Sorry. Five letters that many find difficult to string together when it matters most, when it might make a difference before it is too late.
It’s a small word, but very, very powerful, like any number of other words it can have an appreciable impact on those that hear it. Words can hurt, and once spoken can never be unspoken, and in an online world, are there for everyone to refer back to. Words like "world class team in a world class stadium".
Oh how our Vice Chair must wish she had never spoken those words. They’ve been thrown back at her so many times now, yet the five letter word she needs to say has yet to pass her lips. It’s a word she clearly struggles to say possibly because of the huge slice of humble pie she is now being asked to eat, with the club's supporters once again scheduling action to protest about her and David Sullivan's continued participation in executive roles at the club.
Contestants in the popular BBC TV show might be forgiven for looking at one of their inquisitors and thinking they are a fellow apprentice, something they would surely never consider of the other panel member with a background in the football industry.
A well-known pundit recently made a comment criticising Lord Sugar's time at Tottenham Hotspur which had their former Chairman so enraged he immediately tweeted the said commentator would be hearing from m’learned friends. Reputations matter. People who have built successful careers by delivering on their promises will defend their reputations fiercely. Those with lesser track records are not quite so keen to have their records face scrutiny.
And it’s the track record, specifically the running track record of the club's Vice Chair that thousands of supporters will once again shine a light upon with their boycott of Monday night's game against Brentford.
Now fans of the Bees might be forgiven for asking what they have done wrong, what crime has their club committed ? None. Their ownership can only be applauded in recent years, building a magnificent new stadium, recruiting and backing one of the hottest managerial talents in the game and signing players good enough to trade on to Saudi Arabia, Arsenal and Manchester United for healthy profits.
West London is a crowded market for football clubs with Fulham and Chelsea both within a short bus ride from the Bees' manor in Hounslow, but those two clubs have seen their owners invest substantially to support their competitive position in the same way Brentford have.
Fulham of course have built a new stand, frequently less than half full due to excessive pricing of tickets, a solvable problem rather than structural issue, and Chelsea are exploring the option of either redeveloping Stamford Bridge or, as is more likely, relocating to Earl's Court and building a brand new stadium in the heart of west London.
The reaction of Chelsea Pitch Owners will be telling. If they are smart, they’ll cut their deal well in advance of agreeing to a move. A lesson there perhaps for West Ham United supporters.
But not a word, not a solitary peep out of West Ham United about significantly investing in bricks and mortar. Even Crystal Palace are going to throw up a new stand at Selhurst and little old Leyton Orient have signed a heads of agreement to talk about a possible new build in Waltham Forest.
But West Ham United? Zilch. The Board continue to bury their heads in the sand and are ploughing on in their belief that our current location is the best option. For best, of course, they mean cheapest. £15m is all they put in to the stadium, mostly for sprucing up the lounges, a small office block and a shop. Of course. A shop.
Furthermore, they are continuing to confuse a good location with a good stadium. Arsenal and Spurs both took the approach their locations were fine, it was their stadiums they needed to improve. Arsenal, of course, are already seeking to expand the Emirates Stadium. Somehow they seem to have some money to spend on infrastructure despite spending around half-a-billion quid on players since Mikel Arteta took the managers job.
The London Stadium - note, no sponsor, no naming rights income - is a problem that simply isn’t going to go away. It’s the elephant in the room that no amount of clever marketing can make it seem what it is not. It’s not a football ground and West Ham United will never move forward, will never be truly united while supporters have to traipse there to support the team.
It’s a miserable day for most, evidenced by an ever-thinning crowd. A World class disaster, more than a World class stadium.
I can certainly name one player Arsenal paid a good fee for. Declan Rice is the player we sold to the Gunners for a record £105m, a fee that looks increasingly low given he is hotly tipped to become only the fifth Englishman to win the Ballon D’or next year. Insert your own Craig Dawson punchline if you like, but I won’t be laughing.
Rice captained England the other night and despite me trying to convince every Arsenal fan I meet we had his best years and his legs have gone, they know that I’m lying. He’s approaching his absolute peak, yet our Chairman - rather than build a World class team around him - put him up for sale less than 24 hours after he had captained us to our first trophy in more than 40 years.
For those who ask what the West Ham way is, that’s it, right there. Older supporters will of course mention Martin Peters, while others will drop in Ferdinand, Cole (no, not you Carlton), Lampard, Johnson, Carrick and Defoe. How many England caps between that lot? The move to Stratford was supposed to put a stop to all that, but it hasn’t.
We watched the car crash – no, not that one - of the summer transfer window unfold with the club making it obvious there wasn’t a player on the books we wouldn’t sell other than Jarrod Bowen. We’ve seen the inevitable outcome with the departure of Graham Potter after less than 30 games in charge and the subsequent appointment of Nuno Santos who, speaking at Friday's press conference, refused to confirm we had any specific targets in our sights come January.
Maybe the plan is to hope Nicklas Fulkrug will be like a new signing after another lengthy lay-off. There is a very real risk that, one, single transfer could cost the club close on £40m for a handful of goals by the time his contract expires. That’s pretty much the entire gate money for a whole season. A World class error for sure, I mean who knew, who could foresee a player over 30 with a history of injuries joining the most competitive, physically demanding league in world football, would be a risk? Who knew ? I bet the Chairman is sorry about that decision.
So Monday night has been designated a boycott, a follow-up action to the protest outside the club gates last month. With subsequent protests for the Newcastle and Burnley games already announced, there is no sign supporters are going to calm down anytime soon.
The Fan Advisory Board (FAB) issued a Vote of No Confidence in the club's Chairman – who is responsible for not delivering the promised world class team, and the club's Vice Chair - who is responsible for non- delivery of a world class stadium - with both being asked to relinquish executive roles at the club.
To make sure that message hit home, supporters groups Hammers United and Crossed Hammers have called for Monday night's boycott. The club have responded by slashing ticket prices for general admission tickets by around two thirds for adults and offering kids' tickets for a quid.
Anyone tempted to take their kids along though would be well advised to feed them beforehand as the hot dogs are about £13 each. HDFTQ isn’t quite so catchy as a slogan though. A club that hadn’t walked away from catering sales might have kept the ticket prices at a level not to undercut season ticket holders and offered a £1 hot dog on the night instead .Value can be delivered in a number of ways.
Supporters groups have made it clear it is a personal decision for every supporter whether they attend the game on Monday night or not. There has been no strong arming, there won’t be any picket lines, no recrimination or accusation. The same supporters groups have asked those who are boycotting to continue to support the foodbank collection with online donations.
Hopefully many traditional establishments that have been packed with Hammers pre-match for decades will see a surge in business on Monday night too .A great many pubs and clubs in east London and Essex will welcome the extra trade the boycott will bring them.
At the time of writing I have no idea – and nor does the club – as to how many will shuffle through the turnstiles on Monday night, but that isn’t the point. The point is we have been in Stratford for nigh-on a decade, supporters trapped in a loveless marriage, in a stadium many hate, watching a team in desperate need of improvement, with the club having no money in the bank despite selling one of the world's best three players in recent seasons.
This isn’t a case of supporters not settling in to their new surroundings, this is more like supporters wanting to move out - and thousands already have. Plenty of supporters are sorry, sorry we didn’t protest when it could have made a real difference, sorry to be missing a game we’ve already paid to attend, sorry to have believed the nonsense we were told about what the move would bring.
But we’re not sorry to point out that the people who have brought the club to its knees are not up to the job. We aren’t the ones who should be apologising, we aren’t the ones who should be showing some humility and being a little bit humble.
When the Vice Chair finally finds the strength of character to issue an apology, admit the club has not delivered on what she promised the supporters won’t be petty, won’t be childish, won’t demand a world class apology. A simple “sorry” would suffice. Providing, of course, her resignation from an executive position is delivered concurrently.
And not a single supporter would be sorry to see her go. Boycott Brentford. No more BS.
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