[Football] Interesting Summary of the Olympic Stadium and what it’s done to West Ham

[Weststander]

Also I'm sure I'm remembering this correctly.
A couple of months into the season, when West Ham were 5th, the conversation was how they'd finally turned our London Stadium into their home.


I wonder what's changed, since then?

The BBC were churning out that propaganda all over again, a couple of months back when they won at home a few times. “Now feeling their proper home, what an atmosphere”.

Absolutely no interest in digging a bit deeper into the way their true fanbase have been shafted.

 

[BN41Albion]

I feel sorry for the fans. Sounds utterly shyte and it must be a soul destroying experience.

But... We really are pathetic on the whole in this country when it comes to action. Look at newcastle, too. Another big club with a tradition of thousands of die hard fans. Both clubs getting royally screwed over, and both sets of fans largely bending over and taking it. Occasional tiny pathetic excuses of protests by a few hundred or so that amount to nothing whilst owners chuckle all the way to the bank as fans still pay ridiculous amounts of money for tickets and season tickets and pay stupid money for a club shirt every year, turn up in their thousands and sit in silence before shuffling off home again for a moan about how shit the whole experience was.

It's shameful how football has been allowed to come the beast it is in this country, but it's always the same here - we grumble and moan about shit but do the sum total of fvck all about it.

 

[Weststander]

This is footballs problem. Loyal to the point many club-fan relationships are best described as abusive. But equally, owners know fans are hopelessly disunited on the whole...with possibly ONE exception in the entire history of the game

We need saving from ourselves never mind the clubs we devout more money than sense to.

Blackpool (Oyston), Liverpool (Hicks & Gillet), Charlton (Roland) and Wrexham (the crook who tried to do an Archer), were also success stories, one way or another, of fans uniting against liars and chancers.

 

[Simster]

It was the supporters saying it.

Just as the supporters of Newcastle and Leeds are about to, (dare I say some fans of the Albion would also), sell their souls for a top 4 place.
If West Ham had stayed where they were in the table, during Autumn, they wouldn't be complaining about getting shafted out of Upton Park, now.

First of all, you don't know that's true, you're just on one of your tedious self righteous crusades. Unusually for you, it's not at the expense of our supporters who are legitimately criticising an aspect of our team, this time it's West Ham's fans who apparently weren't complaining at their stadium when they were doing well.

And you're talking bollocks in any case, everybody knows a large rump of them have been upset ever since they moved out of the Boelyn.

 

[The Clamp]

Brilliant post. Brilliant.
From the outside the stadium looks like a huge council sports centre. Which is pretty much what it is. I actually quite like the Stratford area and have had some good times around there. It’s a pretty amazing, state of the art stadium. Great facilities. But as a club’s ground? No, not fit for purpose. No soul.

 

[Ernest]

Funny every time they hit a bad spell they blame the ground. They’ve spunked millions of quids away on shite players so you can’t blame the owners for not investing either.

Typical entitled fans who think they should be beating teams like Brighton and of course they will on Saturday

 

[Stat Brother]

Funny every time they hit a bad spell they blame the ground. They’ve spunked millions of quids away on shite players so you can’t blame the owners for not investing either.

Typical entitled fans who think they should be beating teams like Brighton and of course they will on Saturday

Careful SIM will call you names.

 

[portlock seagull]

I feel sorry for the fans. Sounds utterly shyte and it must be a soul destroying experience.

But... We really are pathetic on the whole in this country when it comes to action. Look at newcastle, too. Another big club with a tradition of thousands of die hard fans. Both clubs getting royally screwed over, and both sets of fans largely bending over and taking it. Occasional tiny pathetic excuses of protests by a few hundred or so.

Always the same in this country - we grumble and moan but do the sum total of f.all about it.

Totally agree. We are utter subservient droids when it comes to civil action. Want to protest? Apply for a licence, get insurance, ensure there’s enough volunteers to marshal...hardly storming the Bastille is it? Weapons, not whistles, is what the establishment listens to. We used to invade countries. Now we’re too timed to invade pitches. Where are the angry young men of today? Playing Fortnite that’s where, whilst their jobs, homes and future hopes are pushed ever further out of reach. Pathetic as you say.

 

[Wardy's twin]

My view first season

Acceptable perhaps as a one off but every week , not for me.

 

[Algernon]

In my opinion, as fans age there will be a percentage who just can't be arsed to drag themselves to games anymore and will look to blame anything other than getting older.
The same thing happens with many interests, partners included.

 

[Wozza]

They’ve spunked millions of quids away on shite players so you can’t blame the owners for not investing either.

The owners sign-off the player investments, not the fans.

 

[Stat Brother]

The BBC were churning out that propaganda all over again, a couple of months back when they won at home a few times. “Now feeling their proper home, what an atmosphere”.

Absolutely no interest in digging a bit deeper into the way their true fanbase have been shafted.

Oh of course.
I'm just saying timing is everything.

They knew they had to leave the old ground.
They (and us tax payers) were shafted by the new one.

They've every right to be angry.
When whoring for season tickets Brady said something like 'no seat will be further away from the pitch, in the new ground'.

It's just they are only really really upset when they are in the relegation zone.

 

[portlock seagull]

Blackpool (Oyston), Liverpool (Hicks & Gillet), Charlton (Roland) and Wrexham (the crook who tried to do an Archer), were also success stories, one way or another, of fans uniting against liars and chancers.

I meant fans from multiple clubs to a single ones cause. On a significant scale.

 

[Simster]

Careful SIM will call you names.

Nah. It's easier to accept coming from someone who isn't forever moaning at fans regardless of the actual reasons.

 

[Weststander]

Oh of course.
I'm just saying timing is everything.

They knew they had to leave the old ground.
They (and us tax payers) were shafted by the new one.

They've every right to be angry.
When whoring for season tickets Brady said something like 'no seat will be further away from the pitch, in the new ground'.

It's just they are only really really upset when they are in the relegation zone.

True. Winning games always wins fans over, it’s how every fan hopes to get their short term fix. We would be no different, besides many or most of those in the athletics stadium are far more malleable new fans.

 

[Easy 10]

The stadium itself is not shite, but it IS a shite football stadium. I was in the home end for our 3 nil win and it was a dreadful atmosphere.

I've not been there yet so I may be blowing it out of my arse, but as stadiums go (and I am something of a nerd when it comes to stadiums), from what I've seen, its one big MEH from me. I was underwhelmed at its design for the Olympics. A basic circular bowl, nothing remarkable or iconic. The Stadio Olympico in Rome was refurbed 30 years ago for the 1990 World Cup and still looks similar. We are certainly not talking about an imaginative design.

I guess it was done on a budget (of sorts) with pubic money involved, hence its thoroughly generic look. It was nothing special as an athletics stadium, so as a football stadium it was always going to be shithouse.

You want to see stadiums these days, USA is where its at. Some of the new builds there are absolutely jaw-dropping.

 

[Easy 10]

agree with it all.

we went out of the cup yesterday without any fight passion soul from the crowd.

I sat at the end of the match and thought GSB have destroyed the club for ever. we are broken.

doubt I will go again this season and it will probably be my last as I miss the Boleyn ground so much. every time I go to the bowl I find myself saying I hate this place as I walk past the soul destroying wastelands of stratford.

MAY 2016 WHU RIP

time to hang up my scarf as I am done. 1977 -2020


I feel for fans like this.

GBS have destroyed the soul of a football club in order to pursue the corporate $$$. They'll sell up and move on at some point, leaving behind them a shell of a club, their fans now lumbered forever with a soulless athletics stadium as a home ground. I'd probably jack it in meself.

 

[Jordy]

Underwhelming is the word for it. All the hype and excitement but in reality it’s just a bowl, nothing special.

Man City got it right when they transformed their ground into a football stadium, whereas the London Stadium it was decided to leave things as much as possible so could be used for multi sports, even baseball has been played there.

Got a mate who is a Wet Spammer, was a season ticket holder for many years at the Boleyn and continued for a few years at the new ground but now only goes once or twice a season and he’ll genuinely say it’s only because he feels like he has to, not because he wants to. Very sad.

Been a few times over the years with said mate, but not for the last two years as I’ve not enjoyed a single match. It’s not a football ground, end of really. Took my daughter to watch Sarries v Quins last season there and guess what, it’s not a rugby ground either.

Makes me appreciate and love our Amex so much!!

 

[Pavilionaire]

That post by The Old Mile End is one of the most powerful posts I've ever read on a football forum.

You read that and all of a sudden the disconnect makes sense. As football fans we all lose out when a big club like West Ham loses its identity. Spurs seem to have got it right and I hope Everton's new ground is a success too.

 

[kevo]

Highbury, The Boleyn, two grounds full of character traded for something much less. The yanks get it right with their modern build but retro look baseball stadiums.

Do you think the Amex could have been better designed to make it more atmospheric? It would be bizarre to see a new stadium built with old-style stands and floodlights etc and with the crowd close to the pitch, but I think fans would love it.