Protests

WHUST is being asked for its support for a number of protest initiatives being taken by fellow fan group Hammers United. WHUST board would like to hear the views of members before responding.

The WHUST board has signed the Fan Advisory Board vote of no confidence in the club owners. Different groups have their own reasons for this. Our main concerns focus on three areas:

1. The shambles surrounding the move to the London stadium that remain unresolved. These include issues with the stadium manager LS185 and the fact that the club has handed over too much control and power to LS185 and failed to enforce contractual obligations on LS185. The club has basically mismanaged that to the detriment of fans. The club should take control of catering and concessions, so the club is responsible for the operational costs of football matches, the food and beverages and all stewarding issues. We are also hugely disappointed that none of the savings made from the sale of the Bolyn Ground compared with the rent for the London Stadium have been invested in improving the stadium. The London stadium was poor when we moved in and, if anything, has deteriorated.

2. The poor fan engagement. Lady Brady and David Sullivan were the last of the dinosaur football club owners to continue to rail against a regulator and to oppose fan engagement. West Ham was the second to last clubs in all 92 in the football league to consult with fans at all and never did so meaningfully. Senior figures, such as Lady Brady, would say one thing at meetings with fan groups and then change her message in the meeting notes. To counter that, the FAB terms of reference – published on the club’s own website – say the club will share the transcript of the meetings with fan groups. At the very first FAB meeting the club simply refused to do this. It has since reneged on commitments given and announced significant changes affecting fans without any consultation.

3. The general lack of professionalism. We need a full-time chief-executive officer who is passionate about West Ham and its fans. We need owners who do not micromanage and interfere with the manager or employ staff directly at odds with each other. We need a club that does not repeatedly leak the personal data of fans. We need a club that acts with integrity and complies with the highest business ethical standards and practices.

There are a number of protests planned and we would like to hear your views on whether we should, as an organisation, support them. We would expect to see a significant majority not just a narrow vote in favour. Whether you personally plan to attend or participate in any of these protests or not, the question here is whether you think the West Ham United Supporters’ Trusts should officially endorse the protests.