West Ham United fans are planning to hit their club’s troubled owners with TWO protests before Saturday’s home match against Crystal Palace.
Anti-board sentiment is swelling at an alarming rate just a few weeks into the new Premier League campaign, which already looks doomed to be a backs-against-the-wall relegation battle.
Disastrous results against a backdrop of weak performances, their controversial stadium and perceived lack of ambition from the club’s top brass is reopening old wounds.
Sullivan and Brady are Making Fans Unhappy
West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan watching on from the stands
Hammers United is the biggest single opposition to the regime of co-owner David Sullivan and his vice-chair Karren Brady, who have never enjoyed universal support.
A demonstration in 2020 drew in 9,000 fans unhappy with what has become of their beloved club, with much of the focus on the underwhelming move from Upton Park to London Stadium.
Now, two years after winning a first major trophy for 43 years, West Ham are in the bottom three and fold like a matchday programme when the going gets tough. Simmering resentments are resurfacing and this weekend sees the first pinch point of relations between fans and the board.
Splinter group Crossed Hammers are organising their own march against Sullivan, Brady and the other directors they feel are complicit in the steady downfall of West Ham since 2023.
Spokesperson Chris Mills said: “The whole club is in a mess. We have the same goals as Hammers United, but we are a bit more ‘non-official’.
“We don’t normally tell people what we are planning to do but this time we want people to know in advance. We will also take our protests to the very gates of the stadium because we want Sullivan and Brady to see us. When Hammers United held their last march they stopped just before Marshgate Lane, out of sight of the club. We want to put more pressure on the board.
“But there is so much shared feeling among us all. West Ham are dying the death of a thousand cuts. Little by little, it is ebbing away. With the treatment of the fans, they have managed to get rid of so many long-term supporters. The whole matchday experience is terrible. Probably the worst in the top three leagues.
“The gaps between the supporters and the pitch is ridiculous. You could hold a five-a-side game between the goals and the stands. With the way we are playing, maybe that’s a good idea.
“There is no traditional end or singing section, no family stand. It is set up so badly. So many things are wrong and they haven’t fixed any of them. The only thing they have done is put up shelves for our beers because there was nowhere to rest your pint. That’s it.
“Home advantage just doesn’t exist for West Ham anymore. We were promised a world-class stadium for a world-class team by Karren Brady. She said it. Apart from the odd exception, our signings are half-arsed and sporadic. One good signing, five bad.
“London Stadium consistently gets voted the worst ground to visit by away fans. And we have had Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal supporters in our end. We have even seen our own stewards cheering the away team’s goals, it’s that bad.
“We should have pushed on from winning in Europe but, just like the money that was wasted when we sold Rio Ferdinand, the same has happened again. No lessons have been learned.”
Hammers United Expecting Thousands to Protest
General view of West Ham's London Stadium
Crossed Hammers reckon they will gather several hundred disgruntled diehards on the route of their march from Stratford Station to the ground - via The Carpenters’ Arms pub on a gritty council estate behind the London Stadium.
Much bigger will be the Hammers United procession, with organisers hoping for several thousand fed-up fans to join them. A total boycott of West Ham’s Monday night home game against Brentford next month is also being called for.
Row upon row of empty seats is a dreadful look on live TV, but West Ham should be used to it by now. London Stadium has drained like a cold bath long before full-time already this season as fed-up supporters turn early for the exits. The team has conceded eight goals in two matches at home - three against Tottenham and five against Chelsea.
Hammers United held talks with vice-chair Brady and other senior figures at the club last week - not long after passing a vote of no confidence in the board. Last Saturday’s 3-0 pummeling at home by fierce rivals Spurs has cranked up ill-will to new levels and the board were subjected to verbal abuse by angry supporters leaving early.
West Ham United head coach Graham Potter in front of the London Stadium Related
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Hammers United want the largest single shareholder Sullivan and Brady to leave the club.
Spokesperson Andy Payne said: “Ten years ago, West Ham and Spurs were similar clubs. They had won more trophies, but they were similar in size and outlook.
“Tottenham own their own ground and have done amazing things with it. Their team is coming together. We can’t catch them anymore with these owners in charge. And that is unacceptable for West Ham.
“Every manager we recruit is out of work. We never go after managers. It’s like picking up the free agents at the end of every transfer window.
“Sullivan can keep his shares, but we need someone new to lead the club. Brady is vice-chair but isn’t even full-time. She is distracted by other projects like The Apprentice and the House of Lords. We need change at the top to take the club forward.”