Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

[Big George]

Just to try to counterbalance things - I went to all bar 4 away games last year in a wheelchair and then on crutches. Fans were brilliant to me everywhere. Trying to get past the Stasi at Westfields was an entirely different matter.

BTW, as a matter of law, being a 'privately owned' place is irrelevant. Westfields is open to the public and cannot discriminate against anyone or they face the same consequences as anyone else. They'll probably blame the Old Bill who will in turn probably blame for them or some fictitious gas leak.

After a particularly raucous match at Selhurst a few years they home wheelchair supporters, some really quite disabled, were emptied into the very tight gangway where we were leaving in high spirits. After some mutual laughing at the incompetence, we just helped them out onto the street.

The argument about Westfield isn't that there aren't some scrotes who go to football, its that they police/steward everyone as a scrote. Rude, oppositional, confrontational.

Police the person and their behaviour, not the sterotype

[Coops]

An excellent post JP.

Football supporters have a deserved long and chequered history of extreme antisocial behaviour. It's up to them to rebuild their reputation and that will take a long time. Until they do can you really blame anyone for not trusting them?

A minority of football fans and most a very long time ago.
I have never run through a shopping centre looting in my life, I am now in my late 40s and run my own business. Everybody that I go with are decent hardworking people who would stroll through a shopping centre holding doors open for people.

[costa75]

I made the point recently elsewhere about the Govt's hypocrisy. Whilst it's fine to tar all football supporters with the same brush, and treat them accordingly, do the same for religious groups and you might even find yourself locked up.

Indeed........ If it was football fans at the Notting Hill carnival causing the sort of trouble that happens there year in and year out it would be cancelled without any questions being asked.

The PC brigade are a cancer eating away at our society, and we have allowed it to happen.

However, when we have the kids with us, we are dragged into Westfield by them, both before and after the game and we have never felt in anyway unwelcome. If I felt that Westfield were trying to stop our fans going in there I would agree with you, but to me the barriers are about crowd control. I personally don't think those barriers are needed, and it does annoy me that we have to go around tha back of John Lewis instead of just turning left off of The Street by Jamie Olivers, but I also don't think that Westfield are being deliberately malicious towards West Ham fans either.

Has anyone ever got a response from Westfield about this matter?

[Hammerite]

That's all well and good, but the fact is 21st century life isn't tribal

Nice post James P, but I disagreed with this bit.

There are pleny of examples of tribalism in 21st century society, London's gang culture is a current and relevant example of where territorialism and tribalism is rife.

Simply put, football does strage s*** to people, whether it be through peer pressure, common identity of just plain old mass hysteria.

[PC Hammer]

Just to try to counterbalance things - I went to all bar 4 away games last year in a wheelchair and then on crutches. Fans were brilliant to me everywhere. Trying to get past the Stasi at Westfields was an entirely different matter.

BTW, as a matter of law, being a 'privately owned' place is irrelevant. Westfields is open to the public and cannot discriminate against anyone or they face the same consequences as anyone else. They'll probably blame the Old Bill who will in turn probably blame for them or some fictitious gas leak.

Right Doc you know a thing or two on the legal side - what's your take on the barriers at Westfield. Is it lawful ? Are they being discriminatory ?

[Johnny Byrne's Boots]

Really? Let me know what book that was in please. I'd love to have a read through it.

I can't for the life of me remember its name, and I've searched both my Documents and Download folders and my Nook ereader without success.

It was mentioned in an old thread, maybe two or three years ago which featured Cass Pennant, I think it was about some 'character' from the seventies or thereabouts who wasn't in the best of health. The discussion expanded to include "What we did on our awaydays" and this book was mentioned, that's all I can remember.

[PC Hammer]

The barriers / Westfield is a consequence of our move from UP and there is no option but to get on with it.

A surprisingly defeatist response from a leading member of WHUISA. Is this the official line, then?

No. I should have edited it to put 'seems' in there. WHUISA will continue to get to the bottom of it all to get the best deal we can for our fans. West Ham as a club have had a season so far there with no change so you can see where they are coming from.

[the pink palermo]

#Don'tquiteoccupywestfield

The club will do nothing to force Westfields hand because all Westfield would have to say to get the club to back off would be to insist the club pay for any damage if any trouble occurred .There's not a chance the club would agree to that ( nor should they) .


Personally I think supporters should gather en-masse at three or four points around the main shopping complex for an hour before kick off .

1. The entrance to Tap East
2. The entrance from the area where Jamie Olivers place is
3.The entrance by Marks and sparks - exit from the station and the upstairs bit by fat face
4.Get 100 supporters to enter the car parks at Glacial pace , back the traffic right up .....

2,000 supporters at each point stood, but moving, very closely together making it almost , but not quite impossible for "shoppers" to enter the shopping centre .

Three Saturdays of that and I reckon they'd have the barriers down .

#Routeonepositionofmaximumopportunity

f*** you Westfields, f*** you to hell , shove it up your ****ing arseholes you c**** , I'm an ordinary decent citizen not a ****ing criminal .

[Bury Me @ The Boleyn]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/201 ... m-stadium/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We are close to securing a London Living Wage for all stadium staff. We'd be one of the only clubs in English football to do so.

[Johnny Byrne's Boots]

..................

4.Get 100 supporters to enter the car parks at Glacial pace , back the traffic right up .....

........................

Park at the barrier then get out to read the Terms and Conditions, see if you agree to them.


Rinse and repeat

[westham,eggyandchips]

Very sensible Pinks.

[Wembley1966]

Personally I think supporters should gather en-masse at three or four points around the main shopping complex for an hour before kick off .

I think that the Club would definitely behind this action - would mean that you and others wouldn't be able to have their pre-match meal in Westfield and would have to avail themselves of the Club's value-for-money hospitality!

[Kialos]

You'd likely be stabbed by the incumbent scum.

[brownout]

#Don'tquiteoccupywestfield

Personally I think supporters should gather en-masse at three or four points around the main shopping complex for an hour before kick off .

Three Saturdays of that and I reckon they'd have the barriers down .

I'm very willing to join any peaceful direct action.

But 'three Saturdays' - after today's fixture changes that will be some time in 2018!

[Corney Beal]

I can't for the life of me remember its name, and I've searched both my Documents and Download folders and my Nook ereader without success.

It was mentioned in an old thread, maybe two or three years ago which featured Cass Pennant, I think it was about some 'character' from the seventies or thereabouts who wasn't in the best of health. The discussion expanded to include "What we did on our awaydays" and this book was mentioned, that's all I can remember.

Micky Smith- 'The first guvnors ?'

[Johnny Byrne's Boots]

I don't recognise it from the extracts on Amazon. The one I'm thinking of included a fair bit about following England abroad and also a bit about Scotland visiting London.

[Doc H Ball]

One of my few remaining pleasures at work is hearing someone ****ing off the 'PC Brigade' and then insisting on their rights.

[Doc H Ball]

Right Doc you know a thing or two on the legal side - what's your take on the barriers at Westfield. Is it lawful ? Are they being discriminatory ?

I'm still miles away both literally and mentally so my grey matter's a bit rusty, but my legal take on it is this:

'Football fans' en masse can't be discriminated against. Our rather politically driven definition of those that can be is restricted to race/religion/sex/disability not us supporters as a general body.

As an aside, can I say that I hate the term disability and insist upon the term 'differently abled' at work.

When I was wheeled up to that cut through just before the Cow after the Bournemouth game, it was boarded off, there were dozens of security staff guarding it with dogs. My carer was struggling so we knocked to be let through rather than face the kerbs and huge crowd ahead, but they refused. Now I reckon that I could've lodged a complaint about Westfields denying us access esp given that the alternative was not wheelchair friendly, but I don't think a discrimination claim would've worked unless they'd let someone else through.

There is a requirement on them, the LDDC, Newham and West Ham (although we seem to have passed all our duties on) to ensure disabled access though and if these are inadequate, then a complaint can be made about such. The DRC would be the first port of call.

Westfields will cite historic violence, security concerns and the alternative measures in place to justify things and any legal challenge would likely fail and cost money we don't have but they do, so legal action is a no go I reckon.

We can expect nothing from our laissez faire owners nor their henchwoman either - they have washed their hands of us and have struck side agreements with Westfields we will know nothing of.

Pinky's suggestion of a peaceful protest would work best although I'm afraid I now view our support as too supine to do anything these days, so have little faith in anything like that. Nice idea though.

Anyway, just my two Baht's worth.

[the pink palermo]

Here's another one to wake Westfield up.

Go into the shopping centre and pop into one of the well known High Street supermarkets that are in there , take a trolley and start shopping , or rather start filling your trolley , all the way to the brim , clear the shelves of the supermarket .

Proceed to the checkout ......and announce you have left your wallet at home and due to the barriers you will have to go the long way around to go home and get it .For maximum effect let them process your goods through the till, put them in bags , and then discover your unfortunate mishap .

250 "shoppers" in each supermarket doing that would cause carnage and take the shop hundreds of man hours to refill the shelves and cost them £thousands in sales .

Not your fault you forgot your wallet though is it ?

[wildkard]

People who have difficulty going the long way round should be let through Westfield, at the guards discretion. This would obviously require Westfield to agree to this.

However, I just cannot see the need for Tianamen Square style protests for what is essentially our "human right" to take a bit of a shortcut to a football ground. That's utterly bonkers. As is any mention of discrimination (especially compared to race).

The only time not being able to cut through Westfield has really been a problem for me is when my daughter had a broken ankle. Other than that, no big deal.