Guest post from a former West Ham steward now working at the London Stadium for OCS who has asked to remain anonymous.
“I’ve read on your site lots of stories about how bad the stewarding is and although most complaints are justified I feel that the Stewards who did come over from Upton Park are being dragged through the mud. None of us wanted to leave Upton Park but some Stewards made the jump over to OCS.
But what supporters have to understand were not happy about the move anymore then they are. We are trying to make it feel like home and get supporters to enjoy the day (can’t help the results) but we’re having to do alot of nagging and prompting the Stewards around us to get them interacting with supporters and be more helpful. There was like some 120 of us that moved over and what supporters don’t see is that us Upton Park Stewards are treated completely differently to everyone else.
We’re separated out once we get past the shambolic signing in process and all Stewards from Upton Park are in a separate section before briefings.
To start with we were given rubbish positions guarding stairs when our years of experience are not used but some off the supervisors are taking advantage of our years off experience.
The Upton Park Stewards are in groups with the supervisors who came from Upton Park and these areas are this likely to see less trouble as we have the experience to spot certain flash points.
But although we try our best we struggle cause a vast majority of the Stewards there are only there for the money and to watch the game for free and laughing at the results or as goals go in and not interested in supporters views, that being said not many supervisors really care either.
If you look around you can see who the Upton Park Stewards/supervisors are were interacting with many old faces from Upton Park and getting to know our new supporters around us, this comes from years of experience something alot of the new Stewards don’t have.
Many Upton Park Stewards are thinking of leaving cause of the trouble and the running of it but I can only but hope it will improve but I’m guessing time will tell.
There was always going to be problems with this move but I believe no one expected them to be this bad I feel for the supporters I really do.
So even the old stewards have been rebranded and are made to feel that they ain’t part of the club anymore. Their experience is valuable but obviously a quick fix is more important than letting these guys have an opinion or an input?
Cheers Sean, appreciate the post, I certainly don’t hold the UP stewards that moved over responsible, yes it is very easy to identify them, they are the ones that are relaxed among our support and look like part of the family, unlike the green soulless lot that look like rabbits caught in the headlights whenever an awkward situation arises and indifferent the rest of the time. I hope that his and his old colleagues situation improves and they are put into senior positions to help the new ones improve.
Decent stewards leaving, because things aren’t the way they’d ideally like them to be, isn’t going to help anyone. The good’uns need to keep talking to their superiors and get them to learn from their experiences.
what would you do if you were working in an environment where you are treated as a second class citizen despite being more experienced than your colleagues ? Yes it won’t help if they leave but these are people who in a lot of cases have a real affinity with our club but according to their accounts are being separated from their colleagues and given menial jobs where they can’t use their skills and experience.
I’ve had that before at work, it happens sometimes, it isn’t an inconceivable or improbable thing to sometimes happen in life. When it did, I had a little moan, and then worked hard to prove myself. That’s the only way to solve things, not confrontations, not moaning, just working hard to achieve the best solution. Whether that’s the board, players, fans, or just your ordinary Joe. At this moment in time EVERYONE needs to pull together and get to a solution. Not point fingers and blame. Not run to social media moaning about already identified issues. Nor to the papers pointing out what everyone already knows are flaws with the move. All need to get this resolve so we can all move forward and ensure the success of the club.
These new stewards,to my way of thinking,either don’t give a damn and are happy to see WHU FC go down the drain or are very blinkered and so are their employers.The first thing that should have happened when 120 UP stewards came to the OS is that their many years of experience should have been passed on.They should be given the critical positions in the ground and not the menial tasks they appear to get.The new stewards should be observing and gleening knowledge on how the UP guys treat and deal with the supporters.Then you may be some way to curing the problems.
If i were a spuds fan id gladly accept steward job at OS. You can bully hammers fans, endorse different kind of trouble etc.etc – perfect part-time job. And what is happening now is just ridiculous – former UP stewards with baggage of knowledge and experience are being replaced with unqualified personnel. Its easy to blame the fans for everything but the problem seems to be much more complex and needs to be resolved asap.
All I can say is that I am sorry you are not being well treated but to ask you and your old up mates to hang on in there if you can. I do think things are going to get better but it will take some time. You guys can influence and make a big difference.
Really it’s moving house, and all you people out there who have moved?? Know thats it’s a big upheaval** time is needed to get back into routine?? I’ve moved house six times since 1969 so I know it’s a pain??