The moment [West Ham](https://www.claretandhugh.info/west-ham-2-5-arsenal-player-ratings/) united fans start voting with their feet and staying away, [Julen Lopetegui](https://www.claretandhugh.info/january-miracle-required-to-meet-lopeteguis-demands/) is in serious trouble. No chairman can ignore falling gate numbers and the head coach will find himself on his way out of any club where the fans turn away from attending.
Delicately captured (as always) by _theSun.co.uk_ yesterday and described with their usual finesse was “_HAMDEMONIUM”: “__West Ham fans filmed walking out after 34 minutes as they fall 4-0 down to Arsenal in wild first half of football”._
And frankly who can blame them. One of the most difficult journeys in, and out of a football stadium in the Premier League, costly and desperate food and drink offerings after suffering enormous transport, security and turnstile queues – for what?
I’ve never yet walked out early, thanks only to my son point-blank refusing to leave early no matter how awful the circumstances. If I’d have been there yesterday I suspect I’d have been mighty tempted to start heading for the early exit muttering ‘never again’ to myself, trying to get ahead of the walking traffic lights and the queues at Stratford or Hackney Wick stations.
Should Gary Neville continue to decry those fans leaving early, I’d invite him to experience the ‘real’ West Ham fan experience with me one evening and then see how he feels afterwards about those who decide to cut their losses after well over £100 spent and hours getting to the game to be served up such dross.
If fans decide to stay away from the next couple of home games – after all, that kind of performance hardly makes for ‘great expectations’ of December entertainment then David Sullivan will need to act pretty sharpish to put Lopetegui out of his misery and save us all from this slow, lingering spectacle of spineless football. The Hammers’ chairman doesn’t want the pubic admission that he got it wrong with his choice of Lopetegui, but when it starts to hit the club in the pocket – the end is nigh.