West Ham will spend Boxing day away from home for the fourth year running with many asking whether they will ever get a chance to watch the Hammers at home again the day after Christmas after moving to the London Stadium last Summer.
The Hammers last played their last Boxing day fixture at home when they lost 3-1 to Arsenal at the Boleyn Ground in 2013. In 2014 they lost 2-0 away to Chelsea during the festive period while in 2015 it was a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa away. Last year it was a 450-mile round trip to visit Swansea away in which the Irons came away the 4-1 winners.
This year it is Bournemouth’s turn to host us away on Boxing day with a 300 mile round trip from Stratford to the seaside.
Westfield shopping centre in Stratford has their biggest shopping day on boxing day with up to 200,000 visitors expected through its doors as the sales open after a record 340,000 visited both its London Westfield centres on boxing day last year.
Last year West Ham reportedly agreed to request an away Boxing day fixture during their the first year of occupation to appease their new neighbours but have since indicated they will decide year by year and it is not a forgone conclusion.
Other stakeholders in Stratford will most likely have different views from West Ham with Westfield, TFL and the Met Police preferring not to have 60,000 football supporters mixing with 200,000 shoppers on an overstretched transport system. They will likely put their own representations to the Premier League.
So when will Brady and Co request a home fixture on Boxing Day to “appease” the fans who’d like not to have to travel miles and miles to enjoy their Boxing Day football?
It had been a family tradition for years with me and my brother and cousin dragging my dad and uncle to west ham for a few beers and watch the hammers.
Another tradition that the club have sold us down the line on have been selfish for their own gain.
I have always enjoyed a good boxing day fixture over the years but i have to be honest it certainly isnt anything i will be losing sleep over.Im getting too old to worry about whether a football club ownership has sold me down the river lol
Too much else to do on Boxing Day, so one year in five would suit me. It’s a tradition I’d hate to lose, but personally I don’t worry about it from an attending point of view.
West Ham will NEVER play another home game on Boxing Day because it’s the Westfield Shopping Centre’s biggest day of the year. Westfield don’t want shoppers to be put off by 57,000 plus fans travelling to and from the London Stadium from late morning until close of business. (I can’t even see it happening if the kick off time is 8pm.)
Why can’t we have our away fixture at Bournemouth in Sept or May when we have a chance of a warm sunny day at the seaside?
I don’t think it’s anything to lose sleep over and I don’t see why we can’t play it on the 27th instead of boxing day if the 27th happens to be a Saturday or Sunday or Bank Holiday Monday or Bank Holiday Tuesday which is almost half the time anyway