Former Southampton and England striker Charlie Austin has ripped into the London Stadium during an appearance on Sky Sports.
Austin was reacting to the current vote of no confidence in the West Ham board, issued by the Fan Advisory Board (FAB), which claims to represent 25,000 supporters. Central to the fans’ anger is the controversial move from Upton Park to the London Stadium — a ground regularly voted the worst in the Premier League.
Austin found playing against West Ham easy
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Giving his view as a visiting player, Austin didn’t hold back:
“From a player’s perspective, when I played at Upton Park it was awful for an away player. Everyone was on top of you.
“When I’ve been to the London Stadium, been fortunate to go there a few times and win, I always felt as a player, the fans are too far away from the pitch and there’s no fear. There’s no intimidation factor. You walk out, you hear ‘Forever Blowing Bubbles,’ and then you’re so far away from the pitch that the atmosphere just isn’t there.
“As an away player, you’re like, ‘I can play with freedom here — let’s go and get three points.'”
The criticism of the stadium came on the same day when talkSPORT presenter Alan Brazil also admitted fans were too far from the action.
Many West Ham fans will agree with the former Saints man’s appraisal of the ground which supporters were promised would be as close to the pitch as the Boleyn ground.