We need some perspective
As a young lad I remember asking my great uncle if he ever went to watch West Ham play and his reply made me smile: “Not since they moved from the memorial ground son, Upton Park isn’t even in West Ham, they shouldn’t be allowed to use the name they should change it to East Ham United”
This left me puzzled as our family were all Canning Town Hammers fans and I’d always assumed that West Ham played in West Ham. My dad says explained that West Ham was the area from Stratford in the north down to Canning Town and Plaistow and East Ham was to the east of that up towards Barking.
My family settled in Canning Town when my great grandfather migrated from Cork in Ireland and found work as a stevedore in the docks. He later worked for Thames Iron Works and his sons, my grandfather and great uncles, and his grandsons, my Dad and uncles all worked for Harland and Wolf and the Port of London Authority.
West Ham was their home and their place of work so I suppose my great uncle felt betrayed when his football team moved to the neighbouring parish. He must have complained about the heritage of the club and how it was the Thames Iron Works team not a bloody East Ham team.
He probably even complained that it was supposed to be a sports club as the club Memorandum of association clearly states that it is a Football and Athletic club formed to promote the sports of football, cricket, lacrosse, hockey, Polo (yes really), lawn tennis, bowling, quoits, bicycle and tricycle racing, running and jumping and motor car racing. How were they going to do that at a ground where they didn’t even have a running track around the pitch?
So we move on 100 years and the football club moves ground again but this time it’s ok because they are moving back to West Ham! They’re also moving to a ground like the old one with a proper running track! Great uncle Mike would be thrilled if he were still alive.
He would also be puzzled by all these ‘new’ fans complaining that by moving the club to Stratford the owners were stealing the club’s heritage and moving from our spiritual home. What do they know?
So the point I’m trying to make here is that we are in the midst of a civil war between supporters and owners and it’s being stirred up by people who have an opinion about what the club should and shouldn’t be.
The truth of the matter is that it is all about perspective. This move will become part of the history of the club. The true fans will stay true and support the team no matter which league we’re in, or manager we have or indeed whoever owns the club and who knows, one day they might be writing about the dark years when West Ham moved away from it’s spiritual home to far-flung East Ham.