Has West Ham progressed under Gold & Sullivan

The Fulham victory marked an anniversary for the ownership, it was their 300^thgame in the Premier league since they bought the club nearly 9 years ago. 

When they bought the club, they claimed there was a plan, to move west ham into the Olympic stadium and progress the club hopefully into at some point joining the elite in the top 4.

I don’t need to tell people how that has gone, We as west ham fans have all lived through their controversial ownership so to judge them as impartial as I can, being a dedicated Dave’s Out believer, the best way I thought I could see how we could have progress was to compare their ownership to the exact period before they arrived. 

So, I have looked as well at the 300 premier league games prior to their arrival and see if I am wrong in my belief that they in reality have taken us backwards, not forwards. 

I’m not sure there is any definitive way of comparing what came before them to what they have delivered, but as im a fan of West Ham football club, I concentrated on the football side, not the financial side, though you could argue one without the other does now not exist.

In the 300 games BD (before Dave’s) West Ham had won 100 games exactly, under the Daves we have managed 91, 9 less, so no progress there to be seen though its close enough to argue its not a definitive decline. 

Draws though possibly evens the balance up, BD there was 72 draws, Under the Dave’s we have 82, so slight improvement there, so its down to the losses to decide it.

Under the Dave’s we have lost 129 games but BD we lost 127 games out of the 300, virtually even stevens. 

In both 300 game periods West Ham had suffered a relegation from the Premier league, though BD we went down with 42 points, a record for a relegated team in the 20 team Premier league era. Under the Dave’s we had the worst ever season in top flight in the clubs History. In fact, if we look at the season they bought the club which half was in BD half in their ownership, that was the 2^ndworst season we had ever had in the Premier league. 

If football is a business, then that business is goals, so how do the 2 eras stack up. 

In the BD era we scored 352 yet in the UD that increases to 376, a definitive victory for the Dave’s. Not one I expected if im honest, but stats tell no lies, but with all that attacking flair does it mean defensively we have been exposed.

Yes it does, BD we conceded 434 goals yet UD it rises to 458, so can goal difference provide a winner, well no it cant, madly thanks to the 2-0 win over Fulham its -82 goal difference across both periods, another draw there but it could be argued that The Dave’s sneak it on the fact goals = entertainment.

You know what they say though, Points mean prizes. Well maybe not for us as we’ve won nothing of note for 38 years but still, BD we managed 372 where UD we achieved just 354 which is understandable considering under their watch we had the 2 worst Premier League seasons, though we also had the best ever PL season, Last at Upton park, which counters that stat.

So with it being virtually level I leave it down to the Average league position, across the roughly 8 seasons it takes to play 300 league games, BD we averaged 12^thposition in the PL, highest being a 7^thfinish, lowest being 18^th. UD we also had a 7^thspot finish, but we had a 20^thspot as well, that averaged out again as…..12^th, exactly the same. (I ignored the decimal points).

So there you have it, Under the ownership of Gold & Sullivan they have neither improved the club, nor have they taken the club backwards, On the pitch at least. Off the pitch is another question and maybe an even longer blog. 

You could argue that they have had a greater financial reward from the Pl to fund the club so they should of done better, but, you cant ignore the financial mess they inherited when they arrived on Jan 19^th2010. 

As with much of their ownership, antis can argue they have done nothing to further the club, the pro Daves can argue we haven’t gone backwards, ill leave it to you the readers of this, (hopefully more than 8) to choose what you take from this comparriosn.

I will end though in saying, at this moment in time, the club it seems is on the up, but ive seen this so many times in the past, I wont believe it till I see it. 

5 managers Boleyn Edition

This article was written for the excellent 5 managers fanzine published in December 2016

https://twitter.com/5MANAGERS

At last, something to look forward to at the OS, Depeche Mode play there in June, so in honour of the best thing out of Basildon, apart from the A13, 

Let me take you on a trip

Around my world and back

And you won't have to move

You just sit still

Now let your mind do the walking

And let my words do the talking

Let me show you the world in my eyes, 

January the 17th 2010, i went to a Hammers Heroes night in Dartford, Ken Brown snr was on the bill, Tony Gale was as usual the host, it was that day that David Gold and David Sullivan walked into the Lounge at The Boleyn and revealed they had secured 50% of the club, but crucially they had controlling interest. That night they also laid out plans to move the club into the Olympic stadium, which six and a half years later leads us to the situation we find ourselves in now. 

Civil War maybe over egging it but it seems the support is fracturing along lines that may never be able to be healed. 

Perhaps we should remember that six years ago the club was staring down the barrel of insolvency. In true hammers style, our previous owner, the second richest man in Iceland whose son was the richest, was bankrupt. Not only was he bankrupt but the bank that he owed his debts to and so was was technically now owning west ham, well they were virtually bankrupt as well. 
The Daves though instead of waiting for the inevitable of letting the club slide into administration and thus be cheaper to buy, made their move and won control of the club. No owner is perfect but here were two who on the face of it looked to be stained with claret and blue, even though they had spent 17 years at another club we all knew they were West Ham fans and so would know how special it was, would know the traditions of the club and protect them. How wrong could we have been. 

I will admit, on the 17th of January i was a happy that the club was back in the hands of people who were bona fide fans, little was i to know that those same two people would, in my opinion, destroy the club. The warning signs appeared early actually, the constant undermining of manager Zola who may not of been the greatest man to hold that post, but the way he kept his dignity despite the pressure put on him by Sullys comments in the press, the Save our season game against Wolves, that we lost, only to have another Save our season game V Wigan, thanks to Scott parker, we won that one. Season was saved but Zola wasn't so lucky. 

From day one the aim of the owners was to sell the Boleyn and rent the olympic stadium, from day one. They sat in the lounge at the Boleyn in front of the news cameras and outlined how they wanted to move the club out of the Boleyn and into the rented OS. It was as if it was already planned out before they bought the club they knew what they wanted to do.

How did they pull it off, well in business the best succeed by learning from their failures. What failures did our owners have, well not them directly but this was not the first time SuGo had tried to move a football club into a brand new stadium paid for by others while selling the stadium they owned. 

In 2008 while owners of Birmingham City, they wanted Birmingham City Council to go ahead and build a 50,0000 seater stadium txt could be used for Commonwealth Games Athletics and be part of our bid to host the 2018 World Cup. A multi use stadium no less, David Sullivan said this of the plan

 “This would put us on the map, as a city and as a club,”

“Look what the City of Manchester Stadium did.

“Birmingham needs to decide that it really wants a landmark stadium, that it wants to be the Second City.

“We’re currently waiting on the research and, from our perspective, a new ground is vitally important to secure our future. It could help take us to another level.”

Karen Brady at the Clubs AGM 

"It's the board's wish that the stadium is built without incurring massive debts on the football club.

"We are in the process of agreeing a memorandum of understanding with the City Council to develop the site.

That was their second attempt to get a new stadium out of someone else paying, earlier in 2005 they threw their weight behind a super casino bid in Birmingham that included a Muti-purpose football stadium. 

Guess what DS was saying back then 

"With a bigger stadium we could structure prices so it would be affordable for families, OAPs, students, and kids to come and watch us.

The stadium itself was described as 

It will be the only stadium in the country capable of hosting football, athletics, rugby, and cricket.

The 2005 bid failed as the super casino wasn't allowed by the Government, the 2008 re-hash failed as we never won the world cup bid for the 2018 games. They sold the club in 2009 less than a year after trying to get a new stadium for the club.

As we know in the January of 2010 they bought us and wasted no time in targeting the Olympic Stadium as West Hams new home, the blue prints for their plan had been honed at Birmingham but here they bare fruit.

Possibly the biggest Help was the conservative election win in 2010 followed by the Tories wing London. Why would that help, well the Daves and Karen were already known for their support of the tories party and donating into their coffers and they duly obliged. 

Six years later and now they have achieved what they set out over 11 years ago to achieve, to sell a football stadium steeped in history, and rent a multi purpose, jack of all, master of none, stadium. 

The fans are divided in their opinion,of the owners and the stadium. Much like when BFS was here, in fact bearing in mind SuGo are supposed to bona fide fans of the club when in their 6 ½ years at the club has their not been turmoil. I no longer fear for the future of the club, has it has no real future. In their push to embrace the Modern business models they have taken what was once proud and wiped it away. 

Ask yourself this, is the pursuit of trophies really worth what we have now and lastly, What if after 10 years at the OS, West Ham remain the same old West Ham. Up and down in the league, heroic failure in cup competitions, and relegated once every decade. So if as i believe nothing will change, 

WAS IT REALLY WORTH IT? 

The Last Olas

THE LAST OLAS

Ive just sat here staring blankly looking at the page wondering how to start my

last Article in the last Olas, I've enjoyed so much having the ability to blow off steam and put my points of view to You the special readers on this great fanzine.

i did plan to have one last rage against the owners but actually i cant just bring myself to do it, because while it may me feel better it wont change anything, and rather than rage id rather celebrate what has gone. 

Ive read Olas for years, even kept issues that go back to the mid 90s, so to join the ranks of writers cheered me no end. Ive ended up from that start in Olas to writing for Websites, running my own websites, even having one of my Olas articles published in a football magazine. without writing in here I'm not sure i ever would have had the confidence to do that, i got asked by someone once why i write in Olas and my answer was simple, Freedom, Gary gives anyone that wants to put the words down the opportunity to have them publish, without being changed, without being edited. If you feel it and want to say it, write it down send it in, he will publish it. If the club don't like it, TOUGH, and that don't happen everywhere. Years ago when blogging first was beginning i got chosen to write for the PFA website about West Ham, i lasted 6 months, reason was they kept pulling my articles as too critical of the club ignoring the fact that we were staring relegation in the face and there wasn't much cheer going around the club at the time.

Freedom when writing is the big thing for me, because if you have to change what you want to say to get to published then actually your diluting your argument and in a way, cheating yourself.

So Gary id like to thank you for running this fine publication and for allowing me the opportunity to write for it. Top man, you are the OLAS BOSS and i wish you every best of luck in whatever you do.

All the sellers deserve a pat on the back as well with a special mention to Michael who stands at the top of Castle street. We bumped into each other on a train back from Palace a few years back so got chatting, and become good friends. In a strange co incidence at Anfield this season He sat directly behind me so to share that historic day with him topped it off. 

I wouldn't be here without my MUM or Uncle, My mum had the good grace to bring me up where she was brought up after being left with 2 kids on her own at the age of 21, I wont make the ludicrous claim like DG of being brought up in abject poverty but it wasn't easy for her, but she did it, and she made sure i got to follow my dreams, So Thanks  mum for having me and thanks for allowing me to be the west ham fan i am today, without you, i wouldn't be me. 

As for my Uncle, well, i love the fact that 40 years later i can still talk to him before the game as he pounds the patch of pavement before the games, doing what he does. Many will object to it but i don't care, as it was him that brought every week to the games, him that payed for me so many times, even when i was grown up and married and money was tight, he always made sure i had the money for football. He may not be my father in blood or name, but in every other way he is to me. 

i Say goodbye to my best mates dad Bill today, as he wont be coming to the OS, he don't want it, thinks its wrong, nearly 70 years he's been coming, seen us play under every manager except for two, Bill, I've loved sitting with you and sharing our chats, I've never forgotten you telling me about your first game v Rotherham in the early 50s, I'm not your Son, but you made me so welcome into your family that first Boxing day i turned up, To take your boy to ipswich to see west ham get beat and i know well still see each other but i hope you will come over to the OS as theres a seat next to me for you anytime you want. 

And Peggy Bills wife, when Bills not there and you turn up we have such a laugh, even the day when we saw the bloke carried out the East Stand, and he looked a goner, and after the initial shock i remember you laughing as i said, “What a Way to go Though, at the Boleyn watching football” 

To my best mate, fuck me we had some laughs, our friendship grew from our mutual love of West Ham, I'm so proud of what you have gone on to achieve, you know id love to work with you, but I'm shit with numbers unless its working out how much VAT people owe me so your job is safe, lol

i think back to some of the games and just think, we stood on the North Bank the last day, we sat in the North stand on its opening, and we will be together as the South East West and North stand fall silent forever.

Stevie Mac and Kieran, who I've seen grow up and hopefully help educate in the west ham way, a boy that is on the way to know as much about west ham as i do, and a master predictor on the premier league results, though we don't have a farewell we stay together at the new club.

Big Thanks must go to Boleyn Ali, that whirlwind of a nutcase who has only given me encouragement and helped kick start me on OLAS.

Special Mention to Dan Yallop, Chalk and cheese we were, but Jesus Dan you made sitting through the SAB meetings bearable just for the beers after. You said you wanted to walk up to the OS together on the opening day, i just may call that in, just to wind you up on the way of course.

The WHUSVIEW? Crowd of like minded fans, great friends i can still talk today, we achieved so much i think, but the biggest achievement was pissing off ole Maid Marion so much he didn't stop banging on about us and our ?. i even wanted to change the group name to just ? like poor old Prince did years ago with his squiggle just to see if he could be even more pissed. LOL

KUMB website forum, and to my new hangout WHTID, which i likened to the retirement home of west ham fans on the internet, as sometimes it seemed a dull Clique. but i ploughed on and have made some great friends on there (BSB) and proves that first impressions are not always right. 

But my biggest thanks goes to my Wife Sam.

Football Widow is possibly not far from the truth, from the day we met, she has had to share me with West Ham,  dates missed in the early days, Holidays never taken between August and May, though there was one 10 years ago to celebrate her Birthday, we had a week in Palermo in September 06. Functions I've not been to, Boxing days with family i missed. Mood swings when times were bad, putting up with me happy when the times were good, often taken for granted that while I'm out she will be at home with the kids. 27 years still going strong though so she must still love me, though my interest in the hammers borders on Obsession. 

The Library i have of over 80 books just about WHU, the writing, my website, the fact i don't generally leave the house without an item of clothing with West Ham on it. I don't just have  West Ham wallet i have the West Ham credit card to go with it. Everywhere we go and people see me, the conversation always starts about West ham before long, everywhere she turns its west ham, 

then came my opposition to the move, i never used to be someone to do anything like that, but here i was gathering signatures for my petition, Joining together with other like minded fans to force the club to let the fans vote on it, joining the supporters board and actually confronting Gold and Brady on the way the run the club, and yet at times when she has needed me, i was too busy with football to notice. Don't get me wrong, I'm not proud of it, its no badge of honour to time and time again to upset those that love you because they feel you love something else more. 

At times I've actually been ashamed of myself but yet time and time and time again i made the same mistakes, behaved the same way, never learned from the past, all in the name of supporting West Ham. At first i just told her, i went before you met me, i went when we first met, so you knew what you was getting into. People laugh when i say, its a drug, but that is what it seems to be. 

i recently made a video i put on youtube of my Boleyn Memories, after watching it my Wife made this comment

“ Ive shared you with the Mistress since the beginning, sometimes I've hated her for taking you away every saturday, sometimes I've liked her for taking you away some saturdays, but after over 26 years i know no matter where she lives you will always come home for dinner :) great video”

well that blew me away i wont lie, made me laugh but it put tears in my eyes as well. I don't ever claim to be the best husband or the best dad to that either, But i have the best wife (and Kids) a man could ever have because despite everything, she never left me, nor has she burned my programme collection. So Sam as i bid farewell to a building that has in a way defined me from the age of 7 id like to say Thank You for giving me the chance to have those days, and i will love you forever. 

To  my kids Mollly, who i hope enjoyed the 5 years she spent trying to figure what way we kicked we didn't even get started on the offside rule, and then Oliver, a boy so special i gave him a footballer name, but it turned out he don't like football at all, and yet if you ask him he supports TOTTENHAM, and i love him for it.

Well thats it, the last one is done, your probably reading this after the game as well, thinking this article has dragged on but  I hope you have enjoyed reading this fanzine as much as i reckon all the writers have enjoyed their writing it , but its time to go, time to say goodbye not just to the Boleyn but to what West Ham as a club once stood for. Wounded by Terry Brown Nearly finished off by the Icelandics 

finally Killed off by Gold and Sullivan and Brady.

I will never Forget, I will never Forgive. 

Premium rate number adds up.

 If you are trying to book your seats for the FA Cup replay against Manchester United this week, it is perhaps best you don't use your mobile phone, or before you do perhaps check what your phone companies access charge is on top of the 13p per minute the club are charging.

Most mobile networks charge an access fee of between 44p and 45p on top of the 13p per minute charge. 

After the recent Liverpool FA cup game, many were caught out with huge mobile phone bills as the queue to get tickets led to some supporters  spending hours on the phone only to receive bills of between 40 and 100 pounds. The club get a revenue share of the 13p element of the call for every minute that a fan spends on the phone.

Do the club need to be charging 13p a minute by using a premium rate ticket line just to be able to buy tickets, especially when you consider that the club’s ticketing website regularly crashes under the strain of fans trying to buy tickets this season. Why would the club change from its old 0207 number that would generally be included in fans mobile phone tariffs, well perhaps the answer lies in the clubs accounts of 2015

Yes thats right, the company that provides the premium rate phone system is in part owned by the two Daves.

Telecoms2 paid the club over £63,000 as it's share of income from the ticket office  phone number. Money which is taken from the fans ringing up to

buy tickets. Not bad income really on both sides of the coin for the club owners but do they really need to get the fans to pay extra on top of the already inflated ticket prices, not forgetting if you're ringing up the club, you're paying a booking fee for the tickets as well.

This is not a new charge though, just go back last year and Claret and Hugh ran a story asking the club to end this phone line rip off

http://www.claretandhugh.info/the-hidden-west-ham-tax/ 

On West Ham till I Die, another article from 2014 points out the times he has to phone the premium rate number when the ticket office made mistakes, so in fact he was earning the club money off the back of the constant mistakes the club made. https://www.westhamtillidie.com/posts/2014/10/01/the-farce-that-is-the-west-ham-united-ticket-office

Perhaps this is one cost the club could easily scrap to win back some goodwill with the fans that have run up bills trying to just buy tickets..

 Though by the look of the testimony found on

Telecom2’s website it may not be forthcoming, especially as it has doubled revenues the unnamed club received from its partnership.

 Reference from a co-owner of an unnamed Premier

League club

So I will  repeat the call of Claret and Hugh last year which I am sure would be supported by any fan that uses the phone system. It is time to end this hidden tax in buying a tickets and come clean. Some things are worth more than money and the goodwill it will generate will far outstrip the £60,000 income the receive from fans just wanting to buy tickets.

Update, 
having checked the other 19 Premier League clubs ticket phone lines i have found that 6 other clubs have 0871 numbers, 
Chelsea, Newcastle, Sunderland, Norwich City, Swansea and Crystal Palace.
Two clubs have 0344 local call charge numbers, all others have a phone number local to the area they play in.

OLAS V VILLA... CHANGES

Still don't know what I was waiting' for, And my time was running' wild
A million dead end streets and, Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet, So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse of, How the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes, Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes, Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes,Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes, Just gonna have to be a different man

TIME MAY CHANGE ME, BUT I CANT CHANGE TIME

Bowies starting Lyrics to Changes perhaps point out to not only the club, but myself as well.
Football is changing, no, actually football has changed whether for the better is a different argument but for those of us over 40 we possibly spend too long arguing its not for the better. As football has changed/modernised so to survive have the clubs, and none more so than those at the top, and West Ham is a top team so it has to change and modernise and conform if it wants to stay a top team.

The changes though for some are hard to take, and for me, feel like a bitter pill to swallow, everything now seems more about pushing out the Brand rather than just running a football club. The badge change is perfect example of Brand taking over the football thinking. The removal of the castle as it symbolised the old club, the Boleyn ground soon to be no more, the addition of the word London, not contentious for many, but for those like me it is another nail in the coffin of the Old West Ham. The club in its presentation before the decision was rubberstamped by the fans said that a majority of overseas football fans had failed to say where west ham was by looking at its badge and its name. Basically they didn’t realise West Ham was a London Club, for a marketing guru like Brady, that would alarm her. London is apparently already a top brand when used in marketing, associate yourself with London and the fans abroad may suddenly decide, West Ham is the team to support. To an middle age East Ender who don’t even holiday abroad as he thinks this country has plenty to offer, that is barmy, to change the clubs Badge just to identify itself to fans who have no connection with the area of London the club is supposed to represent.

Problem is nowadays the foreign money can be bigger than the income raised from the match attending support, just look at the next Foreign TV contract for the premier league and the income each of the 20 Shareholders of the Premier league gets to see why clubs now are wanting to project themselves abroad. Football is big business and I have to change with it, or it will leave me behind.

The club no longer is here to represent the local area, it represents anyone from anywhere, fans now come from far and wide, and with the advent of the internet you can now watch every hammers game round the world, instead of fanzines like this being a staple of the supporter its the chat forums where fans around the world can chat daily. At first I struggled with this concept, and at times I still do, mainly as reading Germans bleat on about Charlton fans complaining about the OS Deal just make me bang my head against a wall and scream, WTF has it got to do with you, but the mad thing is with this new Media explosion of the last 10 years ive made so many new friends, from the Moore than just a podcast gang or the Surrey Mockney Hammers as I like to call them to Dave from New York who writes the match reports on Westhamtillidie web site.
Years ago the very thought of someone from New York watching the game on TV being able to write a match report would have had me screaming, the worlds gone mad, but I’ve changed, I actually enjoys Dave’s reports, thing is, on TV you get to see everything so you can comment with authority, you don’t have to be at the game. See, just there, im embracing change, many may not believe it but its true, thing is I have to change I realise that now otherwise the hatred will eat you up. It seems ive spent the past 5 years arguing with the club over this over that, having a tainted love affair. There is a phrase that there is a thin line between love and hate and it was if that line was close to being crossed, almost like a couple in throws of breaking up creating arguments just for the sake of it to hasten their eventual Divorce. Luckily though ive realised that nothing becomes of the constant haranguing, the club has changed, it will never be what I thought it was while I won’t just sit back and enjoy the ride, with the new dawn arriving next season I want to enjoy the football, as that is after all what we are about, Football.

Don’t get me wrong though, I will never accept the move is right for the club, everything they want to achieve they could of achieved at the Boleyn, but the ground will change in August and unless I want to be consumed by hatred for those that run the club I have to change.
It may take time but change I will.

Time may change me, but I can’t change time.

A few things from the recent SAB meeting that took place at the ground.
The club have only not taken the full away ticket allocation only once, against Swansea, and that was because it was the weekend before Christmas and generally in the past its not the best attended fixture. Many have moaned about why the club only took 3,000 off Liverpool for Saturdays cup game, but after STH priority points they had only sold 1,500 add to the fact we sent back 500 tickets for the August game and the late KO leaving returning by train virtually un-doable it seems the club got that right.
Ive complained recently of High match day ticket prices and I got an explanation on why. It seems it stems from the fact that this season we have 5,000 more season ticket holders than last, with STH getting discounted game by game price that would leave a drop in match day income, thus to rebalance the income they need to raise it from match day ticket sales. Like it or not, that is the clubs take on it.
The club can move the statue to Stratford, but they failed to say the Newham have only agreed to that as long as it is replaced, luckily I knew this and pointed it out to them, in fact I said why not leave Bobby is situ and put a new statue at the stadium, so watch this space.
For long time Disabled fans were treated differently from the general fans and not always for the better, well it seems they have in migrating the Disabled fans treated them exactly the same way as general STH, and that is disgracefully and that was the Disabled fans take on it not mine.
Standing will not be permitted at the OS and if someone stands in front of you, tell a steward who has to deal with it, and lastly, no running on the pitch on the last game of the season V Swansea though it seems that could be Man United as if either of us make the FA cup semi’s the our game will need to be played later, except there may not be enough time to arrange before the official Boleyn farewell, in which case all festivities for Swansea will move to the United game.
One other thing, there are 400 ex hammers still alive and the club hope that by end of the season everyone would have been invited to a game, this im pleased with as I did ask of this at a farewell Boleyn SAB meeting a couple of years ago.
The club listening to fans, now that is a good change.

OLAS V Liverpool. The minds eye

There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends
I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life Ive loved them all

Close your eyes and think about the Boleyn ground, what does the mind’s eye see, is it your first visit, the first time you walked in to see the pitch. is it great games you have attended, do you remember the loved ones that brought you to the games but are no longer around or the players that you have loved or worshipped. Perhaps it is the journey you used to make or the friends you have made.
For me, if I close my eyes I can see back to when as a Nine year old, my mum used to stand over me and tie my scarf round my neck, “mind the roads and use the crossings” as i left our flat in Tinto Road, round into Hayday then across to Ingal Road where at the end I was on the Barking Road, there I would walk with the crowds that were also going to the game marching west wards as back then it was safe for children to walk the streets and my mum was not that worried either as so many were walking up from West Ham’s heartland of Canning Town,she assumed I would be looked after on the route. The Barking Road is like the major vein that carries my life blood through me as not only was it my route to the football ground, it is a big part of my life. At its beginning lies Rathbone Market, where as a child I would sit on my Grandads stall, bagging up Peanuts before collecting my Pie mash as a reward. Further up just passed Ingal Road where on a match day I join the Road ist the Abbey Arms junction, Moody’s pie mash shop next to a Dry Cleaners on the corner of Jutland Road was a favourite of mine. I continued my Journey carrying on walking up past my Youth Club, next to the church I attended, just before the bus stop I met my future wife when we were both teenagers and then we married in that same church 6 years later. Walking on towards the Greengate area, above the William Hills, is where I worked after school as a teenager sorting the post for Duthie Hart and Duthie solicitors, dropping off the bags at the Post office across the roads, Next to Chris and Pete’s hairdressers, who cut my hair, washed by the Saturday girl who at the time looked a lot like Gloria Estefan.
On we travel, crossing Prince Regent Lane walking past the Castle Pub, where as a kid I couldn’t see in but you could hear what was going on, now sadly another bookmakers. Crossing Tunmarsh Lane, and past the old Blooms factory which I think made cooked meats or something like that, past the parade of shops starting with what I think was tailors that seemed forever to have Fred Perry T-shirts in the window, they were next to the Toy shop that housed the best assortment of Airfix model planes in the back corner and where my Subbuteo set came from. Sadly no West Ham team for me, just the stock Red or Blue teams which were mainly held together with blue tac. The last shop in this parade was a security shop, in fact it is still there just not as large, it was here I finished my apprenticeship as a Locksmith, very handy as id quit my first employers as they made me work a Saturday missing the Orient FA Cup game at Brisbane Road in the January of 1987. By the time the game was replayed at the Boleyn I was now working at this shop on the Barking Road and so working on a Saturday wasn’t much of a problem just 5 minutes from the ground. The shops disappear with the last being the old Wine Bar before the Esso petrol station. Cross New City Road, with the school at the other end being where my daughter and my Mum both started their education, Walking on we come to Inniskilling Road with the Sweet Shop on the corner. That same shop my Nan and Grandad traded from long before I was born but it was just 4 doors from the House they brought my mum up in after the war, the ground is now in sight with the Floodlights rising from the roof of the South Bank, past the dry cleaners, Coral Bookmakers and now we have the Best Turkish Kebab Shop, where I took my wife for something to eat the night I met her. Cant say for sure when the kebab shop opened but it is at least 30 years now. Crossing the road in front of what was Barclays Bank with the toilet block outside which now is overlooked by the world cup winners statue. For those that know it now days and think Barclays is on the other side of the road, well that was the Gas Board shop, the Book shop was there in the same place as the furniture shop on the corner. I walked along Green Street now, but I wasn’t allowed to cross in front of the Boleyn Pub, I had to walk down to opposite the gates, past what was the Bobby Moore shop and stop outside the gates and there I would meet my Uncle who had secured our season tickets in 1977 after a 3 year wait apparently.
Once I was across the road I was dispatched to Dicks office, this was under the West Stand next to the players entrance, Dick must have been a friend of my uncle and it was Dicks job to give out the comp tickets stuffed into little brown envelopes with their names on. As a kid it was great as sometimes you would have old players collecting or managers of other teams, even famous Journalists. I remember getting Bryon Butler’s autograph, he was the top BBC radio commentator of the day, and Dick called me over to the little window where Bryon obliged my request. My uncle would collect me just as the game kicked off and on we go, through the turnstile, up the staircase on the left into Block A which was right in the corner of the concourse, we climbed the stairs to our Row U seats on the left by the corrugated wall of the stand and from there I witnessed relegation, cup runs and finally promotion.

So my mind’s eye is as vivid today of that Journey as it was back as a kid, though half that walk I still do today so its still fresh in my head, but though the Boleyn will go I only have to close my eyes. I hope you have enjoyed my walk down my personal memory lane, and a journey in a way through a big part of my life just by walking down the Barking Road.
Perhaps if you want to share your Memories feel free to email them to me and I will gladly reproduce them in here. I can be contacted at mywhufc@yahoo.com

OLAS V Wolves FA CUP

I saw a song posted on the internet and discovered quite a few others under the title, Claret and blue songs. Track 1 resonates for today as it covers our cup run in 1980. So to the tune of An Actors life for me, click HERE to Listen

Ill sing you a song, a west ham united song,
We beat the Villa we beat West Brom,
orient the Swans and Ever-ton,
but most of all, we beat the Arse-en-nal,
we like to sing, Trevor Brooking is the King,
he dummies he jinks he shakes his arse,
He beats the fullback and plays the pass,
Crossy runs in and does the goalie in.

It then finishes with a short but sweet

There’ll always be a West ham, and west ham shall be free, if West Ham means as much to you as west ham means to me

Further down track 5 is a what could be described as a West Ham United Folk song, click HERE to listen

Let me tell you the story of a poor boy
Sent away far away from his home
To fight for his king and country
And also the old folks back home

So they put him in a London battalion
Sent away to a far foreign land
Where the flies swarm around in their thousands
And there is nothing to see but the sand

And the battle it started next morning
Under a Libyan sun
We remember an East London Tommy
Shot to death by an old German Gun

And as he lay on the Battle field dying
With the blood rushing out of his head
As he laid on the battle field dying
Oh these were the last words he said

Oh West Ham United are my true love
I have followed them home and away
On the North Bank The Shed and the Paxton
Until now its my dying day
May the claret and blue be triumphant
Win the league win the cup be the best
Beat the Arsenal the Chelsea and the Tottenham
The Scousers the mancs and the rest
May the North bank and South bank keep singing
And the chicken Run sway side to side
And the West Side keep those bells a Ringing

And with that the brave Cockney Died

May the North bank and South bank keep singing
And the chicken Run sway side to side
And the West Side keep those bells a ringing

And with that the brave Cockney Died

Just reading these words do not do the songs justice but hopefully it may make you seek them out, trust me it is worth it.

2015 League Table

So we approach the end of the last full year at the Boleyn it’s time to look back at the last 12 months and perhaps it is safe to say it has been a topsy turvey year but one that perhaps promised at first great things but quickly stagnated to the inevitable finish of the Allardyce era in May only to be reborn under Slaven.
January and things were rosy in the Boleyn Garden, sitting 6th as the New Year was seen in, but even that while looking good, was a drop from the 3rd place just a few weeks before, and actually was just a continuation as the club then just sat and stagnated week after week dropping 6 places to finish 12th in May. In fact the last 19 premier league games of the BFS Era produced just 16 points in the premier league. Many would say that is relegation form but how close is it, what if for instance the season didn’t run from August of one year to May of the next but in fact ran from January to December. In the Premier league that would actually still be 38 games so I have sat down and worked out as far as I can remembering there are still Two games left this year.
Splitting it into two halves with the summer mid-season break which gave some of the failing clubs the chance to change their managers, which 8 clubs have done this calendar season including of course the Hammers. The fairest option is as well to split the league into Two, the top division being the 17 clubs to play the whole year in the top flight while in the lower league we have the 6 clubs to only play half a season, the 3 that left after the summer break and the 3 that replaced them.
So at the end of May as the season broke for the summer, we bade farewell to QPR, Hull and Burnley. Hull and Burnley pay the price for their previous years form as though they were bottom 3 in May overall, in the Year 2015 league they were both out of the Relegation places. Newcastle were the second worst team from January to May collecting only 13 points out of 19 games, just 1 point better than QPR’s 12, Then Came the Hammers with 16, quite a turnaround when you think the previous 19 games had brought about 31points. So of the 17 teams left in May West Ham were the second worst team, perhaps further evidence why the previous manager had to go.
From the resume of the Premier league in August though the Hammers have far improved their points tally, collecting 28 from the 19 games, which when compared to the other lowest placed teams with us in May, Newcastle, Villa and Sunderland is a great achievement for Billic. David Sullivan’s spending in the summer transfer window certainly has paid off not just in the points gained, but the style of the football it has enabled Billic to construct.

Don’t forget that Newcastle’s last 3 points came last game in May against us otherwise they would have been relegated out of the 17 to survive the cull.
Just 4 weeks later West Ham were back in action as we had the Europa League to deal with, which was stuttering to say the least and ended before the fun really got going, but it gave us 3 extra games at the Boleyn, and also it gave the players a head start as they started the second half of the 2015 season.
Second from bottom faced Top in August as the form book was ripped up and thrown out the Window, West Ham defeated Arsenal in their back yard to start what hopefully would be a revival and show that by playing in the Europa League it did give us an early season boost. But as if to prove that no matter who the players are or who the manager is, West Ham will always flatter to deceive, Leicester turn up at The Boleyn to grab a victory that was a surprise to those that were there, but when you look at the 2015 table perhaps the Foxes victory wasn’t that a surprise. Bournemouth’s on the other hand was a shock, as good a game as it was I doubt many of us saw that result in advance, as was then the Liverpool away day win at Anfield ending 52 years of Hurt. 6 points out of the first 4 games was perhaps expected, just not in the way they were achieved. Victories against Man city Palace and Chelsea and the club are riding crest of a wave, injuries though have started to tell and prior to the Swansea game it is now 6 games without a win, though a draw away at Man United is welcome and Stoke are generally our nemesis as are Everton so points against those two teams are welcome. Over all for West Ham Collecting 25 points out of 17 games is a good return and good basis to hope that if the upward spiral can continue, we may start the season at the OS with another European adventure
As the table shows, the title has already been won by a team that can’t win titles Man United & Liverpool are sliding, but it is the revelation that is Leicester City that stounds out. Perhaps in their performance of the Calendar year there is hope for all the lesser teams and may be finally shows that teams outside of the recent Big 6 teams can compete at last and who knows, may be just may be, in May 2016 we could have a New team winning the premier league title for the first time since 2010. The form of Chelsea since August is evident that as they have slipped down the table into mid table obscurity, Spuds have rose to be in the top 3, while it’s no surprise that 3 of the 4 teams that had a dismal start to the year have carried that on from August, Villa Newcastle and Sunderland year points tally are abysmal, 3 clubs with large fan bases that just lurch from manager to manager while nothing ever changes.
One last point to consider is that across the year, West Ham’s lowest position in the league table proper was where we finished in May, 12th, this season we have been constant in the top 10 so perhaps our final position in the Calendar year table is harsh.
So I present the up to date 2015 Premier league table as of Monday evening after the Southampton game.

OLAS V West Brom, House called Boleyn Ground

There is a place in Green Street
They call the Boleyn Ground
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one

My mother was a single mum
saved for my season ticket
My uncle was a west Ham Fan
and we lived in Canning Town

Now the only thing a West Ham fan needs
Is a Ticket to the game
And the only time i was satisfied
was when i was at the Boleyn


Oh mother, tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House called The Boleyn Ground


Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I'm goin' back to Green street
To wear that ball and chain


Well, there is a place in Green Street
They call the Boleyn Ground
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one



Im not sure I’ve done "The House of the Rising Sun” justice, but in part, that song does resonate with me, especially the part about it being the ruin of many a poor boy as it seems at times it has been like a drug to me, one that i still haven’t been able to shake. That though of course change next season, the move and they way the club have gone about it has left me feeling angry in the past, that anger has now subsided in to resignation and a sense of finality. To myself i see the club as dying in May, finished, gone, caput, no moore, extinct.
The reason is it will no longer bare any resemblance to the club i was born into supporting, and the reasons look to have started years ago, many blame the advent of Sky and its support of the Premier league founding and its ignorance of the record books of the football that came before it. One such example of their re-writing of history is the lauding of Jamie Vardy equalling the record feat of Van Nistleroy in scoring in 10 consecutive premier league games. As good as a feat it is many don’t realise that the actual record is 15 consecutive games to score in achieved by Stan Mortensen of Blackpool, though his feat was broken by Injury so it wasn't 15 games in a row for Blackpool he scored in.
The premier league now seems to be run purely and simply on a money making model, football is in a way secondary now, Teams are now Brand names with clubs fighting to get their name seen as much as possible on the world stage. Their is no greater evidence of this than our own clubs new badge for for its re-birth next season in Stratford and it use of the word London. That can only be put down as an attempt to project the name in to lands that, as yet, don’t realise West Ham is in London, god forbid they realise its in East London. Fans are no longer treated as fans, but as cash cows, they’re to be relieved of as much money as possible, bombarded with daily emails offering us the chance to buy from the club nothing but tat.
Football without fans is nothing but it seems many get suckered in by the clever marketing by the clubs and West Ham are one of the best. The outside world will tell you that by moving to Stratford we are all getting our tickets 25% cheaper, as that is the story pushed often by the club, the truth is only Band 4 fans get that big a discount, and many i know that have been so far have upgraded to band 3, to avoid the poorer view in band 4, and in upgrading that discount disappears down to around 5%. The way the season ticket migration has been handled smacks of it being maximum money orientated rather than it being a service for the fans. The fact they employ salesmen to carry out the interviews should really show what the tactic is, as they are trained like car dealers to extract the maximum they can out of those sitting in front of them. Lets not forget the +2 policy of allowing non season ticket holders be served in front of some that have held Season tickets for well over 20 years, where is the reward for loyalty, for standing by the club during some of its worse seasons in the past 40 years. No reward is the answer.
I am a bitter man and i only have myself to blame, so mothers, and fathers, tell your children, not to do what i have done, don’t let them spend their life in sin and misery following west ham, tell them football is to be enjoyed, and whatever they do, don’t join the SAB.

On the field though despite the recent return of 1 point from 9 i still have a good feeling about this season, and to be honest, only the defeat at Watford was really disappointing as i really thought we could of done better against them. The defeat to Tottenham though is disappointing but there are times where you have to admit we were beaten by a better team and that is probably the only time we could of said that this season. It seems we have the same points this season after 13 games than we had last season, and the pro Sam media have been quick to point that out. problem is what they don’t get is the way we achieved our points this season is far superior than we did last season, add to the fact that this is Billic’s opening season so he has yet to build his own squad, whereas last season was Allardyce’s fourth at the club and was built by him. I still can’t see us struggling this season and stating to drop away into a slump that happened in the late part of last season, not that i think we can hold onto 6th spot as well, i fancy us to finish between 8th - 12th position, though if it was to be below 10th then i may be disappointed. then again, come May i doubt our league position will really bother me as then end will no longer be nigh, it will be upon us.

Lastly, I listened to the radio 4 programme this week which featured Gary, and it really was a great documentary, The 2 nuns made me laugh and to think all the years i have lived around the area and visited for football since i moved away, i never knew those nuns lived there. Gary’s revelations were no surprise as I’m sure he has let it be known that this is the year he considers his last (for the time being) and wish him every success in his plans for when football to him is no more. There is no way that in not missing a game since 1980 he couldn't have had family moaning at him, i know from experience, about the amount of time he spends at West Ham so his dedication can only be admired.
In the programme there were the locals, pleased we were leaving, though the fact we have been here 112 years surely means when they moved into the area the club was already here so they would have known from day one what to expect, and hammers fans, though the one that called the Boleyn Ground a run-down ramshackle of a stadium perhaps needs a trip to spec savers. i promise that next time i will try be more upbeat in what i write, enjoy today even in defeat as "The End is Nigh"

OLAS V Everton Nov 2015

On the pitch things have never been better, the football is, in my opinion, as good as it has been since the days of Di Canio and Trevor Sinclair. Payet is a great player, at 28 this is the peak years of his career and it makes a change to have a player that good knowing we have the best years of him, rather than knowing his best will be for some other team. The past years of turmoil with the football side has finally been washed away and it is exiting again to support West Ham.
Off the pitch, ill admit that as every home game passes im struggling with the thought come May this will be no more. Problem i have is that by becoming a member of the SAB back in 2011, a vocal one at that against the owners and the people they have entrusted the day to day running of the club to, i know those running the club are detached so far from the fans of the club they it frustrates the hell out of me. Some things are petty, like the other day, November the 1st.
The club on line run a on this day feature, on November they 1st they posted across the internet, on this day We beat Bury 10-0, Cottee scoring 4, etc etc. Problem is that game wasn't on the 1st of November, it was the 25th of October. Oh dear. not a big crime, but if they cant get the small things right, what chance they get the big issues, and i dont mean transfers and the on field stuff, i mean the day to day stuff that does actually affect fans, say like, the final game of the season.
In Feb 2014 i met with 11 others on the SAB to discuss many things to be recommended for the final season, and then the final game. The 12 of us then conversed with the wider fan base and that was fed back to our Chairman, he prepared a report that was presented in May 2014 to the full SAB. This document outlined what nearly a thousand fans that had responded wanted to see.
what did the club do with this report? i think they lost it down the back of the sofa, because months later at another SAB meeting they again ask for SAB members to dialogue with other fans as to what they wanted from this, the last season. Now the last season is upon us as you would think the club are prepared, think again. another SAB meeting last week, and for the 3rd time they ask the SAB to feedback what they want from the last game. 3rd fcking time, weren't they satisfied with the thousand fan response back in 2014, thing is, i know i'm not the only one of the original 12 on the farewell Boleyn group that is frustrated as it seems the club have totally wasted our time. Time spent at meetings, time spent collating the answers, sending them through, and then the time spent by the chairman setting up a power point display with pie charts the lot, displaying every answer given not just grouping them together. i Realise that to many this disbarring rubbish, but loads of fans have put in effort and given up time to assist the club because they care and the club have just, in my opinion chucked it back in their face, with there attitude. for me, this stems from the fact that many I've met running the club, do not have the club in their Heart, they are recruited from Arsenal, or wherever they've come from, grown up supporting other clubs as kids only displaying their false love for the club as its in their employment.

I would like to Congratulate the club though, it seems they have embraced the football supporters federation 20 is plenty campaign, though, i think they didn't read the leaflet properly.

Match Prices 2014-15

The 20 is plenty campaign is supposed try and get clubs to restrict Away ticket prices to £20, West Ham though have restricted the price rise of day match tickets to £20.
what am i on about i hear you say, well, in March of this year we played Chelsea at the Boleyn, the club charged to price Band 1 seats out at £75 each fast forward 7 months and that same seat was £95. Over 25% increase in the price in the space of months. Another example of the people running the club actually not being concerned one bit about the fans, in fact we are not fans, we are Customers, a patron number, that's all we are, here to be milked of as much money as they can screw. They abuse the loyalty and have turned this last season in to a reason to screw even more out the fans. Don't worry i'm told, it changes when we move, yeah really. lets see how long it lasts. the club have admitted we only get around £15 million more each season than at the Boleyn, that still leaves us 30 million behind Spurs in their 35,000 stadium, let alone their 60,000 stadium. what way can they get more money then. Ticket prices. With sell out after sell out at exterminate prices they know the fans will pay high prices, it won't be long till the cheaper prices at the OS start to overtake. Arsenal is their model and we all know what they pay.
So as each game progresses and goes by, a bit more of the club goes with it.

Match Prices 2015-16

NO MOORE HERO'S

Whatever happened to Leon Trotsky?
He got an ice pick
That made his ears burn

Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?
The great Elmyra, and Sancho Panza?
Whatever happened to the heroes?


In 1977 the Stranglers released the song “No more Heroes”, the song bemoaned the loss of strong figures at that time in culture, and pointed at their heroes and why no one else, in their eyes was coming through. Perhaps its an age thing, as I look now at the team we have, currently riding high in the league and I wonder, what has happened to the Heroes.
As a kid growing up in the 70/80s, it seems the team was littered with them, Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds, Hurst, Peters, Trevor Brooking, Pop Robson, David Cross, Phil Parkes, Frank Lampard Snr, Alvin Martin, Ray Stewart. Later on we added to that in, Frank Mcavennie Julian Dicks, Ludo Miklosko. Others of course came along, but I’m talking about real Heroes, the type of player you would pay money to see, the type of player you would pay to see talk about his days at a theatre. I look around the current team; in fact, I look around at the players we have had in the last 10 years, and apart from Mark Noble, I’m just not seeing Heroes.

My kids don’t follow the hammers so I can’t say who they adore, but when I look back at the team around that 70/80s period, so many had been at the club or stayed at the club for a long time, there wasn’t the constant conveyor belt of players, teams grew over a period. I can’t remember ever west Ham signing 5 players at a time and the fact players didn’t move about and generally stayed at clubs increased the affinity between the players and fans, of the list above 10 had testimonial games, some even had 2. Mark Noble is due a testimonial either this season or next but who else will get there. James Tomkins maybe, but is he a hero? Not for me a good player yes, but not a hero, as heroes don’t roll around outside nightclubs kicking policeman and getting arrested do they.
Saying that, as I think back to my all-time Hero, George Best, its well documented the scrapes he went through and was no angel, so that shouldn’t be held against James Tomkins. Perhaps its down to ability then, JT is a good Premier league defender, but he’s no Rio, and how many other clubs fans do you hear saying, “I’d have Tomkins”. Don’t get me wrong, im not saying JT is a rubbish player but do the kids of today or even us older fans look at him in the same light as we did/do Alvin.

The reason for my wondering about this subject is I regularly go to the Hammers Heroes shows held in Southend and at Hornchurch and also the excellent Ex-Hammer forums in Romford, where I sit and listen and generally laugh as the old timers reminisce about what many of us to be the glory days of the club, and I look at the current squad and those of the last 10 years and wonder, who in 20 years’ time will we be listening to, who would you want to listen to, too be more honest. Scott Parker, 3 time Hammer of the year, then leaves to go to Spurs, that went well. Reo-Coker telling us about his great game at Highbury, spilling the beans on Pardew’s demise, and his for that instance. No, not for me, I care not one jot what he would have to say, and I can’t think of others that maybe I would. Perhaps it is an age thing, but with players kissing badges one week, then moving onto to so called bigger clubs the next they don’t stay long enough to get and keep that Hero status.

Who knows, perhaps the Ex Hammer heroes of the future are this squad, that could well be the surprise package of the season, after not just 3 away wins, but 3 wins against supposedly 3 of the best teams with home records in the country that is no flash in the pan. You can’t ignore the Leicester and Bournemouth defeats but when looked at there was a pattern there. Both of those teams chased us down from their front, squeezed the room around our players, none of the other teams we have played, and beat, have done that. They let us play our game probably believing we would be more worried about them than they are about us. Big mistake, Billic is showing his tactical class in those away wins and also showing a great ability to lighten up the press conferences. From the parking of the bus but not having the handbrake on, to the winning those 3 games is like walking into a pub full of girls, Absolute magic. Im asked at times how happy I am that BFS has gone, at the beginning it was happiness, now though this may be early doors, I feel vindicated in taking the stance I did. I always knew that his way was the wrong way to achieve the results, and abit like Cloughie when he walked onto the Leeds training ground for the first time proclaiming they should throw their medals in the bin as they won them through cheating, in that Don Revie’s type of football was not the right way to play, and so Allardyce’s football, points accumulating, is the wrong way to play.

Lastly I visited the sales centre at the Olympic stadium to hopefully choose my seat, It didn’t go to planned. I wanted club 66, all sold out, nothing at all around that area either, in band 1 just the back rows are left, in fact, in band 2, just the back rows were left. The meeting descended into farce with the bloke who kindly took me in with him, Grouping its called, not getting a seat either. He complained, I complained to someone in the club on his behalf, the sales manager talked about me to another salesman that was overheard, and I got called a mentalist, obviously by some one who has read my output, but im guessing doesn’t agree with it. Anyway ive looked up Mentalist and what it means, wiki says this,
“Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include hypnosis, telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship,mind control, memory feats and rapid mathematics. Mentalists are sometimes categorised as psychic entertainers, although that category also contains non-mentalist performers such as psychic readers and bizarrists.”
I actually wouldn’t mind being a mentalist now after reading that, but if you go on the internet you can read a detailed report with unseen images that the club wouldn’t want you to see at www.whu365.blogspot.co.uk
Many thanks for reading and may the good times last