Dear David Gold and David Sullivan,
As a long time suffering Hammer, watching our defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday night was similar to watching a relative dying.
Anger. Pain. Sadness. Frustration, Not believing what I am seeing. But somewhere in there was a sense of pride and a smile. How I could I muster a smile, some might wonder but, while my team was dying in front of my eyes, the family i.e. the long suffering supporters, were singing their hearts out inside the Etihad Stadium with chants that consisted of humour ,as well as the inevitable anger, right through to our beloved Bubbles.
These songs and chants could be heard on TV as clear as being in the stadium. Three thousand Hammers out sang the fans of possibly the champions elect while they watched their team murder our boys.
Isn’t that great? Well no, actually it’s not. As a fan living in Ireland, I see myself no different to the people who are lucky enough to visit The Boleyn Ground. Some fans of all teams like the title ‘super fan’ because they attend games regularly, but I support the club in many others ways, like trying to buy my merchandise from the club store even though they will charge me £20 to post a jersey to Dublin.
This title only seems to hide the fact that the club/association is not is not doing the business on the pitch and in the boardroom.
Managers can sit in the dugout and convince themselves that as long as the fans are singing then there’s no problem. Or maybe a Chairman can say similar. Maybe even a player can take consolation after being hammered 6-0 – “Oh well, we have the best fans in the world, I’ll throw them a Jersey or a glove.”
You see, I don’t want to be part of the best fans in the world. Why aren’t Barcelona or Spanish fans not the best in the world? Surely when you fill a stadium every week with over 80,000 fans or win World Cups, that’s a title they deserve?
We had a brief idea of what we might become with all the fanfare of the Olympic Stadium, which is no doubt a dream for many, including yourselves. But this dream has to be built on solid foundations and, at the moment, it feels like we are not even getting to the stage of receiving planning permission.
We are now in touching distance of the Championship, which is not the direction this project should be going and, for the dream to come true, it needs to stop NOW!
I am not happy for any man to lose his job but, in most employment, if you don’t reach your target you expect to go. If you have not got the money to pay Sam Allardyce his due wages then you are not the people to take this project any further.
For many reasons it’s not working. Some may not be the managers fault and others are his own doing, like strange formations and some players have been played out of position. Both you and Sam have gambled and it has failed.
To be a top club filling the Olympic Stadium you need to be a top brand as you must know, having been so successful in business, but at the moment the club you claim to love is a laughing stock, relying on one injured player to rescue us.
You said we couldn’t pay the wages of any new players in the summer because it would be breaking the rules. But now we are scrambling around, not worrying about rules, trying to loan players who obviously can’t get a game at the current club they are at.
Like I said, I don’t want to be a part of the best fans in the world as it seems that tag is given to losing teams out of sympathy. I just want to support my club and know it’s being run and looked after properly, as I would if I was lucky enough to be in your shoes.
The moral of this story is this; you are THE CHAIRMEN OF THE BEST CLUB IN THE WORLD, so please look after it and I hope you wake up every morning feeling privileged of the position you find yourselves in.
Finally, after last night’s performance I wonder how many of our players think how lucky they are to wear the badge? If not, you need to sit them in a room and let them hear how much this team means to every supporter. Most seem to be happy with just collecting their wages.
I say most, as its obvious players like Mark Noble are putting in 100%. If your manager tells you every player is giving him 100% then it is clear they are not good enough to play for this team, and whoever brought them to the club is responsible for that mess.
Your business is in a mess and our hearts are being broken. Believe me when I say it’s not just young boys who cry in Claret & Blue.
My one wish is that this project will continue with you at the helm as our club is about community and having supporters like yourselves running it is the way it should be. But please, just do the right thing. Listen to the fans who are at their whits end and having to endure a painful, heartbreaking period in the club’s history.
Darren Butler
(on behalf of ‘The Best Fans In The World’)
