s stature in cahoots with David Sullivan and Karren Brady given the reds own protests against Hicks and Gillett paved the way for the Fenway group to take over.

Anyway, attempts to steer the narrative and opinion of West Ham are clearly not working and the wider media world have caught on. Whatever Sullivan and Brady are telling themselves, they are performing just as poorly in their attempts to control PR as they are with everything else at the club. And ironically, in their attempts to suppress a story they have created a brand new one which is even worse.