Firstly we would like to confirm this site despises the 'return of the knuckle draggers' in any way shape or form irrespective of which team they support, West Ham United's EFL match against Chelsea at the London Stadium was always going to be under heavy scrutiny for a multitude of historical reasons, and many of those reasons had agendas both hidden and overt! The London Stadium is an 'easy hit' when it comes to reporting, the way that West Ham United acquired the Stadium has long been a source of jealousy and envy, so any opportunity to give the club a 'press kicking' is taken up with gusto!
The area of trouble was the same as had been on the previous matches, essentially the dividing line between home and away supporters. Eventually the penny will drop that away fans need to be placed 'up in the gods' rather than pitch side as well, by moving the away support up in the stands the area of confrontation will be limited and the opportunity for face to face confrontation could be better handled. As it is the 'board walk' from the pitch level passes directly underneath both home and away fans and acts a trigger/pinch point for either set of fans who attend for reasons other than just watching a football match.
To put things in perspective, last night's violence, while deplorable, especially given the amount of children in attendance, was NOT a throw back to the 70's when, believe you me, there really was a problem! Last night was all 'handbags' compared to the dark days, but the rows of empty seats served as proof that many season ticket holders avoided the game because they knew there was going to be a certain amount of 'aggro', however there were others who had their families with them who didn't want their stadium to become a no go area and attended despite their fears.
Because the Press have focused so much on the crowd situation at the London Stadium, old and young 'geezers' have crawled out from under the rocks they generally inhabit in order to try an attend matches they can get tickets for purely for the chance to resurrect the bad old days. A bit more match coverage might show events in a truer light, but as it is West Ham are 'cheap' copy for the media at the moment, which is such a pity because Chelsea were beaten fair and square, and you can guarantee if they had won the crowd trouble that happened would have been far less if any! - Ed
Comments
Difficult problem
Trouble is, it's not a proper football stadium and the fact that fans can mingle in any part of the ground, unlike proper football stadiums which can segregate easily, means that unless barricades are erected to prevent this mingling then this trouble will continue to happen. Erecting of these barricades is unlikely as this will not go down well with the athletics crowds or the other events that the ground is supposed to be hosting such as concerts, rugby, American Football and what have you. Can't see why other fans should be jealous of us occupying the OS other than we got it for a pittance as it is nowhere near the standard set by The Emirates, Wembley or the plans for the Spuds and Chelskis proposed new grounds.
I still argue that the referendum on the move the owners held was fixed and even more so, have my doubts that the bus garage argument for the restriction of expanding the East Stand at The Boleyn was a genuine hindrance. Especially as the bus garage went the day we got the OS. There's a lot of shadowy areas, murky dealings and brown envelopes in this move to my mind and to be honest,
I don't see things improving any time soon.
Coupled with the farcical Season Ticket allocations, numerous touts outside the ground selling tickets and the general attitude of fans who want to sit/stand/fight expect more tabloid bad press to come. Cant wait for a Millwall game to come or we get into Europe and meet the Ultras of the European countries such as Roma or Lazio for example.
You are correct to point out
You are correct to point out the 'ticket' distribution. With supposedly only a few tickets available after season ticket uptake, how is it that there are so many 'touts' buying and selling tickets on the way to the Stadium, and where do they get their tickets from?
I have also noticed people 'escorting' small groups of supporters in using season tickets and then 'collecting' the season tickets back. I assume this is a 'nice little earner', and not a one off either! - Ed
We'd be OK with Lazio DH,they
We'd be OK with Lazio DH,they absolutely love us,now roma that would get messy!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PMWRFtuoSY