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| West Ham feeling far from home after London Stadium teething problems West Ham feeling far from home after London Stadium teething problems | |
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| It is fair to say that West Ham’s move to the London Stadium has yet to go to plan. Both on and off the pitch the relocation has been beset by problems. The question remains, however, as to how much the club can do to fix them. | It is fair to say that West Ham’s move to the London Stadium has yet to go to plan. Both on and off the pitch the relocation has been beset by problems. The question remains, however, as to how much the club can do to fix them. |
| Events came to a head on Saturday when Hammers fans set upon each other in apparent disagreement as to whether they should be sitting in their seats. Social media were full of dispiriting footage, with trouble carrying on outside the ground after the match. | Events came to a head on Saturday when Hammers fans set upon each other in apparent disagreement as to whether they should be sitting in their seats. Social media were full of dispiriting footage, with trouble carrying on outside the ground after the match. |
| On Saturday night the club announced that they would ban for life anyone identified as taking part in the trouble. On Sunday the Football Association joined in, announcing that it would be investigating events. “We have been in touch with the club and the relevant authorities and there will be more conversations on Monday,” a spokesman said. But individual actions seem unlikely to stem a broad sentiment that West Ham’s new ground is a long way from being a new home. | On Saturday night the club announced that they would ban for life anyone identified as taking part in the trouble. On Sunday the Football Association joined in, announcing that it would be investigating events. “We have been in touch with the club and the relevant authorities and there will be more conversations on Monday,” a spokesman said. But individual actions seem unlikely to stem a broad sentiment that West Ham’s new ground is a long way from being a new home. |
| Speaking after the match, Slaven Bilic acknowledged there were “advantages and disadvantages” in leaving their 112‑year home at Upton Park for the modern surrounds of the former Olympic Stadium. “We can talk about excuses,” West Ham’s manager said, “but there’s no point in moaning about it.” | Speaking after the match, Slaven Bilic acknowledged there were “advantages and disadvantages” in leaving their 112‑year home at Upton Park for the modern surrounds of the former Olympic Stadium. “We can talk about excuses,” West Ham’s manager said, “but there’s no point in moaning about it.” |
| There has been no shortage of moaning, though. The main source of discontent appears to be from fans who were previously allowed to stand for the duration of the matches at Upton Park but are now being firmly told to sit down. This is further exacerbated by the fact that blocks of fans have been broken up by the move and that stewarding is not conducted by West Ham employees but by the stadium’s own operating company, the mysteriously titled LS185. | There has been no shortage of moaning, though. The main source of discontent appears to be from fans who were previously allowed to stand for the duration of the matches at Upton Park but are now being firmly told to sit down. This is further exacerbated by the fact that blocks of fans have been broken up by the move and that stewarding is not conducted by West Ham employees but by the stadium’s own operating company, the mysteriously titled LS185. |
| In fact LS185 is named after the stadium and the 185 British medals won at the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and is a subdivision of the French company Vinci Concessions. It was awarded a 25-year contract for the running of the ground last year. West Ham have a 99-year lease as tenants at the stadium, still owned by the Greater London Authority. | In fact LS185 is named after the stadium and the 185 British medals won at the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and is a subdivision of the French company Vinci Concessions. It was awarded a 25-year contract for the running of the ground last year. West Ham have a 99-year lease as tenants at the stadium, still owned by the Greater London Authority. |
| Much was made of the deal West Ham got for the stadium, with the club paying just £15m of the £272m required to adapt it for football. And while they pay £2.5m in annual rent, the club are not obliged to cover the costs of police, stewarding, heating, pitch maintenance or even corner flags. But the club’s ability to adapt the stadium to their needs has proven limited, with the seating arrangements and the continued existence of an athletics track around the pitch only the most visible of difficulties. | Much was made of the deal West Ham got for the stadium, with the club paying just £15m of the £272m required to adapt it for football. And while they pay £2.5m in annual rent, the club are not obliged to cover the costs of police, stewarding, heating, pitch maintenance or even corner flags. But the club’s ability to adapt the stadium to their needs has proven limited, with the seating arrangements and the continued existence of an athletics track around the pitch only the most visible of difficulties. |
| West Ham will have to persuade their supporters to sit if they wish to extend the ground’s capacity to 66,000. Any safety agreement that would allow the club to occupy 9,000 currently empty temporary seats would depend on it. The co-chairman David Gold’s desire to introduce safe standing into the ground would seem a long way off. The club have announced that they will be looking to strengthen the security between home support and away fans after groups spilled over into rival areas during the Watford match. | West Ham will have to persuade their supporters to sit if they wish to extend the ground’s capacity to 66,000. Any safety agreement that would allow the club to occupy 9,000 currently empty temporary seats would depend on it. The co-chairman David Gold’s desire to introduce safe standing into the ground would seem a long way off. The club have announced that they will be looking to strengthen the security between home support and away fans after groups spilled over into rival areas during the Watford match. |
| Earlier matches have also seen altercations and there have been reports of fans finding it difficult to access the ground or without a seat when they got there. On Saturday there were other, smaller, gripes that were immediately apparent to anyone watching the match. Some seats are an eye-straining distance from the pitch and other, lower, sections of retractable seating offer very little perspective on the play. Indeed such is the view for many in the ground that it took more than one replay of Dimitri Payet’s rabona assist before they actually saw it. | Earlier matches have also seen altercations and there have been reports of fans finding it difficult to access the ground or without a seat when they got there. On Saturday there were other, smaller, gripes that were immediately apparent to anyone watching the match. Some seats are an eye-straining distance from the pitch and other, lower, sections of retractable seating offer very little perspective on the play. Indeed such is the view for many in the ground that it took more than one replay of Dimitri Payet’s rabona assist before they actually saw it. |
| Perhaps it is this distance that has meant West Ham have struggled to generate atmosphere in their matches so far. Crowd noise seems to escape the stadium and is drowned out by the specifically engineered PA system. The sheer size of the pitch – perhaps intended to bring the game as close to the fans as possible – also seems to militate against the Hammers’ style of play, with only Michail Antonio suited to taking advantage of broad spaces. The managers’ technical areas, meanwhile, are about the size of a five-a-side pitch. | Perhaps it is this distance that has meant West Ham have struggled to generate atmosphere in their matches so far. Crowd noise seems to escape the stadium and is drowned out by the specifically engineered PA system. The sheer size of the pitch – perhaps intended to bring the game as close to the fans as possible – also seems to militate against the Hammers’ style of play, with only Michail Antonio suited to taking advantage of broad spaces. The managers’ technical areas, meanwhile, are about the size of a five-a-side pitch. |
| West Ham will soon begin stage two of their seating plan, whereby they hope to allow more groups to sit together as they did at Upton Park and more clearly denominate areas that are family friendly. The club clearly want to make this work and have a long time to get it right but there is a lot of ground to make up, literally. One consolation remains for fans at least; the machines that blow industrial amounts of bubbles before the match are very much functioning. | West Ham will soon begin stage two of their seating plan, whereby they hope to allow more groups to sit together as they did at Upton Park and more clearly denominate areas that are family friendly. The club clearly want to make this work and have a long time to get it right but there is a lot of ground to make up, literally. One consolation remains for fans at least; the machines that blow industrial amounts of bubbles before the match are very much functioning. |