Chapter 12: West Ham United RIP

West Ham United
RIP
20th June 1969 – 18th October 2003

For me, West Ham was born around the same time as my own 6th birthday, when I started to support them from the far-flung ‘airport’ of Farnborough in Hampshire. I think it was due to Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, all products of the ‘Academy Of Football’, who together lifted the World Cup wearing my favourite colours, claret and blue. The residue of that World Cup win must have taken three years to reach the suburbs, down the newly carved M3 motorway.

But the club I grew up with and loved, died on 18th October 2003.


Who was West Ham?

West Ham was the family club of English football and the ‘Academy Of Football. We all knew it. Football supporters worldwide know it. ‘The Academy Of Football’ (it’s even written on the pitch). No one else could hold that title.

Our support extends worldwide due totally to those two ‘brand’ values. The best players in the world graduate from the Academy and the club and its supporters are a family, we look after our own. Our support extends much further than the catchment area of East London due to the whole football world identifying with those values.

The two are intertwined but that’s what brought the loyalty in the supporters. Players would grow up in the Academy, while we grew-up alongside them at school. Like us, they had been with West Ham since they were boys so we knew they cared about the club as much as we did.

There’s too many to mention but I literally grew up along with Bobby Moore, Paul Allen, Tony Cottee, Alvin Martin, Mervyn Day, Trevor Brooking, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard snr/jnr and Joe Cole amongst many many others.

I first came face to face with a player at an Esso garage in Farnborough as Bobby Moore fulfilled his sponsor’s requirements by signing autographs at the cash desk on the A325. It ended up in one of my numerous scrapbooks and I was smitten. My father isn’t keen on football so for years I was only allowed to go and watch the local squaddies, Aldershot in their annual ‘war’ with the navy of Portsmouth. It wasn’t until 1976 that I finally saw West Ham in the flesh. We went 1-0 up but ended up losing 1-6 to QPR in a League Cup match. I left the match in tears, alone but for my father, as the few thousand experienced Hammers fans around me had left when things went too far.

In my twenties and with a mundane job, the Irons became my life. I went to every single game of the brilliant 85-86 season. I sung my heart out at Villa Park along with the 20,000 others in claret and blue that ‘Galey’ day, I went to France when we overcame a deficit to win the InterToto (oh the glamour of the cup!). I appeared in the match programme and was asked to do the tannoy announcing when Ian Crocker ‘disappeared’ to TV, I play for the Internet Irons football team, I cycled all the way to our last Premiership match for the Bobby Moore Cancer Research Fund and last week I even stayed at the hotel for a birthday treat.

I’ve invested so much in this relationship with a football club that has now effectively died.


How West Ham United Died


18th October 2003 was the day that Trevor Brooking finally left West Ham United.

And with him went any link to the ‘Academy Of Football’ and our deep rooted, core family club values.

Of course, I don’t blame Trevor for the death, he had been like the second coming, almost single-handily keeping the club alive when all around him had given up hope.

But as he left what did the club do? Nothing. They allowed all the values of West Ham to leave with him. I admit we still had Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe but they had already left the club in spirit if not body. The club even dispensed of Paul Goddard, ‘Sarge’ being an honoury member of the Academy.

How do I know my West Ham is dead? Because at 4.45pm on a Saturday irrespective of our result I remain impassive. That’s not what football is about, that’s not what I brought into from my school years into my 40’s. I’ve lived through highs (a few) and numerous ruined weekends, based on what that scoreboard said at 4.45pm, but now, nothing.

The last time I remember the players showing they cared was away at Birmingham, the game I cycled to, but who will forget those last two runs of 14 games under Trevor; Manchester City, Chelsea and Bolton and again in the Championship – 9 wins and only one loss. Five home grown players, a home grown manager and us, we all cared.

Now, I’m beyond caring because the reason why I support West Ham, the reason why we all support West Ham, no longer exists.

West Ham United, from 19th October 2003 pretends to be something it no longer is. We are not the ‘Academy Of Football’ and we are no longer the family club. Families look after their own but the current ‘guardians’ of this family do not give the impression that they do.


But taking off my emotional supporter’s hat for a moment and putting on my cold marketing one (I finally grew up to start two marketing agencies which I have now sold, giving me the time to write about things I care about, but also with some experience that, to a small degree, means I know what I’m talking about).

Customers buy ‘stuff’ because ‘stuff’ is now imbued with properties and personalities that make us feel better about ourselves. Products have become brands and to be a successful brand it has to be what it claims to be.

West Ham had two of the best brand values that any club in any sport in the world would die for and they have killed them both. Even worse, they live neither but claim they do. ‘Academy Of Football’ is printed on the pitch, for God’s sake.

It is like Nike announcing it is buying its trainers from Tesco’s and then stitching the swoosh onto them and claiming they are still the best shoe in which you can ‘Just Do It’, it doesn’t work – you wouldn’t believe them

So, looking at our two brand values…


The Academy

Not replacing Brooking was a major mistake. It broke all links to our world-class academy. I know Sir Trevor of England is a one off but why wasn’t he replaced in some form? There is no one in the first team set-up who grew up with the club, and that the supporters believe believes in the cause in the same way that they do. Anyone in the first team set-up could leave at any time, the supporters are stuck with the club (whether they like it or not) for the rest of their lives.

Even the biggest clubs in the World have recognised the benefits of keeping the line to their heritage alive, both for the benefit of the supporters and the new, now often continential, players. Manchester Utd have Bobby Charlton on the board, Mourinho kept Steve Clarke on the bench and Wenger, Pat Rice. How much does that say about the intelligence of those two managers when they probably had more than an even opportunity to sever the heritage links? Even, even…! Ken Bates knows this and at Leeds Peter Lorimer remains a figurehead to both the new young players and old seen-it-all-before supporters.

The academy is a world known major value of West Ham United. This is the one club in the World that should be delivering it at every opportunity yet the club has actively distanced itself from that position.

The supporters need someone working with the board and the team that they believe thinks the same way as them, someone who mentally couldn’t just up and leave the club.

Tony Cottee recently suggested that Tony Gale and Alvin Martin would walk to the club if they could help out in any way, an offer politely rejected by Pardew.

Obviously the Academy is also not currently producing any graduates that can be held up alongside those that I named earlier. In the last twelve months West Ham have had more players from a third rate youth academy in Milton Keynes than the world famous ‘Academy Of Football’ in east London.

There is more of the West Ham Academy value in Chelsea and Tottenham than there is in East London. Unbelievably, if we ever got back into Europe I think we would struggle to fulfil UEFA’s new regulations for the number of home grown players needed in each squad, while ironically our Academy (of past) provides more players to the England squad than any other club.

It’s why the supporters have taken Mark Noble to their hearts, good for him for going in hard, he’ll be supported forever more. The club does also have Chris Cohen but I think Anton is struggling under a name to live up to. But West Ham are a league down, where are the rest of the young players? When did West Ham stop cultivating players good enough to play even in the Championship? There are now far more of our academy players in Division 2 and 3 than there are at West Ham, nearly as many as at Chelsea!

Who remembers the tannoy announcer saying ‘you will be able to tell your grandchildren you were here, the day Joe Cole signed full-time for West Ham?’

Well we remember, but by the age of 22 he’s gone, along with the Academy.


The Family Club

The Academy players growing up within the club and the location of West Ham, in the unique community areas of East London led to the second but equally important brand value of the club, its family values.

This has led the club to being able to literally ‘rely’ on near full houses for years and the worldwide fame as an English club with a warm heart.

But again, the club has managed to damage this reputation, this value. The crowds now dip below 20,000, as supporters no longer feel part of the family.

I ring up, order tickets, stay at the hotel, play for the internet irons team. I have been a customer of this company for 35 years but they have no idea who I am. They don’t know me and they don’t care about me. I could be a supporter of that week’s opposition for all they know.

They got rid of all the supporters’ favourite players. I grew up with players that stayed ‘in the family’ for years but now a friend of mine’s six year old son, has given up after having 3 favourites in two years: Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe and David Connolly.

Supporters never stop loving or caring but they feel nothing is coming back. Yet still they are expected to turn up and part with hard earned cash for an empty shell of its former self.

If you don’t live near West Ham, why would you support them now?


Trying Another Club

In any other industry if the board of a company destroyed a brand the customers would leave overnight, the company bankrupt and a competitor befitting from the new customers.

But no one does that in football. Although with Chelsea winning everything with our Academy (they are winning everything with everything we support West Ham for), I thought I would go and see what it would be like to take my custom elsewhere.

What you actually find out is how much you put up with over the years; all the other annoying people going too, shoving on the underground, very bad haircuts!, people invading your space, rude, aggressive, stupid people, different celebs, but still nameless ones from soaps operas, you actually read a programme while the match is on, because when you don’t support the club you realise how much of the match can be boring, you suffer long queues if you want to eat or drink anything. Everything about the place annoys you.

Everything from the outside looks the same but everything is wrong.

So we have to get it right at West Ham. We have to make them listen.


The Resurrection

How can they bring West Ham back to life?

The stupid thing is it is easy to get wrong but also easy to get right again. It really doesn’t take much to get your attention again. A little effort (Ipswich, Norwich) and the sparkle is there again. You want to love the club; they know that but unfortunately at the moment have abused it.

The main thing must be to get a figurehead in, someone to replace Trevor in talking both to supporters and to the players. Someone to instil the heritage in to everyone. Someone that will inspire the supporters to turn up and support because they know the club cares and the players have been told they must care also.

The Academy needs to be producing good players more often. In relation to buying players and their salaries it must be so much more cost effective to invest in not just the future of the club but what the club stands for around the entire world.

Why do they not keep a database of supporters (customers) so they could perhaps send a birthday card, send offers for merchandise, offers for tickets if they see you haven’t come for a while. Just show we are part of the family.

The question is can West Ham have success again without a successful Academy and family values at the heart of the club? Could Pardew and the board have success without these in place? I don’t think so.

Supporters will stay with West Ham in whatever division they are in until the day they die but only if the club shows they are ALL part of the family, developing from childhood, both the very best players and the very best supporters.