The thorny issue of standing has raised its head again at the London Stadium and it is an issue that splits fans opinions and possibly one of the most contentious issues at our new home.
When terraces were abolished in the nineties by the Taylor report after the dreadful events at Hillsborough the South bank where I stood as a youngster was transformed into the new Bobby Moore stand in 1993. In reality very little changed in the lower tier of the Bobby Moore stand and supporters carried on standing in front of their seats right up to the final day in May against Manchester United as we said Farewell to the Boleyn ground. The club tried to tackle the issue again and again over the years, writing to people, threatening to eject or ban season ticket holders but it was all in vain and mob rule triumphed and West Ham like many other clubs turned a blind eye to the issue.
The same thing happened a little later in the old North bank, it was re-opened in 1995 as the Centenary stand later renamed the Sir Trevor Brooking stand but it was only when the West Stand was rebuilt in 2001 when Chav corner was added that persistent standing became the norm in the Sir Trevor Brooking lower stand as well. Certain areas of the East Stand equally also stood in front of their seats and were tolerated at the Boleyn ground for many years.
This problem is not unique to West Ham as thousands of football supporters stand in front of their seats up and down the land and the Premier League and clubs have done little to tackle this over the last two decades and just turn a blind eye while they are slow to look at or adopt safe standing.
If anyone has ever been to a West Ham away game you will know that the Hammers away army never sit down and never sat down have in my living memory.
The Taylor report insists there should be a seat for every supporter but not that they should sit in it. Standing is not technically illegal within the law but it does break the football league regulations which say supporters must remain seated while the game is in play.
The latest debate has emerged after a flurry of complaints to the club from supporters who have disabilities, have young children or just prefer to watch football sitting and were impeded by standing fans.The Bobby Moore lower stand from the Boleyn Ground have been relocated to the new Bobby Moore Lower in the London Stadium blocks 145-155 so it should have come as little surprise to the club, the stadium operators and stewards that the supporters continued to stand as they have for the last 22 years.
Likewise many of Sir Trevor Brooking lower including Chav corner were relocated to the new West stand lower in blocks 113 and 114 and these have also become unofficial standing areas at the new stadium.
The problem came during the first two games last week when non-season holders purchased tickets for the Europa and Juventus and found the majority standing to their surprise. To be fair the supporters would have had little idea who had been relocated to these stands and the club would have found it difficult to advertise their fears.
The club is now between a rock and a hard place, they want to appear tough on those who stand but equally they know threats are meaningless and West Ham season tickets holders are very stubborn. At the Boleyn Ground the ticket office would quietly advise where the standing areas were and those who wanted to sit avoided those areas. It will take some time for the same information to get out on the London stadium.
Technically this is a stadium operator issue, it is the french operator, London Stadium 185 who employ and have the responsibility for stewards and safety at the new stadium. To be fair the stewards tried and failed to get hundreds of fans to sit down on Thursday and Sunday. It was all in vain and in the end common sense prevailed and the stewards discreetly shuffled fans between block 112 and 113 between those who wanted or needed
I am a season ticket holder in block 113 and stood in front of seat on Sunday just as I did in the Sir Trevor Brooking for years before that. I am not claiming it is the right or decent thing to do or that we have some divine right to stand forever but I am not ashamed to admit I prefer to watch football standing up.
I completely understand both sides of the argument and have complete sympathy for those who bought tickets for these blocks who struggle to stand or who had small children. In the short term fans need to know about these unofficial standing areas to know to avoid them. In the long term the Premier League needs to revisit official and organised safe standing to stop all this skullduggery and frustration from both sides of the fence. We have come a long way since Hillsborough.
For those whose sight of the game was impeded on Thursday and Sunday I apologise from my fellow standers and myself.