Tuesday, March 12

James thinks stadium might be a calamity

There's a lengthy piece by David James outlining his worries about West Ham's move to the Olympic Stadium in the Observer (click on link to read). I'd agree that renting not owning is a problem, partly mitigated by the 100-year-lease. Though I think he's wrong to equate Arsenal's lack of success with a move to the Emirates. Most of their fans seem reasonably happy with the new stadium, it's just Wenger's inability to buy a decent defender that gets to them. James also worries about the likelihood of getting in 60,000, though fails to mention the massively improved public transport links at Stratford, which will surely help bring in the floating fans and part-timers. Though it is, as he writes, a risk... read the piece and see what you think.

2 comments:

R Tomlin said...

I am sure all Hammers fans will be sad to leave Upton Park. However, the ground is very different from how it was. The North Bank was for us home supporters. The South Bank was shared with the away fans. The West Side was full of baying skinheads and the chicken run was full of middle aged men with strong opinions on everything. We stood. The atmosphere was different, especially under the flood lights. If we were leaving that Upton Park it would have been so much harder. Leaving this lesser one, I can do that. Reluctantly.

Pete May said...

Good point Richard, it's changed a lot over the years. When I first went skinheads were getting their stell toe-caps confiscated outside the North Bank. And like all PL grounds these days the demographic is much older - majority are now middle-aged men with strong opinions on everything!