Comedian Frankie Boyle has aimed a dig at West Ham over their ground the London Stadium, hinting that the legacy of the 2012 Olympics has been ruined since it was handed over to them.
Boyle made the jibe when visiting the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow where some World Cup games will be held and couldn’t help make a swipe at the Hammers.
“Who’s to say these hugely expensive stadia won’t provide a useful legacy? At least it seems Russia intends to use their showpiece stadiums for football. Unlike Britain, who gave ours to West Ham,” Boyle said, as aired during BBC One’s live pre-match coverage of Portugal v Morocco (12:45pm, 20 June).
The London Stadium in Stratford was built especially for the Summer Olympics back in 2012 and West Ham have enjoyed two mediocre campaign during their first two years in the ground.
OPINION
The London Stadium is a 66,000-seater that is one of the best modern grounds in the country, but West Ham are yet to really make it their home yet and many supporters are still bitter about the exit from the Boleyn Ground. Arsenal have struggled to find major success since they left Highbury for the Emirates Stadium back in 2006 and a new mega ground doesn’t always guarantee success. West Ham will be praying that they can build a legacy at their new stadium and the appointment of high-profile manager Manuel Pellegrini has certainly raised expectations for everybody. They have already made serious improvements to the defence in the transfer window with the confirmed signings of Lukasz Fabianski, Issa Diop and Ryan Fredericks. The Hammers need to try establish themselves as European regulars in the coming years and have the platform to do exactly that, but will need to be a much improved outfit on the one they were last year.
