Football Forum | Ticket Forum | Off-Topic Forum | All

VirginiaHam 11:56 Sat Mar 10
My view from afar

I took most of today to digest what I'd seen on the TV today; I'm 15 miles from the White House so forgive me for being apart from the live action. For context, I have supported WHU since 1966, and I have been to two games this year; Brighton and Southampton, both away.

I thought today was a disgrace to West Ham United. I hope those who ran on the pitch never see another live WHU game again.

There are protests and there are protests. Whomever organised the march should now realise that cancelling the march was a horrible mistake. That was a chance for supporters to vent and make their feelings known. Running on the pitch isn't.

If anyone took cash for calling the march off, they are a disgrace to proper WHU supporters.

I have some sympathy for Mark Noble. Professional sports people are told not to get involved with pitch invaders. Our side had just gone down 0-1 and the game was recoverable. I think Noble was pissed off with conceding such a soft goal, and got wound up by a pitch invader who did nothing but make it harder for us to try and win the game.

I have no issue with the supporters giving the owners shit. Security was non-existent. They deserve it, no matter which part of the ground it comes from. Just use he concourse, not the pitch.

I hope the owners got the message; what they do next is anyone's guess, but if they sleep well tonight they don't have the club in their best interests.

Infidel 12:12 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

Good post Virginia, agree with your comments.

But I am also wondering what the hell is going on with us on the field of play.

We were beaten 3-0 yesterday. The first was a brilliant strike. The second a lucky bounce which put the ball at the feet of their striker right on front of goal. The third was a mistake by our keeper.

Up the other end we created a dozen or more chances, including several one on ones, and didn't finish any of them. Plus we had a decent penalty shout turned down.

Our finishing is atrocious, and it's hard to put a finger on why. We have seen all of those forward players striking the ball much better, playing with much more confidence than we see now.

Antonio in particular is a shadow of the player he was two seasons ago, when we all thought we had picked up a gem of a player. Yesterday he skied balls into Row Z under no pressure.

The team's confidence is shot to pieces. Is Moyes the man motivator to get their heads back on straight? I doubt it.

Ronald_antly 1:29 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

Although I don't live anywhere near the White House, I would like to endorse the comments of VirginiaHam.

cholo 1:24 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

I'm not sure when pitch invasion became a crime akin to child abuse, it's not actually that big a deal although I don't condone it in general terms, anyone over the age of about forty who went regularly as a kid must've been on the pitch at some point?

master 1:21 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

If you pay attention to the accounts, merchandise and tickets mean fuck all. It's all profit based on the TV money, as it is at every premier league club. So getting relegated will hurt them, but it hurts a whole many more and potentially kills off the club once and for all.

claypole 1:19 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

The only thing they will understand is fucking with their money. Whether that is not renewing, not buying merchandise or going down and losing tv revenue over a couple of seasons.

ParadiseLost 1:07 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

Watching this from even further - the game was live in Latin America on Directv- I do have concerns at how well thought out the protests are.

I understand the emotion and if any group of supporters was going to be upset at the gentrification and monetization of english soccer West Ham were going to be near the top of the pile.

But my concern that this is mostly emotion and seeing pitch invaders as heroes really sums that up.

People want Sullivan and Gold gone. Fair enough. I listened to that recent interview with Gold and anyone with a pretty basic knowledge of business would have been concerned by his answers. The club lurches from one crisis to the next, but in reality they OWN the club.

So if people want 'them gone' whats the game plan? Do we know of an investor or group of investors who are ready to step in? The concept that we, the supporters, can pressure them into selling holds no water without someone for them to sell to. And any investor is going to wait and see what happens between now and the end of the season. The going rate for a Premiership Club (even a badly run one) and a Championship one are - both literally and figuratively - a league apart.

And then there's Sullivan. Now I can see Brady leaving (and people seeing that as some sort of victory) but she'll only do that to protect her own brand. But Sullivan hasn't led a life without contraversy - his early days in the porn business presented him with far more difficult challenges than a set of unhappy and chanting fans. He isn't going to go easily. And he beyond any of us can make the situation a whole lot worse.

So while a goal of change of ownership has merit how we get there needs some rather deeper thought than has been exhibited today. If we don't get docked points for today's problems we almost certainly will if there's a repeat in the remainder of the season. The next person to leap over the barriers to take his chances on whether he gets tackled by Noble or led of by Collins could well take us down. If that's a hero - then I'm missing something.

Hermit Road 12:54 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

Pitch invasions are a time honoured, traditional way for football supporters to show their discontent. They’re not new, they’ve been done for generations because they gain attention to a cause. Much more attention than any march does. Nobody today moved to the directors box until after the first supporter ran on the pitch.

You lot saying just do nothing are part of the problem.

Oh, and we lost today because we were utterly shit.

BournemouthHammer 12:50 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

I couldn’t agree more Virginia. Personally there are ways to protest and running on the pitch is not the way to do it. The protest in front of the box is.

Lily Hammer 12:37 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

It was good, because it showed the anger and frustration that has built over the last two seasons, and when you think about it, it was actually quite restrained. Considering how much furious hurting is out there, that all could have been far far worse. In fact, that was nothing today in comparison to what an angry mob from our ranks could really be like.

VirginiaHam 12:32 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

akashi,

I've watched every game this year, btw.

On The Ball 12:31 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

They don't care about cancelling the march.

VirginiaHam 12:31 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

Takashi,

I'm not talking about this year; I'm talking about today.

You can't change what we have today, playing wise. I hope the owners realise how shit they've been, because they are the only ones who can change things.

Running on the pitch is completely brainless and embarrassing. Thought the ref did well.

I'll say it again. The march should have happened. Meeting bigtits was a huge error. If anyone's been bought off it's even worse than I thought.

Takashi Miike 12:26 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

VH, have you not been watching the games this year? this team has nothing about them, add a negative manager to that mix who refuses to select our only remaining fit striker with any ability, its a recipe for relegation. the team's been going through the motions for almost the whole season, and this is the third manager a big part of the squad have underachieved for. the protests were inevitable and I'm on the side of the fans who vented, they've been very patient

chelmsfordhammer 12:24 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

Virginia, ifs, buts and maybes. We lost today not because of a few people running on the pitch . We lost because we re shit, just the same as we were against Swansea, Brighton, Everton, Wigan, Liverpool to name but a few . All games when nobody run on the pitch.

VirginiaHam 12:18 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

No; the march was right, meeting bigtits was a huge mistake.

Might not have prevented today but at least we could put it down to a few idiots. Now we can't use that excuse.
Who knows, we might have won 2-1, but that got torpedoed by the pitch invaders.

stoneman 12:06 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

So what you are both saying is do nothing and it will improve?

I make you both wrong.

Vexed 12:01 Sun Mar 11
Re: My view from afar

I make you right.