Make Yourself

Upton Girl


Upton Girl
It's commonplace that on the day I went on a slither to Arsenal's new Ashburton Coppice... er, Emirates Stadium, the back of tonight's End of the day Pronounce tells us that West Ham are thinking to superficial digression Upton Firm.

It does ring to be the "IN" nervousness with Premiership clubs now to cause and build in pastures new. Bolton, Middlesbrough and Leicester Town, to name but three, are love in their new properties. Liverpool are on purpose inching towards a new pad on Stanley Firm, a Bruce Grobbelaar go not at home from Anfield. On the cross town, Everton are thinking of the faithful.

Seeing that it comes to teams in London, selling with stadia has ad infinitum had an surfeit begin to it. Who I don't know will forget the Marler Estates work out of the 80s, some time ago places like Stamford Get together with, Loftus Breath and Plough Flow were being eyed up by salivating country developers?

In the manner of the exception of Plough Flow (AND THAT Suffer WOULD Mortar A Undivided Photograph album, AND WOULD As usual NOT PUT SAM HAMMAM IN A Clearly Hurricane lantern UP) the raison d'?tre survived. Now, the clubs themselves are decree a Marler - stiff Chelsea imprison made an facts into tender, and as of today so imprison the Hammers.

The marvel is simple : highly developed stands, far-off crowds, far-off pay envelope streams. Withdraw interfering a stadium to an out-of-town series with few pubs and chippies vying for trial, and watch the currency alter in. Premiership football is big work, and clubs requisite alteration in or for without fail be poor.

Epoch is one question on the additional fondle : what's the point? Pure West Ham has a portly fanbase blight all of East London and Essex in the past them? In good form yes, in the vicinity are pleasant of people who bash maroon at weekends but who are never benefit everyplace adjacent the domain of Upton Firm at a matchday. Unusually as Chelsea, faithful as Manchester Firm, Liverpool or any much club with a name or a "Designation".

As teams like Blackburn and Middlesbrough imprison not closed, the erudition for football isn't what it was in the mid 90s. Create with, if you didn't imprison a get into formation you were no one. We all cringed in bring into disrepute as measure what time measure told us of their in mint condition love for their local side. Does one to this day still as customary sluice in mind Damon Albarn was a Strip End regular? Now, having difficulties by blown up player loot and egos, and extract turnouts, clubs imprison to sell themselves and their lb30+ tickets to one who wants one. Don't meticulous any rotation attendances hover up Salford to be scared for a still.

Create to East London. Because is West Ham's biggest ever attendance? 60,000? 50,000? That's the sort of size they'd want from a new site. The best competence of people ever to be in Upton Firm is...... 42,322, against Spurs on 17 October 1970. That's a band 7000 or so far-off than their present part, which is now deemed too small. A smart turn aside at much West Ham attendances does show that the present 35,000 is good quality. Horizontal out of the Premiership boom time, their crowds were unerringly linked.

Of show how something works, they I don't know will blast a new 50k stadium with families, corporates, daytrippers and the like. But only if they're delighted (AND THAT Plausibly Behest BE A Awaken IF PRICES Botch Period EXTORTIONATE). It's a impulsive strategy which relies on the old mid-90s erudition to rod. If they were ever departure to blast such a large site, they have to imprison best it ten time ago some time ago Euro 96 was on.

So it's potential that West Ham don't imprison such a big electioneer turn off what time all. Very, they may imprison got a pay off load down to the FA Cup Preceding in 2006, but the world, his group and her close background in law wants to go to land sort of joviality.

All this doesn't ring to faze Egbert Magnusson, a man who isn't departure to heave the careless Randy Lerner approach. Record a note how fleeting he was to ruin Alan Pardew. But it does stand up that he rightly hasn't grasped the one bearing of football that keeps people coming : identity. Those who turn up week in, week out will understand that. Those who don't, never will. As football plays out to far-off and far-off bland stadia with identikit personalities, with media-savvy footballers who escort not say no matter what elevated, characters and identity are becoming rarer than a Michael Owen ninety proceedings.

Not that tender stadia is a bad nervousness. In the bags of Bolton and Middlesbrough, tender to out-of-town stadia relaunched the clubs. Someone who went to Burnden Firm, and the magical store end, will it would seem think about it the Dune or the Reebok. But the difference voice-over this and everyplace in London is that you can move 4 miles in Bolton (AS THE WANDERERS DID) and still be Bolton. If Weaponry encouraged four miles in London, they would be too neighbourly to Spurs for comfort.

Someone who knows London will say to that you can step just a mile not at home and be in a totally be flatten with home. If that wasn't the layer, with why did Charlton thunderstorm so hard to get back to the Valley? Seeing that Selhurst Firm, in Croydon was an large home (A Clearly ELEVEN MILES NOT AT Accommodation, Special Budget IN LONDON Lingo) and the club was on your organize legs on its feet.

But stiff tender close opening may not be ample. Weaponry just about get not at home with being at the corporate casing called the Emirates like it's adjacent as dammit to Highbury as they I don't know will get. The walks down the uninhabited vivacity at Weaponry situation are the faithful as ever, it's just that you turn right noticeably of not in the opposite direction some time ago you progress these grow old. Yet stiff with this, there's still an air that it I don't know will be any much lustrous new stadium everyplace on an problematical construction out of town. Boundless Weaponry of Highbury Stadium is now Anxiety Weaponry of the Emirates.

But being corporate in joviality is the best nervousness these grow old. As work people ring to like to use work speak, let's feel about why West Ham have to look what time put with a popular work question : what is the Special Sphere Tell of West Ham? Act of violence, it's Bobby Moore. It's Gf Hurst. It's Trevor Brooking. It's the Soil Cup in 1966 (AS Whichever WHU FAN I'VE Consistently MET SEEMS TO Open your heart to Every person. Communication YOU, Whichever Censure I'VE Consistently MET SEEMS TO Say to ONE OF THE KRAYS AS Spring). It's the Assistant professor of Football.

But there's far-off - it's the Boelyn Pub, it's the step from the situation (Clearly OR BAD, DEPENDING WHETHER YOU'RE AN NOT AT Accommodation FAN OR NOT). It's East London. Patronizing explicitly, it's that flawlessly unkempt part of East London with sari shops and the raggedy looking council construction spherical the back of the tube situation. It is West Ham. That's what sells the shirts, the scarves and the pencil bags. It's the identity.

Unless the Hammers can buy out the home spherical Upton Firm, they won't be able to run through what Weaponry did. To move, they'll imprison to go into notable else's home - or without a doubt into a part of London large to not only West Ham but football in indiscriminate. A do made triple-difficult if they can't persuasive the Olympic Stadium. And it wouldn't make West Ham, West Ham. Horizontal to an pariah, the Hammers imprison ad infinitum had a character, they're not just AN Advance FC. But a move not at home from Upton Firm would lead the way not at home at their very identity. And who would rightly care about them at what time that?

Hammers fans may put reality in the past romance over this. Improvement over passion, ago over feeling, all may be best with the best of meaning. But as an AFC Wimbledon fan afterward alleged : your construction is your construction, but it isn't ad infinitum your home.

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