Forum | Non-Football Related

Westfield Stratford is much like a mirror image of Westfield in White City, except the Stratford one has the Hammers 'Reservation' take away outlet! Ray Winstone's distinctive voice booms out via the promotional video, an audio assault which the poor blighters who work there have had to endure many thousands of times, saying how we are going to 'ammer the opposition when they turn up at what has been cruelly dubbed as The Tax Payers Stadium. The irony of using Big Ray is that his voice is synonymous with Bet 365 in play, whereas West Ham are sponsored by their fierce rivals Betway, perhaps they might put a bid in for his services during the summer transfer window.
Anyway, to continue the 'experience', those people lucky enough to even be at the arse end of the queue duly turn up to their allotted time slot, shortly after the aforementioned 'promo' is shown an agent sits down to show what seats are available, and it can be confirmed that as of yesterday (26.04.2016) there are very few left and even fewer choices! Essentially the only remaining seats are (a) up in the gods (b) next to the away fans (c ) next to the broadcasting towers, there is also the caveat that seats will not be available for FA Cup matches because of the need to offer 15% of the available seats for away fans, a signed declaration is required from the season ticket purchaser before completion. The next stage is paying and receiving your seat allocation and registration numbers which are highly important, but the on line validation process might confuse some, on completion of the process and just before departure fans are obliged to have their photo taken twice, once with a scarf and then once making the crossed hammers sign, this is ostensibly for giant background pictures because the original 'wrap' has been turned down. The fact that a two year ticket purchase is mandatory is not in itself an issue, after all the 'economy' seats are priced very keenly and so most fans are happy to stump up, there is also a loan facility so no one is left out, all of this is very encouraging, but there is one nagging doubt. During the signing up process it is made known and is common knowledge that these last seats were only available because of the club's decision to increase capacity from 55,000 to 60,000, therefore what is disturbing is that people are still being asked to pay a £10 registration fee to join the priority list, one which is currently over subscribed by 30,000! So basic maths shows West Ham will make an extra £300,000, peanuts in today's ludicrously bloated football industry, the people at the end of that list don't have a hope in hell of ever getting a ticket, definitely not for years, so shouldn't the club be more transparent about the waiting list? It would be rather a decent gesture if the club's hierarchy were able to publicly announce the success of the season ticket issue while at the same time warning how long it may take to get your ticket if you are on the priority list, it might be an even better gesture if they were to offer the money back to people who now realise they are unlikely to ever get their hands on a ticket. It would be an inexpensive PR coup, and would help endorse the fact that West Ham United really is moore than a club. - Ed

Hammers recent recruitment drive, instigated by ex-Everton super scout Tony Henry, has seen a distinct shift in emphasis, no longer are the club looking for ageing 'cheap' stop gaps, instead the key word is youth. Of course this does not mean a hell for leather throw them in at the deep end approach, rather a let's integrate youth with players who are at the top of their game and peak of fitness, that way the knowledge and wisdom of the senior players can be passed on directly, there is no substitute for experience.
The early return to the club of Martin Samuelson and impending arrivals of Havard Nordveidt from Borussia Monchengladbach,Toni Martinez from Valencia and youngster Domingos Quina, stolen from under Chelsea'a nose, are clear indications that West Ham are moving forward and are no longer a selling club, that is not to say high value players won't be moved on if the price is right, but it does mean should one of the high profile players leave that they will be replaced with a player who has equal or superior ability. This leads appropiately to the Enner Valencia situation, many fans believe West Ham paid over the odds for Ecuadorian striker who has failed to re-kindle the electric form he showed when first paired in attack with Diafra Sakho. The club would be looking to re-coup the £12 Million they paid for him, with a move to China being the most likely option as it is unclear as to whether any Barclays Premier League or European club would be prepared to facilitate the move although Dutch website Online Wedden think Anderlecht might be interested. Piece by piece Slaven Billic's team jigsaw is coming to fruition, very soon the team will be comprised of HIS players and will perform accordingly, West Ham have enjoyed a meteoric upturn in fortunes since the Croat's arrival and look set to achieve or at least equal the best ever points tally since the Premier League's inception, with more goals and more away wins attainable as well.
Proper European football beckons, earned by merit, not by some strange back door Euro clause and of course this time there will be time to prepare properly, those fans at the Boleyn for the first of the qualification matches last summer would hardly dream of what would be achieved during the year, there was a sense that something special was going to unfold as a packed Boleyn greeted the as yet untried Super Slav as he walked out on the pitch. some people said be careful what you wish for, well it appears a lot of people actually have got what they dreamed of instead. - Ed