Simmering fear and loathing at West Ham may boil over again
Moyes calls for calm and urges bitter fans to rally behind his players – not against the board
Three weeks since the London Stadium erupted in the most dramatic and damaging fashion, an underperforming West Ham United team return to their unloved home with even more questions and even more doubts than before.
Will there be a repeat of the protests that so marred the 3-0 defeat by Burnley, when hundreds of supporters hurled abuse, and objects, at the club’s owners and five fans invaded the pitch? What could be the trigger for another outpouring of anger? And what will happen if Southampton, today’s opponents, take an early lead?
David Moyes, the manager, has said he believes the fans will get behind the team, while Mark Noble, the captain, has pleaded for unity. But it will take more than pre-match positivity and an open letter to patch up these wounds.
The rifts are not just between the supporters and the board, but also between the fans themselves. Some believe that the side must be backed to avoid relegation, but for others the ultimate aim of ridding the club of co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan is more important than Premier League survival. “A lot of people are torn,” says Paul Turner, the vice chairperson of the West Ham United Supporters’ Association. “Torn between showing our displeasure and it having an effect on the players, or not showing displeasure against the board and letting them get away with what some people feel is mismanagement.”
Moyes, for his part, yesterday made it clear that the atmosphere in the Burnley game had a severe impact on his players. Statistically, he said, the side’s running figures “dropped off a cliff ” after the first pitch invasion. He has vowed that the side will be “mentally stronger” in the event of further unrest, but also warned that the club will be unable to attract new signings if this atmosphere persists.
Steps have been taken to avoid a repeat, including a major increase in security (at an extra cost of £60,000 to the taxpayer) and the installation of a security barrier in front of the directors’ box. It was from that area of the stadium that the owners were directly targeted against Burnley, with Sullivan being struck on his glasses by a coin. Police this week held a call with various fan groups in an attempt to gauge what protests may or may not have been arranged, while Moyes has attended two meetings with supporters in the last few days.
These are reasonable steps, but it is hard to imagine they will soothe a rage so incandescent among some fans that a banner was recently created saying that Sullivan, Gold and Karren Brady had “done more damage to the east end of London than Adolf Hitler”.
There has been uncertain talk of a “static protest” among some groups, while it seems certain that a “ramble” – not a “march” – will take place from Stratford to the
‘We can’t lose our focus like we did. We have to stay strong’
stadium before the game. Estimates from some supporters say that only a couple of hundred fans will take part, while others think it may be closer to 1,000 by the time it has reached the stadium. The Daily Telegraph understands that some supporters are looking to bring black balloons into the ground as a visual demonstration of unhappiness.
“Everyone is waiting to see what will happen,” Turner says. “If West Ham go 1-0 down, there might still be an attempt to galvanise support for the players. If the team starts tanking badly, then there might be something much more sustained against the ownership.”
The other school of thought among some supporters is that many are simply embarrassed by what happened against Burnley, particularly after it emerged that a female steward suffered concussion and that another steward has a blood clot behind one eye after he was assaulted.
There is no shortage of questions, then. What is for sure is that Moyes will be desperately hoping the fans stay behind the side, even if he is convinced the players would cope better the second time around if there was trouble. “We have spoken to the players about what we are going to do if anything happens,” Moyes said. “We can’t lose our focus like we did. We have to stay strong and look after each other. I want to appeal to really good international players. I want them to say they want to join West Ham United. I don’t think what happened against Burnley is going to make those players want to join us.”
The all-important undercurrent to all this is that defeat by Southampton would consign West Ham to the relegation zone. Mark Hughes, the new Southampton manager, has said he wants to “affect the atmosphere in the ground” as he prepares for his first league game at his new club. If he succeeds, and West Ham collapse, the fallout could be explosive.