I’ve always thought that after twenty years of going to the Boleyn as a season ticket holder; after seeing all the ups and downs that Mark Noble has spoken about during his loyal career; that I never let football affect my mood too much. Living with three Arsenal fans and having been at a school with countless Spurs supporters, I always chuckled at their fluctuating moods and their bursts of anger whenever it came to the football. As a West Ham fan, you’re grounded in reality. You dream big, of course, but you understand the limits and don’t let it all get to you.
Having said that, I’m now going to go back completely on my word. 2016 already feels like a incredibly positive year in general – and partly that’s down to the shape of the club at the moment. With six games left at the Boleyn, a possible trip – or two – to Wembley on the horizon, the atmosphere of hope and excitement is palpable.
Add to that the move to the Olympic Stadium and last week’s news that we will now have a 60,000-capacity stadium. Karren Brady introduced the news with the quote: “West Ham fans are famous the world over for their wonderful support. They have demonstrated this once again at matches this season and in the way that they have embraced the move to the new ground. We are delighted to be able to reward that magnificent support by releasing additional Season Tickets and bring even more visitors to the Park to enjoy all that it has to offer.”
All good news, no? 2016 gets better and better? Well, I thought so, until a recent text from an old work colleague. One of those moaning Arsenal fans, of course. He messaged me delightedly to tell me that he and some of his other Arsenal mates had clubbed together and bought a few cheap season tickets at the Olympic Stadium. I was shocked and bemused. “Really?” I asked. “Yeah, too hard to pass up when that cheap,” was his reply.
West Ham fans may be famous for their support, as Ms Brady wrote, but it’s not just West Ham fans that will fill those 60,000 seats. There may be many non-Hammers in the stands too.
Now, this is to be expected in an age when season ticket prices in London for the Premier League are extortionate. Arsenal’s cheapest is 1,035 – that’s more than our most expensive offer at the Olympic Stadium (excluding the 1966 seats). Chelsea’s cheapest is 595; Tottenham’s least expensive 765. West Ham deserve tremendous credit for being at the forefront of cheaper tickets for fans – of course, it does help not having to pay for a world-class stadium, just like City with their Commonwealth Games inheritance. But it has to be noted that cheap tickets, in a well-connected stadium, at a time when London is increasingly expensive for fans and residents alike, is unfortunately going to attract not just tourist fans but other football fans desperate for live Premier League games.
Whose fault is that? Yes, the clubs and the Premier League for their mad rush for gold. But West Ham – the club and us fans – have to realise that we aren’t going to be surrounded by life-long fans with family connections in E20. The goal of being a big club – with the global standing of Manchester United and the bizarrely large Twitter following of Arsenal – means that a whole new breed of “West Ham fan” will come in: the tourists, the businessmen, the European entrepreneur, and yes – even the odd Arsenal fan eager for cheap games.
Within this context, I remember a Sunday Supplement podcast a few weeks back when a journalist referred to a conversation with David Sullivan where the chairman said that ticket sales weren’t crucial to a club’s finances. It was the TV money that mattered. It is good to hear that – and hopefully that kind of thinking will start permeating through other clubs’ hierarchies so that ticket prices begin to drop. However, it must be noted that such thinking also leads me to wonder – well, why the need to the Olympic Stadium in the first place? Yes, the spectacle makes it more enticing for luring big name players. But do we need 60,000, even 66,000 seats, if it provides nothing to the club in terms of revenue but instead just adds countless fans who are not there for the love of the club but solely for their love of a good bargain?
Of course, I don’t bemoan having foreign football fans come to visit. I’ve been to Europa League finals and even recently went to a FC Koln v Schalke match and cheered on the home side because it’s a great experience and a wonderful feeling to be part of another city’s club, joining in with their celebrations. But the worrying aspect is the text from that Arsenal fan: how many “other fans” from other domestic clubs will descend on the gates of E20 and not give it their all? It’s impossible to tell and it’s impossible for the club to know who exactly is joining as a member or a season ticket holder.
What is clear is that as West Ham enters a new phase of possible Champions League football at discount rates, we will become the envy of many a football fan – home and abroad – and we will no longer be a family club. That is something to embrace and feel excited about – but it comes at a cost too. There is a battle for the soul of the club ahead, I feel, and we need to make sure we sing loudly and proudly to drown out those “fans” that don’t bleed claret and blue.