Pitch invaders and mayhem as Hammers collapse

West Ham 0 Burnley 3

It's in to the Circus Cafe at Gerry Raffles Square with Matt, Nigel and Michael as both the Best Cafe and Gerry's Kitchen are closed (again). Nigel's got a copy of the Times with a Julian Dicks interview where the former Hammer recalls the good old days when he had porn mags chucked at him from the Chicken Run. We head off to the London Stadium, where the Circus Cafe's name proves strangely prophetic. 

In the first half the crowd is supportive and gets behind the team. West Ham actually play pretty well and create chances. Arnautovic shoots against the keeper's legs, as does Lanzini, who also fires just wide, while Mario fires over when well placed. Antonio is beating players but not getting in effective crosses while Arnie has one of quieter games, but at least the defence holds out. 

At half time we are at least able to admire the new Jonjo Shelveys beneath our block, with Nigel leaving his 'lucky' banana skin on the shelf for Joe Hart to pick up. 

The second half is summed up by Moyes not acting with his subs and Dyche bringing on Wood as a second striker for Burnley, clearly sensing the game is there to be won. When Barnes slams home Wood's cross from the edge of the box on 66 minutes it all turns toxic. A supporter runs on the pitch and Mark Noble gets involved in a scuffle with him. The stewards are nowhere to be seen and look as proactive as our defence. 

AND SOME PEOPLE ARE ON THE PITCH… 
It's not wise of Noble to lose his discipline, but you can't fault his passion and an idiot on the pitch isn't going to help anyone. Nobes shouldn't be having to act as a steward himself. Had there been a protest march today rather than a botched cancellation and civil war among the fan groups, perhaps some of the frustration would have been vented and this wouldn't have happened. But you can't go on to the field of play. To the half dozen Herberts who invaded the pitch, you are not 'real' fans in any way. How will a ground closure or points deduction help West Ham?

There's a long delay and in the bad atmosphere the Hammers rapidly lose concentration and concede another goal to Wood four minutes later. Without the initial pitch invasion we might have retrieved a point, at least. There's another pitch incursion after the second goal as an invader is allowed to grab a corner flag and plant it in the centre circle. The stewarding is again inept. There's also a mass of fans gathered around the directors' box for the rest of the match chanting, "you destroyed our fucking club!" It's all getting very ugly, and again there's no police or stewards. 

It gets worse as the restored Hart, who has looked nervous all game, parries a long-range shot straight to Wood, who scores the third. Luckily there's an exodus from the stadium to prevent further trouble. 

In the Refreshment Rooms young Scott says that he has never seen a pitch invasion before. We're able to regale him with tales of fans sticking corner flags on the pitch, 'lying thieving cheats' banners and fans on the pitch for the anti-Bond Scheme protests. Steve comments that at least it was memorable 3-0 home defeat as he contemplates tomorrow's long journey home to Cornwall, having earlier met his cousin the Galway Hammer, who had flown over from Ireland for the debacle. 

WHERE DO WE GO TO FROM HERE, BUT NOWHERE? 
Should we give up and admit we're going down? Will we go the way of Sunderland? We're all doomed… Rather like the Brexit vote, there's a lot of people who are very angry about different things from badges to broken promises, and the mood is terrible at the club. We have three weeks without a fixture and the board has to find some way of restoring peace at the club, or indeed offer to sell up. Any new owners would have at least initial goodwill.

This is the lowest point of a low season. We're still three points off the drop zone and if Moyes really is a decent manager, he has to find some way out of this, even if the unrest is beyond his control. It felt like a broken club today. 

The protests about the lack of progress and net spending are understandable, but it's not helping the team. Whatever happens, Upton Park is gone and we have to make the new stadium work and try to stay in the Premier League. Fans can't carry on invading the pitch and besieging the director's box every time West Ham concede a goal. We need to call the rancour off for the rest of the season and concentrate on supporting the players for 90 minutes. It's been a depressing day to be a West Ham fan.