Trampolining Boro Fans Didn't Help Matters, But Worse Was..

The media have descended on West Ham's 'transplant' from the Boleyn Ground to the London Stadium with the sort of fervor and vengeance that they can always be relied upon to serve up, there are many contributing factors with greed and envy at the forefront. The perceived greed of West Ham's co-owners and the envy of just about every other Barclays Premier League team have collided with the inevitable negative consequences, as with many contentious issues the benefit of hindsight can be a wonderful thing. Overall the move has been relatively successful, but it was always going to be under intense scrutiny and it was inevitable that problems and issues would be 'extensively' highlighted, in that respect the media have made a sterling effort! Reports of 'hooliganism' are easy copy for the red tops and those who should know better, instead of sensationalism perhaps a more balanced perspective might be beneficial, to that end we attempt to raise a few issues and make note of some events that went unreported during, and after the match against MIddlesbrough.
Firstly we in no way condone the acts of mindless individuals or groups of them, and there were a few at the London Stadium, on BOTH sides! Despite the increased security which was welcomed particularly by those who were attending the match with their children, there were several 'runs' made by fans of both sides in order to 'get at' or 'rile' the opposition, these flash points were for the most part dealt with quickly and efficiently, but one event was both alarming and dangerous whichever context it is viewed with. Following the scoring of the Middlesbrough goal to go 1 - 0 ahead in the game, fans did what has now become the away fans ritual of running up and down the 'walkways' that link the stands to the bars, food franchises and toilet facilities. This 'act of provocation' may not seem very significant, but it has created the possibility of a 'tinder box' situation, one that will probably ignite when local rivals visit the Stadium! However on Saturday, Boro fans managed to leap from the stands on to the tarpaulin covers that hide the scaffolding which supports the seating above the running track, they were able to pirouette and somersault which was very entertaining for their own fans but was like a red flag to a bull for the home fans, especially those who were begrudgingly adhering to the no standing rule. It took a significant amount of time for stewards to regain control of the impromptu trampoline, by which time a very angry atmosphere had begun to prevail, Dimitri Payet's wonder goal coming within five minutes of the Boro goal probably saved the day in more ways than one as attention shifted to out chanting the away fans rather than muscle flexing (sadly you know who you are!)
Unfortunately the cave man aspect gained momentum outside the ground with a few minor scuffles, although the sight of a Hammers fan boarding his coach with a bleeding nose wasn't exactly what you want your kids to see, but the saddest and most perturbing event which was witnessed first hand by site members was groups of 'dinosaurs' from a certain era meeting up with their Luddite colleagues for a pre-arranged 'ruck' with people of an equally disturbed disposition who had traveled all the way down from the Midlands with the sole purpose of fighting not football! These men of a certain age are an embarrassment, OK so they used to be 'hard', so what? They are a dying breed, their actions are now viewed in a similar way to drunk drivers, once upon a time they were tolerated, even feted for being a bit of a laugh! However times have changed and fortunately the old ICF life style is not particularly appealing to today's youth, because criticise them as much as you wish, they are not stupid and they are definitely not as stupid a some of their elders!
Security has improved significantly at the London Stadium and the increased Police presence in the concourse has arrived just in the nick of time, eventually away fans will have to be retained in the Stadium (as happens to Hammers fans at every away match) for a 'sensible' amount of time until the home fans have significantly dispersed, this action will alleviate a problem that up until now has not reared it's ugly head, but the impending visit of Chelsea and similar 'high profile' teams make it's implementation a necessity. The trampolining Boro supporters didn't help matters, but far worse were the mindless thugs from both sides ruining most other people's day out, and by the way 'hard men', having a fight in a pre-arranged open space is NOT being considerate, so don't delude yourselves, you're history! - Ed