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. 

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 CITY, LIFE AT SPURS

Six years ago this very week this club was facing the prospect of implosion, our chairmen of the time, the second richest man in Icelandic was bankrupt, the club had been past to a bank, that was also bankrupt, as a sort of debt repayment but to get their money they had to sell, as so, ridding in like white knights on their Steeds, messers Sullivan and Gold came to the clubs rescue.
I can't argue, nor will I, that the club is in a better shape than it was six years ago in those dark days but let's be honest, could it of been much worse, Well it could of, and it did get worse.
Those that inhabit the twilight world of Facebook or Twitter would of seen stream after stream of supporters declaring their thanks and undying love to the Daves, those that don't apparently are not true fans according to some and Wo betide any fan that dare sing from a different hymn sheet.
Problem I find that while I can understand those emotions, I just don't share them, and I feel inclined more often to remind everyone they have not only done good things, they have also overseen a regime that has in my eyes, totally removed any club to fan loyalty.
Time after time the club has stiffed match attending fans in different ways, season ticket holder discount was firstly tried to be avoided, then they finally admitted it, but offered an alternative way but then Gold virtually accused all those taking the 20% of impacting on that seasons transfer budget. Classy that, then Disabled ticket holders were given a 100% price rise, but when this broke they thankfully back tracked to just a 50% price rise. Clever really, because if they did the 50% first imagine the outcry would of been just as loud, but they made it look like they were listening by back tracking. When they had their partnership with Viagogo, the club regularly disposed of unsold tickets at cheaper than face value prices, a good thing you may think, but not when the undercut those that had bought in advance or again the season ticket holders.

The OS CONsultation, The badge change that was pushed through in a close season and done without a real majority of fans backing, but they wanted it, so they manipulated it.
They way they sacked Zola after constant undermining him, appointment of Avram Grant, a manager so so poor that it meant Sam Allardyce, a manager whose culture was so alien to this club was welcomed as a new Hero by some.
They love a buzzword, or strap sentence "Moore than a football club" is one, another the club have is is Affordable football for all, Yet ticket prices have steadily risen through the seasons they have been here to the point that tickets for today's visitors, Man City, are face value a fiver short of £100. Still at least no need to advertise to "come see city's superstars" for this game nor I bet will any tickets be given to community groups for a fiver as they did a couple of years ago, when unable to sell them at the £55 price many others paid that night.

Then we fast forward to the OS migration policy that totally ignored a fans service except it was done on who payed the most money in season 2015-16,not who had been attending for the longest time.
How is that loyalty to fans, not just any fans but those that for the past how ever many years have kept coming, kept paying.
I'll tell you who I thank for saving this club, the fans that stood bye West Ham during the 17 years they were funding another club.
I will though say that David Sullivan has probably assembled the best premier league squad we've ever had and it seems that our success will continue into the new franchise next season, Payet is a joy to watch, Lanzini will be a big Star are just two of the whole squad that have put the pride back into the club. On the pitch, which is the main reason we are here the club is finally on the up and I have faith in him that it will continue. Just seems a shame that West Ham as we once loved it has been buried on the way.

It seems to be a bad time to be a musician in your late 60's as there dropping like 9 pins this year, but none more so than David Bowie. I know he's not a West Ham fan but I'm sure Many of you out there liked or even loved his music. Personally I liked his stuff in the very early 80s as I grew up, but then from my late teens, mainly from some of the clubs I was frequenting like the Marquee club on the Charing Cross Road I grew to love his early output, suffragette city, man who sold the world, changes, Ziggy Stardust, but my personal favourite was Life on Mars, and in keeping with my strange habit of rewriting songs I thought I'd have a crack at that song, though rather than look at the Hammers I thought better to look at our Friends from the North (London).
So with Life on Mars tune in your head, I hope you can all sing along to0. Hear Bowies here

It's a god-awful cross to bare
With fans in constant despair
Their family are telling them "No"
And their wives have told them to go
All their friends are nowhere to be seen
As they go to watch their broken team
takes the seat with the clearest view
But they watch on a giant screen
And the game is a saddening bore
For they've lived it ten times or more
As they sit in their seats so still
And they attempt to focus on

See Spurs losing to the West Ham
Oh man!
Look at those stupid men go
Their the freakiest show
Listen to the Spurs Fans ringing up the radio show
Winging!
Wonder if they'll ever know
Their support is a joke
Is there life at SPURS

Their history is but a dream
Should be Mickey Mouse on the ball
Now the fans are crying again
'Cause bale won't come back to them
Like mice in their lily-white shirts
From Edmonton to the Norfolk Broads
The Y word is out of bounds
As they act like a bunch of clowns
But the club is a saddening bore
'Cause we've seen it ten times or more
It's about to be heard again
As all we can focus on

See Spurs losing to the West Ham
Oh man!
Look at those stupid men go
Their the freakiest show
Listen to the Spurs Fans ringing up the radio show
Winging!
Wonder if they'll ever know
Their Club is a joke
Is there life at SPURS

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

Band View

                                               Band View

Following my sales centre visit last week I will explain how the meeting went and how for some fans they wont be pleased with the outcome.

Firstly I will admit that the task of moving over 20,000 season ticket holders from one stadium to the other would always lead to some fans winning and some losing, and so far we have not really heard much disappointment coming from those that have visited already, but there may be a reason for that.

The fans with the Seats in Band 1 at the Boleyn have finished their viewings and chosen their seats, as they had first choice they naturally had the best chance of securing the best view, the band 2 viewings are coming to a finish and this is where i came in, with a couple of other fans, I'm not band 2 I am in band 4, but was looking to secure a Club 1966 seat, I sat in with a Band 2 Season ticket holder who sits right on the edge of Band 2 in the West lower, towards the Bobby Moore stand. I am guessing here but the fact he sits on the edge of his band meant he got allocated one of the last block of meetings for his banding. When the Stratford office gives out meetings to fans I believe that those in the middle of a band will get the first meetings and then they work themselves outward. Luckily for those in Band 1 as they came to the end of their meetings many of the band 1 fans would of moved into the 1966 seats and also obviously with a larger capacity stadium, there will be more seats to chose from without the need to sit in the back rows. All good with the band 1s then, onto the Band 2 seat holders, those at the front of the meetings  have been able to take up any of the unfilled 1966 seats and also move into the Band 1 spares. So why then when I sat down in the meeting was the Band 2 season ticket holder I was with faced with a virtually sold out stadium for bands 1&2 and the 1966 seats. In the Olympic Stadium there must be more band 1 seats and band 2 seats than at the Boleyn, throw in the extra 1966 seats why was Dave (name changed) so unhappy that not only did he not buy at the OS but was claiming that fans have been shafted so bad he wont go to the Boleyn ever again either. The answer lies in the introduce 2 friends policy, one which on the face of it has been so successful that many existing Season Ticket holders are being denied the opportunity of upgrading as there are no better seats to upgrade to. i wrote recently that the move to the Olympic stadium was based on a Robin Hood ticketing policy, Take from the existing to give to the missing, it seems in some cases that is the reality.

The Picture's above I took from the computer screen in front of me as the salesman started his pitch for David (name changed) to choose from. The colour coding for the larger picture is as follows, Red is sold out, green is available, Orange has limited availability, Block 139 was opened up, and as from the smaller picture you can see a sea of red seats, the purple by the way are Bond holder reserved seats, ill quickly explain that. Bond holders that are season ticket holders can not only buy a seat for their season ticket, but can also hold a seat for their bond, that seat can not be sold until I believe 14 days before the game is played. anyway back to Dave and his Hobson choice, He didn't want the last seat in the front of the West as was offered to him as he wants to have quick access to the trains station, which are in the East, from which the club estimate 75% of fans will come from. So all that was left was those 2 seats shown above, on the aisle, handy for quick exit anyway. The view from those seats wasn't for me to be honest, as the advertising banner round the pitch seemed to take up alot of the view.

but Dave seemed happy enough, and accepted that seat. Me, I passed on it, the reason was, i wanted the best seat, I was leaving my mates in band 4 behind to get the best view possible, but as i have said, they were all gone, so if I'm going to have a bad view, ill sit with my mates with it. 

This is where things took a turn for the worse, just as Dave was ready to settle up, it was pointed out to our Salesman that he couldn't sell them to Dave, as Dave didn't have an aisle seat at the Boleyn, and as the people in the equivalent seat at the Boleyn hadn't been in for their meeting. What was worse, the only other seats available were the back rows, we saw the view from the back rows, and bear in mind, these were still in Band 1, which when you look at the Boleyn bands in the tip picture, you'll notice that the back row seats are actually band 2, nice little uplift for the club there then.

The picture is Blurry but you can still see, for nearly a thousand pounds, that is not a great view. 

Dave was not happy, I wasn't happy for Dave, he wanted that seat at the front, but no can do. It was back of East, or front of West, but he didn't want West. He was Pissed off big time, mainly as he felt he had agreed a seat that was then 20 minutes later taken away from him. I then decided to try do him a favour, remember i wasn't buying, i was dropping out till band 4, i called someone inside the club,  to see if they could help Dave, sadly that made no difference , the sales manager wasn't for budging, the salesman was apologetic, Dave wanted to complain. they took Dave away to talk to him while i sat at the desk, 

it was at this point, the man who i believe to be in charge of the salesman appeared and sat at the back of the sales centre talking to salesman who had no customers. Funny thing is I heard my name mentioned, at which point the Salesman with no customer said, "what, that mentalist" and laughed. 

I had actually had enough, and to be fair I have been called worse, but it showed a big lack of judgement and in a way respect for what is at the end of the day, a fan of the club, i may be mental, i know i have caused problems for the club, at SAB meetings and outside in being vocal about the move, but in doing so all i have tried to do is to make sure the club did right by the fans. and this process is wrong. The fact any season ticket holder attending a meeting can take 2 non season ticket holders with them, has led to this, Fans at the end of band meeting being left the scraps no one wants, and as they cant down band, that means for Dave, that a fan in Band 3 attending his meeting that starts this week can choose a better seat than Dave was offered. the previous week. 

i actually think that it is now we will hear from the fans hard done by, Band 3, as picture above, is Bobby Moore upper, but realistic they wont want to sit upstairs behind the goal, if that view at the OS is put on the Boleyn map, The Bobby upper fans will be sitting upstairs above Nathans pie mash shop, so they then have to move to the side. The same for me and my mates, we sit Trevor Brooking Upper in the family seating stand, Which gives a great view of the pitch, 

This is the view the salesman showed me as comparable

when the salesman asked me what i was thinking, I just said, " you don't want to know what Im thinking"

I don't know if chaos follows me around, i don't know if the club was deliberately difficult as it was me, What i do know is there will be many upset fans in the coming months, that will feel they have shafted by the club they have stood by in the bad times. Long serving fans that have sat in the family seating stand for 10-15 years and now find that because they are band 4 they will get the scraps left behind, long term season ticket holders that have been bypassed in the Queue and shafted by a club that claim they are run by fans for the fans, and by owners that 12 years ago were celebrating with Birmingham City fans as West Ham were relegated. Fans that have only supported one club, showed the loyalty by not walking away through the lean times, but now we sit on the cusp of good times are given a take it or leave it ultimatum, 

Congratulations West Ham you really know how to reward loyalty.

 

In 2010 I set up 2 Facebook groups, One in favour of the move to Stratford, one against, the reason I did that was to gauge whether there were many fans like me that were opposed to the move. I remember at the time being accused of using a non representative picture of what the stadium would like so I thought that today I would use an up to date picture and ask again, 

  WHO WANTS THIS VIEW

The picture above is from the Bobby Moore Stand at the OS and is, I predict, a Band 4 seat, 

I know I don't want that view that is for sure, problem is as I sit in the family seating stand, which is a band 4, We have to wait till last as the clubs policy is to offer bands 1 then 2 then 3 meetings.at those meetings if you have friends in lower bands they can join you in your meeting, grouping together, I think is the term is called

Not only that but the club have allowed every potential season ticket holder to take 2 additional NON season ticket holders to the meetings, effectively by passing existing season ticket holders and those that paid to go on the waiting list. 

what that has led to is a situation on Thursday where I sat in with a Band 2 Season Ticket holder while he was having his meeting, hoping this would enable me to get a Club 66 seat. Problem is there are non left in the central areas of the lower tier that he or I was able to take, The farce continued as He was offered a seat on an aisle which he accepted, I wasn't happy and asked to view other seats, In the West & East stands all that is left is the rear seats, which considering these are Band 1 I think the view is atrocious

 I admit the quality of the picture is not great but the distance is a long way from the pitch, and that is a band 1 so costs over £900. Just to give you what the equivilant view is at the Boleyn, it is around where the houses on the East side of  Boleyn Road are situated, 2 streets behind the current East Stand.

The meeting then descended into farce as after The original meeting holder, after being being offered a seat he was happy with, had this  taken away from him by a manger as it was an Aisle seat & it seems those that sit in aisle seats have to be offered them first. Problem was, all that was left was an aisle seat, so the only option he had, was to take his original seat he was offered, where he didn't like the view, or take a seat in the back rows. I truly felt for the Guy as to be honest it was no choice, I had already decided to go back to wait for my band 4 meeting. to Say he wasn't happy is an understatement, but rules are rules and they wont bend them, not for anyone.

The move was never going to be easy, getting 22,000 fans to pick seats was never going to be straight forward, but the problem was the allowing of fans to bring in the non season ticket holders, this has allowed the best seats to be filled, leaving those season ticket holders whose are given a meeting at the end of their band  with the scraps that no one else wants. 

OLAS V Bournemouth

Today we welcome the newest premier league team to the Boleyn ground, a team that encompasses the Rags to Riches story that is normally reserved for fairy stories. In fact it is only 6 years ago that Bournemouth were fighting for their lives to survive in the basement of the lowest tier of professional football and yet today they are in the premier league, the land of milk and honey. Being in the premier league comes at a price though, not for the club, nor the players, but for the fans who have perhaps realise now that success does not come cheap. At The start of last season Bournemouth fans paid for the best seat, £660, which was advertised as a 20% rise on their previous season where they had finished tenth in the Championship, at that time their best ever finish. This season though they had another price rise, and their price to pay for the team’s promotion, just an extra £5 on the top priced season ticket. Obviously they have such smaller support that any of the other 19 teams in the Premier League and so they have to try to maximise their takings from match day’s as with FFP that seems the excuse used by the clubs to charge the fans more, it is the only way to increase income. Problem is with the price rises, the increased TV deal has meant that every fan could pay only £25 and the clubs would still take the same amount of money than they did with the old TV deal.
Bournemouth Fans today, huddled in the corner of the North that borders the East will be paying £45 adult £25 child's. 1 adult and two kids will cost £95 yet at their ground 1 adult and 2 kids will pay less than £500 for the season, 19 games.
The reason for pointing that out is to try show that even for the smaller clubs success costs and in reality it costs the fans more than any other sector in football, and then we come to today's ticket prices for kids, if you listed the 19 other premier league into our banding system, the top seven in Band A we know who they are , same every season, then you have the band B games and then you have the special games, Community, academy, KIDS FOR A QUID. Now if you was listing today's game, where would you put it, well for me this would be kids for a quid, all day long. first time in a league game we have faced them since the early 90’s in the championship, add to it that they are the weakest team in stature overall in the league how on earth is this not a kids for a quid game. What then amazes me is that our next home game is against the Geordie's, its on Sky, its on a Monday Night which means school night as well, oh yeah, its KFAQ. Night games are hard enough for kids as many parents may be working in London and may not be able to get back home, pick the kids up and then get to the game.
The only reason I can see is that those that run the club, The Chief executive and Vice Chairman are milking this last season for all its worth. Bournemouth being a Saturday game they knew it would sell out no matter how much it costs, Geordie's on a Monday night live on telly, possibly not as many away fans as well, better make that the cheap game. That is not a club run by fans for fans, that is business at work, our owners forever bang on about being fans, they do it for the love, not for the money. Well action speaks louder than words and the ticketing policy of this club Screams, Fcuk You. How many times on twitter has David Gold said “wed love to reduce prices, but we cant alone”, and don’t be fooled by the OS discount, its bollocks as well, the big discount is Band 5, problem is if you’re an existing STH you cant downgrade for a start and many I have spoke to are so fearful of the views behind the goals, they are looking to upgrade to the middle, so in real terms they will pay MORE at the OS not less. Karen Brady is getting thousands of season ticket holders to pay more money next season while getting the outside world to think we’re paying less, its marketing genius and shows why she got a million extra on her wages for securing the stadium, not only that, her crony side kick Tara gets a seat on the board as a director of the club. Tara the Coventry fan now sitting on the board with the Arsenal supporting Karen Brady a board supposedly run by fans for the fans, don’t make me laugh.
I tell you who are fans though, the stewards that patrol inside the ground showing the lost to their seats, some have manned their spot for years, where I sit I've had the same steward for at least 7 years and he is a fan, but how have the club run by fans for the fans repaid their loyalty, with the old tin tac at the end of the season that’s how, no move to the OS for them, unless they want to take minimum wage off OCS who have the stewarding contract, still at least West Ham can still claim to pay all their staff the London living wage, remember that big claim by Brady last season. West Ham was the first football club to do that, of course safe in the knowledge that all the low paid are now outsourced so don’t work for the club, and the stewards that do, will be gone as well. Another pat on the back for Brady. Still at least we know who to blame for last weeks debacle of the claret n blue streamer’s, the SAB of course, as it was in conjunction with the SAB that the club have come up with themes for games this season. I sat on the SAB, also I with 12 others specifically looked at the farewell to the Boleyn.

We met in Feb 2014 in the club, the lovely Tara was there to guide us and help with Ideas, a form was put together, that was put out to the wider fan base asking what they would like to see as themes for the 19 games, 903 fans took part and the response was varied, the top choices were
1. Bobby Moore tribute game. 6.88%
2. 80 Cup Final 6.88%
3. 90’s hammers Legends. 6.19%
4. 60’s legends 5.96%
5. 75 Cup Final & a vote for the Top 5 players 5.28%.

In fact there were listed 37 different themed games suggested by the 903 that took part, but yet Claret and blue day was not mentioned once, not 1 fan asked for that as a theme, but yet the club run by fans for the fans came up with Claret n blue day, obviously the YTS kid put in charge of buying the streamers must of slept in Saturday Morning, because he must of forgot the claret streamers so off he run down the Market, “ Got any claret streamers mate, no son, sorry, ive got purple though, Ok They will do ill take 2 thousand” and so off he ran back to the ground, hoping no one would notice. That has to be what happened because surely a club run by fans for the fans would of noticed that the streamers WERNT FCKING CLARET. If your going to do something so cringe worthy, cheesy and fake the minimum you would expect is at least get the colour of the club right in the streamers. Just look at the Palace fans, they managed it, and the fans themselves organised that not the club, perhaps that’ is where it went wrong, it wasn't organised by the fans.
God knows what other themes are planned but if they say it was in conjunction with the SAB then I'm afraid there’s a good chance its all Bollocks, the reason for my anger is that the SAB gets so much bad press by other fans, rightly so in some circumstances, but the farewell to the Boleyn was possibly the 1 area where those 12 fans could of made sure the club got it right., sadly it was not to be, just like my request to have a sponsor clean shirt front with the sponsors name on the back, they didn't like my idea to call it “The End” either, choosing instead the pony, Farewell to the Boleyn.
Perhaps I'm just bitter, in fact, thinking about it, I am bitter, I don’t want to say farewell to the Boleyn, as each game passes the bitter I get, the club is has died and all that is left is the funeral and the wake.
While I'm here I might as well mention the on pitch shenanigans, I must admit that I enjoyed the Leicester game, mainly that in the 2nd half we came out and showed that we have fight about us and we didn't need to resort to the negativity of the previous managers style. We are still a work in practice, Slaven needs to be given time to build his own team around how he wants it played, so im happy with any place this season above 17 as long as the football is played the same way we have for the 1st 2 games of the season.
Enjoy today anyway, there’s only 17 left after this one.

OLAS V Leicester City

One game is all it took for the club and fans it seems to be rejoined as one, Billic appointment had some sections wondering where The owners ambition was, worried about his lack of premiership experience was one excuse often levelled at him by some section of the fans, who it seems ignored his international experience and yet in his 1st premier league game he does more for the feel good factor around the club than his predecessor ever mustered during his tenure.
I know it's early days and 1 game does not make a season but it's an impressive start and surely the club can only grow off the confidence the victory brought about especially considering that with Leicester City and then Bournemouth coming to town I really do expect to see us sitting in top spot with 9 points before we head to Anfield. Now Anfield, that is a place I would love to be this season at the end of August but while I will be only 30 miles away, I'll be preparing for my godfather duties to my beautiful niece the next day, can you imagine the place if we could finally do the Scousers on their own turf for the 1st time in my and many others lifetime, bearing in mind I'm never someone likely to get carried away when it comes to West Ham, which has evolved in me after year upon year of the crash and burn seasons we generally have, I can honestly see us doing the Scousers and imagine that.
I stopped typing the above sentence as I was imagining that victory and the celebrations after, but just to show that the realist in me is still there, I still can't see us finishing above 9th spot but for me every season Is not about the destination, it's about how we get there.
For me finishing 9th is no different to 17th, the outcome is still the same, not relegated. There would be no fitting tribute to the old ground than to win a trophy in its last stand

Seeing Julian back at the club is also great, a couple of years ago I remember seeing him at one of the great EX hammer forums in Romford and during the Q&A session he spoke with great sense in how he saw football should be played, and it seemed to me he was influenced by the great man that signed him ,John Lyall.
Lyall for me was/is the greatest manager we ever had, not just because of the trophies we won, but the fact he was immersed within the club, 1st as a supporter, then player, coach and finally Manager. He had time for anyone and everyone and I still remember when I met him as an 11 year old, I was mascot for the day against Wrexham on the last day of the season 1981, he himself took my mum and I to his office, where we got to chat for what seem ages. The mark of the man came through when I remarked that Clive Thomas was out of order for sending him off at Wembley, he just said that its best left in the past & there was no bad feeling. He then took me to the dressing room where he introduced me to the days team. The fact he relegated the club twice is rightly overlooked and its a shame it did end the way it did but I will never forget that 10 minutes I spent with the man.
In fact when you look at the managers JD played under at West Ham Lyall Macari Bonds and then Redknapp, for me two of the best managers the club have had that I have seen, and my hero as a kid, Bonds. It will be interesting to find out who he says played a bigger part on his career. I think it was Ron Saunders at Birmingham that gave him his chance before he joined us still as a teenager, though his time spent under Lyall was not the best era for the club. Next up Macari, who to be honest, the only player I've ever heard say a good thing about him was Stuart Slater. Bonds quickly followed and remember the 2 of them played together briefly but looking back, it was Bonds that sold him reputedly frustrated by his discipline problems though the deal bore all the hallmarks of Redknapp pulling the strings. Yet he returned a year later, this time under Harry, and if we are honest, the football under Harry was the best we played while Julien was at the club, even achieving 3 top 10 finishes in a row, the only time ever in the clubs history that had been achieved.
It is just great to see him sitting in the dugout and I just hope he can show the players why the fans love him so much and perhaps help them to embrace the club in the same way he did.
I must admit that Billic was my no1 choice, I always thought the Klopp and Benetiz attempts were just the owners setting the bar unrealistically too high, I'm all for ambition but come on, leave Dortmund then join us, big backward step for a manager of the quality of Klopp. As for Benetiz, I liked him, he did well at Liverpool and Chelsea but I never saw him settling for DS buying the players, but I guess we will never know what the outcome would of been.
On the whole, it's great being a West Ham fan at the moment, so long may it continue.