The long awaited return of fans to stadiums has been confirmed, albeit with a severe caveat! Fans can return to matches in extremely limited numbers after lockdown 2:0 ends on December the 2nd. Arsenal will be the first Premier League team to welcome back fans for their Europa League tie with Rapid Vienna next Thursday while West Ham will be the first to have fans at a Barclays Premier League game when they entertain Manchester United on December the 5th.
Manchester United are one of the clubs to feel majorly aggrieved due to the fact that no fans can be present at their Old Trafford home because Manchester's's covid-19 tier ranking prohibits public attendance of elite sport, whereas London is in tier 2 which allows a very limited return of fans.
Of course The Red Devils have contested the decision, just like they contest anything and everything that affects them, particularly VAR and penalties! Playing at home in an eerily silent Old Trafford doesn't suit their brand of referee intimidation that they have perfected since the days of Alex Ferguson, their reliance on the crowd further intimidating officials has been exposed of late with some rather poor results at home.
Before Hammers fans jump for joy, it should be remembered that only 2000 fans will ba allowed to attend the London Stadium which has a capacity of in excess of 60,000. The acoustics might be quite challenging for the Broadcasters bearing in mind the sort of 'fruity' language often used by fans, one imagines the young person operating the bleep machine will be working at full pelt!
Still, 2000 fans is better than none at all, and it will be interesting to see a newly invigorated West Ham team under David Moyes play in front of Hammers supporters again for the first time in over ten months. Will they get on the players backs? Will the players retreat back in to the shells they inhabited when exposed to the full treatment by their own fans back in the day? Or will they play with the swagger they built up in the absence of fans, who let's face it, can be rather over critical of their own team, let alone the opposition and the referee!
Out of all teams in the Barclays Premier League, West Has United seem to have benefited most from the fans' lack of attendance, perhaps this next stage will define David Moyes' legacy, if, and it is a big if, Hammers have finally cast off their flaky propensity to gift teams games, then fans can look forward to the future with genuine hope, whether fans are around or not, because it should also be remembered that the return of fans will be dictated by medical algorithms that may show that the rules for a total closure of fan attendance be re-instated. - Ed
Comments
Who gets to select which 2000
Who gets to select which 2000 fans are going to attend?
Brady of course!
Brady of course!
I for one would love to be
I for one would love to be part of the 2K!
The board will probably
Raffle off the 2000 tickets at £100 a go!
Or they will
Sell them to touts!!
It goes without saying for me
It goes without saying for me you lovely people,bet the Carpenters wont be open though.
Do they do meals Essex?
Dont think they do mate,a packet of pork scratchings doesnt count!! Lol pity,best part of the match day experience the carpenters imo
Well said 65,it certainly is
Well said 65,it certainly is the best part,they have got a kitchen come serving area out the back doing chips and burgers,but it certainly isnt like a Harvester or Weatherspoons......Its a place for beer swilling,singing with your boots sticking to the floor,as you know mate,good fun all round,though it does get too full dosent it,cant see it being open mate.
Probably right there Essex
Hard to socially distance to lip up fatty mate
Mate... Why would they play
Mate... Why would they play anything from a Chavski band? You will be telling me next that The Liquidator goes down a storm! This is why I drink in Bat n Ball with my expensive IPA and share a plate of popcorn with my pals :o)
Are they Chelsea Dartford?
Never knew that mate!!
Apologies 65, I was thinking
Apologies 65, I was thinking of Madness!
regrettably I suffer Chavski in the family, my daughter married into a staunch blue family (she is still a Hammer and fights that their son will also... its great fun!) and at weddings, christening, confirmations, first holy Communions, Bar Mitzvah etc etc (apologies if I missed any out) out comes the bl--dy Madness and they start! We retaliate with the Cockney Rejects version of Bubbles!!!
Nice 1 Dartford
Love it mate
Your right 65 mate lol!!!! With
Your right 65 mate lol!!!! With the DJ on the table swinging his shirt round his head shouting you fat bastard,anything goes,love it,theres loads of it on youtube,even caught a glimpse of myself.
The BoM
My predictions are getting ever closer! Buried in the minutes of a recent London Legacy Dev Corp meeting shows the OP valued at a mere £1.5M. With large annual losses parked at the door of the London Tax payer this is all grist to mill for the unholy trinity to buy the stadium and see the value of the club rocket... at which point they walk off into the sunset as full on Billionaires.
Let's hope so mate
Until it happens though I still believe the silver spoon kids will be heirs to the throne!!
I get what you are saying but
I get what you are saying but there are much better / easier ways to make money than football. They will set Jack the Lad up with a much nicer portfolio of business. Traditionally owning a football club was for vanity, todays world they will want sanity in profit. The West Ham project for G&S was always about the long term profit. Came in, and took a short term hit, but arranging loans with high interest rate was always an option. The long game was always the OP and they are now just one piece away from completing the puzzle... clever!
Well said Dartford,i agree
Well said Dartford,i agree there.
We can but hope Dartford
Ive always said that new owners come with a new slate & (hopefully) no baggage to divide the clubs support with...I hope for owners that just stick to the business side of football