OPINION
The London Stadium has seen a toxic atmosphere contained within it ever since West Ham moved to the ground but Gold and Sullivan now have a cheap way to cleanse the vibe, at least a little bit.
Hammers supporters may never learn to love the London Stadium, as it has some very annoying issues, but that doesn’t mean it has to stay a toxic stadium forever.
If the Hammers had played better on the pitch this season, it may have seen anger towards the stadium be less of an issue, as there would have been something positive for fans to focus on.
However that wasn’t the case and supporters rightly vocalised their frustrated at the Hammers board, including co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan, over the stadium and a host of other problems during November’s game against Burnley as reported by The Telegraph.
These images from that day are still crystal clear in everyone’s mind and despite David Moyes securing the club’s Premier League status before departing, there’s still a dismal vibe surrounding the club.
This negative mood rightly reared its ugly head once again, despite the campaign being over, as the Daily Mirror reported that loyal defender James Collins had been let go via email.
The enforcer’s contract is set to expire in June and while there’s been no official confirmation of his departure, it’s not guaranteed that he won’t be leaving either.
Aside from the debate about whether he should stay, being told that his long tenure at the club was over by email, if true, is just asking for fans to become enraged again.
Although Gold and Sullivan, somehow, still have a chance to cleanse the toxic vibe after this latest blunder but they can’t hesitate over how much it will cost to fix.
Thousands of Hammers supporters have signed a petition on Change.Org to given Collins a testimonial if he is to depart in order to celebrate his time at the club, which has seen him spend two significant spells at the Hammers.
While fans may still be disappointed to see the defender go, this goodwill gesture from the board would cleanse the potent attitude towards the decision significantly.
According to Football.London,as the London Stadium would have to be hired on a day that is outside the club’s £2.5million rental agreement with LLDC, it would cost around £500,000 for the stadium to be used.
This is a ridiculously low price for the club to pay in order to cleanse the vibe at the Hammers ahead of the new season, so Gold and Sullivan must pounce at the chance to heal some damage by stumping up the cash, in the scenario that Collins is leaving.
