West Ham Fans Must Unite

The more I talk to West ham fans, be it in my local pubs in Essex, or in and around the Boleyn Ground or even at work, everyone seems to have a different opinion. Football is one of those great games where you can all have a different opinion and technically all be correct, if that makes sense. The problem I’ve got at the minute is that there isn’t just a difference in opinion, there’s a difference in attitude towards the club and to be honest that’s quite upsetting.

 

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I have always admired the togetherness of West Ham fans but over recent years I can’t help but feel that there’s a divide beginning to emerge. We have ‘the positive’ that always remain upbeat despite how bad things get, and we have ‘the negative’ who always find room for criticism. Personally I always try to stay on the positive side but I can also see why people are going down this spiral of negativity.

The obvious topic that is being debated day in day out is over the current manger situation. This for me is one I’m still sitting on the fence about. When we were led into the football league by Avram Grant mood in the camp must have been at an all time low. Well, at least I hope they were because as fans, to watch our team plummet out of the top flight without a whimper of a fight was heart breaking.

Sam Allardyce came in and brought in a lot of shall we say experienced players? And progressed to build a team he believed would get us promoted.  The following summer he was still in charge only this time, planning to build a team that would survive in the premier league. I know we are a few wins away form safety yet, but it’s looking like we will be ok. Mission almost accomplished.

I understand that some fans aren’t happy with the style of play, particularly away from home and at times neither am I. I, like many other fans, have sat through some painful away days this year and when the manger comes out and says 0-0 was a good result I cringe. We seem to go away from home and just try not to concede and as we all know we are not very good at it. This is the reason I’m still on the fence as to whether he the right man to take the club forward. Big Sam was brought in to get us promoted and steady the ship, the ship is still rocking slightly but over all you have to be happy with our position so far.

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Another great West ham debate at the minute is the Olympic stadium and whether or not it is the right move. The Boleyn ground is a fantastic stadium in my opinion. It has character and holds good memories and some great history. I love walking out of Upton Park station on a match day. Just before I walk down those concrete stairs to right hand side of the station, I look up and smile, it’s match day! You can see right down to the end of Green Street as you exit the station and it’s just packed with other fans wearing the clubs famous claret and blue. The whole place has such a homely feeling to it but is that just because that’s what we are used to?

I still believe that we are going to struggle to fill the Olympic stadium but with our passionate, second to none fans inside it, we can make it something special. Just like the Boleyn has been for so many years. Tottenham are currently rebuilding a new 60,000 capacity stadium, Arsenal did so a few years ago and with Chelsea planning to do the same isn’t this a must for us? I personally don’t want to be left in the dust created by our London rivals building new stadiums around us. I’m sure neither does anyone else reading this article. This is why we must take up this opportunity. We are in a

considerable amount of debt and that is going to affect our progress on the pitch for many years if we don’t take the opportunity to move from Upton Park. It’s a horrible feeling having to Re-locate from home but financially this might well be the change that stops our fortunes from always hiding.

This week we have heard of various transfer targets and players being linked with club. Although I don’t think we should maybe be so public about it, At least it shows that the chairman have got the club and the fans at heart. I’ve heard so many unfair accusations made towards the men who actually saved us from the brink of administration. We continuously talk about the ‘West Ham way’ but that applies to us as fans as well. West ham fans don’t bring negativity to the club they love! The point I’m trying to make in this article is that we all need to stick together if this new plan for the club is going to work. We need to except that are moving home but look at it as we are moving forward not just moving stadiums. We need to show the board that they have our backing and most importantly of all, we all have to get behind Big Sam for the remainder of the season. Let’s look at the positives not the negatives. We are three points off 10^th not just six points above the drop zone.

Lets see the remainder of the season in with some positive vibes starting Saturday. I personally feel privileged to be part of such a fantastic set of supporters. With all the fans backing the board, the manager and the team, we have the chance of becoming an even greater club that we already are. Come On you Irons!!!

By Adam Cooper

Follow me @adamcooperwhu

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