Here’s the first headline I saw this morning:
WATCH WEST HAM FANS FIGHT AMONG THEMSELVES IN DISGRACEFUL SCENES AT THE LONDON STADIUM.
Beaten 4-2 in a game we were universally expected to win, 17th in the League, fighting in the stadium because of a lack of segregation and the standing issue rumbling on.
Players under-performing…two goal leads being lost and defending rarely seen outside the local park …it was never going to be like this was it?
The circumstances are entirely different but make no mistake we are seeing a return to the bad old days that have disfigured our history!
To most who live by decent standards fighting is always unacceptable – not even a last resort in any circumstances -but this is beginning to feel like a return to the days when West Ham was seemingly going to be forever associated with massive brawls, ICF and all the rest of it.
There will be some who will probably want to – and even will – blame the club for the fact that grown adults were scrapping on the terraces.
There will be others who will blame the stadium operators, the “untrained stewards.”
The truth is it’s the fault of the fighters and those who chose – as was reported yesterday – of those wishing to swear in front of children and women thus causing a reaction.
Of course the club has a responsibility to be a PART of the situation to work this thing out. But those who wish to criticise WHUFC for their part in this need to understand that they have tied their own hands by becoming beholding to a landlord who calls the tune.
The two sides need to come together very quickly indeed and discuss all the issues involved here. The Stadium operators had promised changes before the game against Watford.
The only change we saw was that things became far far worse on the terraces. West Ham need to bring their experience to bear on how the terraces are policed, the operators need to listen and the fans who are causing mayhem need to be identified and dealt with.
This doesn’t feel like a family club right now. We have people writing to us saying they have never felt more detached from WHUFC and don’t want to take their children to the stadium.
We believe a meeting between all parties is required first thing tomorrow morning – running the terraces is the first and most important job of any football club.
Get it done West Ham…get it done NOW!
On the nose Hugh. Yes the organisation is far from where it should be but the ONLY people responsible for the scenes above are those that took part. Grown adults. Pathetic individuals.
How can you not blame the club ffs, didn’t they agree and oversee the move and negotiations , didn’t Brady say she ruled out safe standing , did the powers believe that there would be harmony with home and away supporters , how Fukin naive was that ,
You can walk from one end and enter anywhere you like at the other ? Cuckoo land mate ,
This is just the beginning of a problem that was the fault of the hierarchy involved at all levels, what next a blanket ban when somebody dies God forbid because of the fault of the inept Stewards and unsafe non existent segregation Ffs my grandchildren could have done better , clowns with baguettes come to mind 😉
Please try to read my stuff properly. It’s covered. You just wanna disagree with everything. Read it properly or at least try!!!!!
Gracious.
Why keep going over this kind of stuff with him day in day out. ban him and be over with it
He’s banned. Had enough
There’s no enjoyment at the lifeless bowl and it’s been an accident waiting to happen since we moved in. The fans who fought are a disgrace but whose saying they were previous ST holders because of the ****ing +2 farce ? I’ve got a geezer sat next to me who has been a ST holder for 30 years but his +2 are spud supporters who couldn’t get a ticket at there own **** hole ground due to its expansion but will be at Wembley on Wednesday the club have royally ****ed this up as well as the mindless minority.
Apologies Hugh just frustrated with the whole situation and the total chaos that surrounds the club.
More to the point what has happened to Battered Haddock.It seems P45 touched a raw nerve with Billy Bullsh1tter lol 🙂
The club are taking action from what it looks like, they made mistakes in their rush to get as many season tickets sold as possible and this has led them down this road but as you say and I said the responsibility for the fighting isn’t down to them it’s down to the idiots that want to resolve their differences with their fists and don’t care who else is affected. It definitely isn’t a return to the days of the ICF. I don’t blame the stewards they get paid peanuts and don’t want to get hurt, the Stadium operator needs to have a significant Police presence inside the stadium until all this calms down and they should have the kids doing the menial stewarding jobs like the car park etc and proper West Ham stewards in between the home and away supporters or better still put in segregation. The club probably accepts it has made mistakes in the allocation of ST’s if it doesn’t then it should, if Hugh you think West Ham supporters or indeed any other football clubs supporters aren’t going to swear at matches, or if these families and +2 st holders think that then they should think again. The club should also offer the +2’s a refund on their ST’s and those on the waiting list should get their opportunity. If we can harness all the aggression as we did at UP we can make the OS an intimidating place, I though the atmosphere for the first 40 minutes was really good yesterday.
Obviously disappointed with yesterday’s result and even more so by the scenes inside the stadium. One observation I wish to make is that a large number of fans did not want to leave the Boleyn and I’m wondering if this is the root of the problem, in other words, an attempt to destabilise the move to the new stadium. I heard a group of supporters singing “where were you at Upton Park?” Other chants such as “stand up if you love West Ham” seem to be provocative. If we didn’t love West Ham we wouldn’t be at the stadium. The ‘troublemakers’ seem to have an issue with the Board. Take it directly to them. Engage in discussion and meetings. Don’t take it out on other supporters. The stewarding issue is obviously a problem but the Board have already recognised there is a problem and I’m sure will sort it out in the near future.
I think you are right to some extent.I think it was always going to happen that a faction of the didn’t want to leave the Boleyn fans were going to make their views know inside the os.
At the end of the day they have three ways to go,stop going,stop acting like idiots & keep going or get their ST tickets taken away.At the moment it’s a free for all for anyone who is a moron & fancies a scrap.
Hugh must have burnt his bacon this morning it has put him on a downer 😉
Not at all Rads. I’m sick of his constant sniping over a long period – some of it personal. I’ve banned him. Tit!
I used to stand at the Bobby Moore lower with my son. I came to it and accepted that I would have to stand and that my son would be exposed to swearing.
For the new stadium I moved to the side because I wanted to mostly sit.
I don’t want to stand but I do want other fans to be able to if they want to. I think if we want to have a stadium full of fans who sit down and don’t use bad language then we will lose the passion that makes going to a live match worthwhile.
We do not need safe standing. We just need to have areas where sitting down is not enforced.
The old stadium had different areas with different unwritten rules. That tradition is gone so we need to have written rules to establish order.
Family zones /singing songs (which is code for you can stand) and so on.
I don’t know what we do for this season but the stewarding is only making it worse right now.
That wasn’t aimed at you GW – sorry for the misunderstanding. The guy has been banned for whom it was intended. Sorry too Sto-hammer
as anyone been on twitter this week with build up to the Watford game? a few people selling there season tkts for the game to anybodies surely these with season tkts ain’t proper fans also as I was on the train to the game y/day a bloke got on at Ipswich with a new West Ham logo t- shirt we got chatting he had a season ticket but was a Ipswich fan he couldn’t name a single player apart from Cresswell? so Mr Gold Mr Sullivan & Miss Brady how have these people been able to get season tickets when proper West Ham fans couldn’t you keep on about sitting these are proper issues that need sorting
I don’t know how it could be possible for people to sell their season ticket seats as they would have to send they access card to the buyer.
lots of people brought a number of tickets for example I sold my dads ticket for yesterday to true fan and posted it to them and got it back
Does anyone know why there has been an empty section in the corner of the Trevor Brooking upper for every game?
course they wouldn’t just meet up take there money & let em in on there card
There are many thousands of good people who support West Ham, but it’s always had more than it’s fair share of low-life too.
The club is not blameless, turning a blind eye to persistent standing at Upton Park and then transporting the problem to Stratford, failing to ensure proper segregation and stewarding, and failing to deal with the problems this season.
Nevertheless with 50,000 on the waiting list there has never been a better chance to burn off and banish for good the brain-dead, tribalism-obsessed scum that ruin other people’s enjoyment, and replace them with decent, civilised supporters and their families.
Get to it, West Ham, thousands will thank you.
I think Mr Gold is not helping the situation by posting comments saying he understands or would support standing. He has to get a grip on the situation as it stands West Ham only rent the stadium & the owners will not allow standing so Mr Gold must come down hard on the people standing & stop inflaming the situation by currying favour with the “so called” supporters who think they can do what they like. If these “supporters ” love West Ham so much then prove it by abiding by the rules that they accepted when applying for their season ticket, if they cannot then they are not true supporters.
Over 20, 000 people in the East Stand, it should be our version of the Kop, or Shelf, but it’s full of people who make no noise. Utterly useless if you turn for football and no one has ever sung a song of support before. Then those that want to be vociferous to counter the away supports songs get pelters from all and sundry it seems.
In the ” good ol’ days ” kids were passed down to the front of standing terraces, why don’t we do the same now then? If we simply swap places from our front row seats (standers) with those that prefer to sit with their families seated further back, surely this act of kindness might help somewhat?
Sorry to say and have posted on my timeline the place is toxic do not even want to go there at present that after 58 years of supporting Sad Sad times