J.Riddle 12:58 Mon Aug 22
West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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Didn't seem too bad v Domzale I didn't go yesterday, your thoughts?
C&P Standard
Tony Evans: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless - the Hammers now face the same problems as Arsenal
It must have seemed that West Ham struck gold when they were given the keys to the Olympic Stadium. Arsene Wenger compared it to “winning the lottery.” The Arsenal manager may review that statement when he visits the renamed London Stadium in December.
The financial benefits of moving from Upton Park made it a simple decision to leave. An initial payment of £15million and yearly rent of £2.5m for a 60,000-seater venue – plus other benefits – made relocation a no-brainer. Some things do not show up on the balance sheet, though.
Hammers fans have embraced their new home with gusto, trying to create a raucous background to the game. Against Bournemouth, in their first Premier League match in Stratford, they rose to the occasion.
But it will take a serious level of commitment to keep up the clamour. This is a building that seems to have been designed to drain atmosphere.
The hollering in the stands does not echo. It evaporates. Upton Park earned West Ham 10 points a season. The London Stadium may well cost them that number.
It is not designed for football. The £272m spent on making the conversion has not justified the price tag. Players and supporters feel like visitors from another sport.
It will make Slaven Bilic’s task harder. The dugouts are a penalty-area’s length away from the pitch. The West Ham manager needs a mobile phone to consult with his assistants as he prowls the line.
Yet it is not just logistics. Can the East End earthiness, the homeliness, the humour – and, even, the threat – be conjured up in this soulless place?
Wenger may recognise something when he experiences the atmosphere first-hand. The Emirates has never recreated the maelstrom that Highbury generated.
One of the most successful periods in Arsenal history ended when the team switched homes. The Frenchman blames the mortgage repayments, but that was only part of the story. A sense of purpose left with the sense of place.
The move has made the Hammers wealthier, but some of the richness of the club’s culture has been lost.
Four years on from the London Games it is hard to believe this site will ever reach the heights of 2012. West Ham will have to work hard to ensure they were not given fool’s gold when they were handed this stadium
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Replies - In Chronological Order ( Show Newest Messages First)
Buster
12:59 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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'It is not designed for football. The £272m spent on making the conversion has not justified the price tag.'
That's all you need to read tbf.
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One McAvennieeeeee
1:00 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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"It is not designed for football. The £272m spent on making the conversion has not justified the price tag. Players and supporters feel like visitors from another sport."
Bang on the money.
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Mr. Burns
1:00 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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"It is not designed for football."
That's spot on, although I thought the atmosphere was ok yesterday.
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Rossal
1:04 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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Awful article
Atmosphere was good yesterday
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Bom Stickle
1:04 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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So we will be 20 points down a season due to moving. After 1 game we are already up 3.
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NLHAMMER
1:08 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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Totally agree. All of Bradys bluster about - seats will be pitchside, no one will be further away than at Wembley is bollox.
The only obvious change made is to cover the running track with some green plastic.
Atmosphere sounded good yesterday on TV - so maybe that will continue. But the ground looks nothing like a football stadium.
Wonder if there are any further refinements that could be made?
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Grumpster
1:08 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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It is what it is and no one should expect anything else.
Modern supporters will love it and the dinosaurs amongst us will never even grow to like it, let alone love it.
No denying it holds atmosphere well, but I've now been there twice in the top tier and although it's a good view of the pitch, anyone saying it isn't miles away is lying.
Lower tier on Thursday, but then that'll be it for me.
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i-Ron
1:09 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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i thought the atmosphere was on par with upton park to be honest, but you'd hope for more with the extra fans. The game was pretty poor though, when we play someone bigger with more at stake the atmos will be good.
shame so many kids are going though, just get a family enclosure in the top section and out the way.
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NLHAMMER
1:09 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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"It is not designed for football. The £272m spent on making the conversion has not justified the price tag. Players and supporters feel like visitors from another sport."
Spot on. agree totally.
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dealcanvey
1:10 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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If that game was played at Upton Park the atmosphere would not of been much better.
Agree with some points just not sure how now we have left Upton Park it was apparently an absolute fortress where you had to take ear muffs in order to cut out the risk of going deaf. of course Upton park was rocking at times but at times it was also quite dull.
Ask the Bournemouth players what they enjoyed more. Playing at Upton park last year or the Olympic stadium..
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Grumpster
1:13 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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Who gives a fuck what the Bournemouth players preferred*, football is meant to be about the fans.
*I also guarantee they preferred playing at Upton Park last year as they won!!
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Joey Woodwork
1:15 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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'Upton Park earned West Ham 10 points a season. The London Stadium may well cost them that number'
What a ridiculous thing to say.
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dealcanvey
1:18 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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Grumpster 1:13 Mon Aug 22
My point was the article said we will lose 10 points this season because of the OS rather than gain 10 by playing at Upton Park..
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Sven Roeder
1:19 Mon Aug 22
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I'd bring the home benches up to about 10yds behind the touchline.
And leave the away ones where they are.
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Grumpster
1:21 Mon Aug 22
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Must admit I pretty much ignored most of the things they wrote, as it's all a right load of shit really.
I know it's completely different due to the wedge spent, but didn't do Man City any harm moving to a new stadium to then win the league.
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Your mum
1:22 Mon Aug 22
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Clickbait shit
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busheyhammer85
1:25 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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The atmosphere was no better or worse than Upton Park.
I think the stadium is the nuts, but have also spoken to others who hate it. Some of whom I'm genuinely gutted for as it's ruined their match day experience.
The club have to get the issues such as missing seats etc sorted... That is unacceptable.
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Chopper Toshack
1:27 Mon Aug 22
Re: West Ham's London Stadium is soulless Standard Article
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"Upton Park earned West Ham 10 points a season"
What a load of old bollocks.
And yet we lost to Bournemouth at Upton Park this time last season without anywhere near as many injuries as we have now.
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JustAFatKevinDavies
1:28 Mon Aug 22
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its a great stadium, all the amenities are or will be superb im sure. However its not as good to watch football there as Upton Park was for me.
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13 Brentford Rd
1:30 Mon Aug 22
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Having been there twice now I agree it's not really suitable for football and the extra 250m to covert it for football use has not solved some issues. The retractable seats are not retractable but built on scaffolding so feel temporary and create huge gaps between the tiers. You can see parts of the track and he athletics seats below which is frankly shit.
The stands are still too far away from the pitch.
The Daves have sold us down the river but hopefully when they sell to richer more ambitious owners something can be done at least about the shit scaffold seats creating the gaps between tiers?
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