Sullivan or the RWFAG Heist

[THUNDERCLINT]

What really created the apathetic fanbase we've become?

Was it really Sullivan?

Is he really some Machavellian genius or was it getting turned over by our own for 30 grand?

How do we fix it and get everyone together again to get Sullivan out?

 

[Gary Strodders shank]

I think it's multiple things. Cockneys being culturally displaced from east London so deep into Essex that they no longer are able to form a community. We don't know each other from school or local pubs so our identity has fossilised and become something we dip into on match days rather than live out. The increased capacity has diluted the fanbase at home games with tourists and day trippers which undermines our sense of group belonging. Low birthrates and high ticket prices are both responsible for aging the fanbase. Even nearly 20 years ago it was already noticeable. The images of fat shirtless 40 somethings in that Millwall pitch invasion was cringe. We have become so passive we obey a bunch of men fresh off the boat from somewhere in south Asia telling us to Stop/Go on the way to the station. I think they are more surprised than us that we do what they tell us.

On the other hand it shouldn't be too difficult to organise a few banners. Other clubs do it when they are fed up with the owners. We should have chants too. 

The other option is to create a fan owned club like FC United of Manchester. It would be fan owned, and it would encompass traditional West Ham values of strong bonds, sticking together and an ethos of cultivating youth and playing good football. 

I’ve thought long and hard about this because I don’t care about the division we’re in, but I do care about the widening gap between the big corporate model of football and what I fell in love with.

A huge drawback for me personally is that it’s the ‘in thing’ to follow a non-league club around and it’s generally followed by hipsters and progressives who politicise everything. It’s bad enough seeing the Pride of Grasses pride flag at West Ham games, but I could see it being commandeered by the tossers who follow Clapton and Dulwich around. 

Try asking Marc White at Dorking about forming a new club for the disillusioned.

That's exactly what he and his pals did when they got hacked off with what was going on at Wimbledon.

They started off in a Saturday parks league and made it all the way to the national league.

[Massive Attack]

He means Old Bill. He's trying to be down with the kidz innit. 

[Gank]

I've often felt that a good way to ram home the point is a co-ordinated boycot of a home game, with the fans going, instead to one of a dozen or so lower league games close to them.

Rather than have 12 - 20,000 fans unexpectedly rock up at, say, a Dagenham & Redbridge home game, 1,000 living nearby,  go there, 1,000 at another match more local to them, 1,000 at a 3rd game and so on.

No need for those in any "1,000" to even know what other games are matching their protest, so less chance of a weasel grassing to the feds to try and dissuade West Ham fans attending. The "1,000" is arbitrary. I only suggested it as it probably allows mates to stick together socially and at least share a pint at a game.

Quite sure lower league teams can manage - and indeed would welcome - the extra attendance/revenue.

Now. How to organise. That's probably the $64,000 question.

Maybe someone can peruse the game schedules and determine what lower league home games are taking place at the same time as West Ham home games, then collate a list of supporters - possibly on a private social media group. They can then self-manage the protest from there.

Or maybe it really is too much effort to make a stand after all and we all just want to go to the London Stadium to see the stars of the PL.

 

 

What the fuck is a fed?

Anyway, that would only work if all the West Ham season ticket holders live close to Stratford, but in reality I'd say that would be under 20%.

But the principle is good, go to a non League match in protest, it's the empty seats that would make him pay attention much more than a petition. I don't think it would work, I'd be at Chatham Town on my own while all my mates went to West Ham. I could persuade them to go local but then they'd be at Maidstone United or Bromley Town or Sittingbourne or Tonbridge Angels or etc etc

I'd sooner meet them up West Ham, I rarely watch the match up there anyway.

[OK_Guy]

Pub

The other option is to create a fan owned club like FC United of Manchester. It would be fan owned, and it would encompass traditional West Ham.

A huge drawback for me personally is that it’s the ‘in thing’ to follow a non-league club around and it’s generally followed by hipsters and progressives who politicise everything. It’s bad enough seeing the Pride of Grasses pride flag at West Ham games, but I could see it being commandeered by the tossers who follow Clapton and Dulwich around. 

It would be great, we could terrorise the likes of Clapton and Dulwich. No one would dare commadeer us.

How much is left in the WHO fund?

how much would it cost to set-up a proper Club with a league registration?... out of interest.

OS Hammers FC (OS - Old School)... the pub before would  be a riot but, I'm having a fit of fantasy, please ignore.

[honky cat]

Pub

The other option is to create a fan owned club like FC United of Manchester. It would be fan owned, and it would encompass traditional West Ham.

A huge drawback for me personally is that it’s the ‘in thing’ to follow a non-league club around and it’s generally followed by hipsters and progressives who politicise everything. It’s bad enough seeing the Pride of Grasses pride flag at West Ham games, but I could see it being commandeered by the tossers who follow Clapton and Dulwich around. 

It would be great, we could terrorise the likes of Clapton and Dulwich. No one would dare commadeer us.

How much is left in the WHO fund?

[Mike Oxsaw]

I've often felt that a good way to ram home the point is a co-ordinated boycot of a home game, with the fans going, instead to one of a dozen or so lower league games close to them.

Rather than have 12 - 20,000 fans unexpectedly rock up at, say, a Dagenham & Redbridge home game, 1,000 living nearby,  go there, 1,000 at another match more local to them, 1,000 at a 3rd game and so on.

No need for those in any "1,000" to even know what other games are matching their protest, so less chance of a weasel grassing to the feds to try and dissuade West Ham fans attending. The "1,000" is arbitrary. I only suggested it as it probably allows mates to stick together socially and at least share a pint at a game.

Quite sure lower league teams can manage - and indeed would welcome - the extra attendance/revenue.

Now. How to organise. That's probably the $64,000 question.

Maybe someone can peruse the game schedules and determine what lower league home games are taking place at the same time as West Ham home games, then collate a list of supporters - possibly on a private social media group. They can then self-manage the protest from there.

Or maybe it really is too much effort to make a stand after all and we all just want to go to the London Stadium to see the stars of the PL.

[Pub Bigot]

I think it's multiple things. Cockneys being culturally displaced from east London so deep into Essex that they no longer are able to form a community. We don't know each other from school or local pubs so our identity has fossilised and become something we dip into on match days rather than live out. The increased capacity has diluted the fanbase at home games with tourists and day trippers which undermines our sense of group belonging. Low birthrates and high ticket prices are both responsible for aging the fanbase. Even nearly 20 years ago it was already noticeable. The images of fat shirtless 40 somethings in that Millwall pitch invasion was cringe. We have become so passive we obey a bunch of men fresh off the boat from somewhere in south Asia telling us to Stop/Go on the way to the station. I think they are more surprised than us that we do what they tell us.

On the other hand it shouldn't be too difficult to organise a few banners. Other clubs do it when they are fed up with the owners. We should have chants too. 

The other option is to create a fan owned club like FC United of Manchester. It would be fan owned, and it would encompass traditional West Ham values of strong bonds, sticking together and an ethos of cultivating youth and playing good football. 

I’ve thought long and hard about this because I don’t care about the division we’re in, but I do care about the widening gap between the big corporate model of football and what I fell in love with.

A huge drawback for me personally is that it’s the ‘in thing’ to follow a non-league club around and it’s generally followed by hipsters and progressives who politicise everything. It’s bad enough seeing the Pride of Grasses pride flag at West Ham games, but I could see it being commandeered by the tossers who follow Clapton and Dulwich around. 

[wils]

I think it's multiple things. Cockneys being culturally displaced from east London so deep into Essex that they no longer are able to form a community. We don't know each other from school or local pubs so our identity has fossilised and become something we dip into on match days rather than live out. The increased capacity has diluted the fanbase at home games with tourists and day trippers which undermines our sense of group belonging. Low birthrates and high ticket prices are both responsible for aging the fanbase. Even nearly 20 years ago it was already noticeable. The images of fat shirtless 40 somethings in that Millwall pitch invasion was cringe. We have become so passive we obey a bunch of men fresh off the boat from somewhere in south Asia telling us to Stop/Go on the way to the station. I think they are more surprised than us that we do what they tell us.

On the other hand it shouldn't be too difficult to organise a few banners. Other clubs do it when they are fed up with the owners. We should have chants too. 

[honky cat]

I think for the majority west ham is about watching a match regardless of quality, having a few pints/meeting friends. Escapism from their own problems. Most couldn't give a shit who owns west ham, I'd say more than you think don't even know who owns west ham. That's why only a couple of thousand sign petitions etc. it's not apathy, it's a reluctance to seek out the downside of something they enjoy doing.

[Pub Bigot]

There’s several factors at play, but the story of the time was midget bollocks was allegedly using his criminal connections with the long steak of piss, David Hunt scaring off those who organised the RAHFAG. 

This season there will be another Burnley type protest, but the difference is he’ll be prepared for it. 

And as much of vile cսnt as Sullivan is, and make no mistake about it because he is, the other directors with shares are also cunts, including David Gold who always gets a pass. 

[stubbo-admin]

IMO it's largely about expectations. At Newcastle they still had high expectations, and Ashley was jarring against that, so they galvanised.

Sullivan has been more slowly slowly catchy monkey. He's lowered expectations (and West Ham fan expectations have never been all that great...we suffer, our song is about last minute failure and dreaming without real expectation).

Sullivan isn't the owner we deserve, but he's the owner we expect, and he's groomed us collectively to be happy with what he serves up. 

He also dishes out superficial hope by going on a "spending spree" every so often, and dangling some former talent around.

He's good at deflecting. Good at making excuses. And plays us like puppets on a string.  And rather than invite and tile the fan base collectively, he's caused a weariness with relentless lower-level bullshit, that when bigger bullshit comes around, we're primed t swallow it.

It needs a larger watershed moment to galvanise us, but he's the master of avoiding that.

IMO if we're bottom after about 20 games the knives will be out for him....but he'll have got rid of Potter by then and turned the blame on Cock Piss. Deflect deflect deflect.

This coupled with the general West being an apathetic bunch collectively these days, brough beaten by those that run the show , so we're conditioned to just swallow things. 

It would take seismic event or colossal error on his part to shift the mood, or a galvanising charismatic talisman to appear offering a real believable alternative. Without those things, we'll keep suffering his shit.

If Di Canio turned up, bristling with passion, and backed by some multi billionaire...ready to return West Ham to tits fundamentals...you could see a tide turn. But we have no interested parties and no saviours. So the trudging acceptance of our lot continues. 

The BSOUT petition is a good example really. Yes it might change nothing, but it's representative. A guy is trying to galvanise the fan base to a cause, it takes next to no effort to register your voice to say 'enough is enough', and the worst that can happen is it makes no difference. And yet the majority are more ready to vilify the bloke trying than to go after the Goblin in charge or to support someone trying to start a campaign of push back.

 

[Alfs]

It's not that. It's 15 years of this shit making us too old and tired to care enough and the youngsters not knowing anything different at West Ham. 

 

 

Spot on.  My heart wants to lead a mass march to the bowl and petrol bomb the board - but I find it an effort to walk the dog nowadays.  

[WHU(Exeter)]

No, it was the wider football world and what the wider football world in Britain has become.

It was vilified, then rebranded and then sliced open for the likes of David Sullivan to exploit.

[Massive Attack]

I like many others have done all the marches, Stadium protests beneath the Directors Box, chanted for them to fuck off and the like. 

The last move the fanbase can really do now to force the poison dwarfs hand is by voting with your feet and refuse to buy anymore STs. Last season was my last and won't go back until they're gone. Sure they'll be new happy clappy day trippers that'll take our place but that only goes so far. Got to hit them hard in the pocket as that is what ultimately motivates them. If it's managed another way then all well and good but I think that's just about the only way they'll finally do one. 

I notice they were at Birmingham for 16 years until they finally got bored and decided to ruin us and it's about the same period they've now been in charge of WHU. Aint there another club they can terrorise, now they've rinsed us dry..

[Gank]

It's not that. It's 15 years of this shit making us too old and tired to care enough and the youngsters not knowing anything different at West Ham.