Exactly that. If you Google ‘Sane return date’ there’s a quote from Klopp a few days ago saying the winner will be back a couple of days later after the loser, when asked when he’s expecting Salah and Mane back
Was that the 1-0 defeat in the FA Cup in Jan 1978 - the very early days of GT? That was quite a scary one. We were still 3rd and 4th division and so were used to going to Southport and Halifax etc. West Ham was something different. I remember coming striding out of the tube station, silk scarf flying proudly and then hiding it away about 0.0005 seconds later. Only a thin line of Met cops between us and hoardes of hyper-aggressive, fist waving, spitting and yelling hammer thumb men. I know I've mentioned this one before, but in Feb 1984 we beat them 2-4 at Upton Park, but really it could have been 0-8. We absolutely destroyed them - Lampard, Cottee, Bonds and all. The destroyer in chief was John Barnes. On this occasion, I was supposed to have met up with a mate who was a west ham fan and so I went in their end with the gf of the time. Had to keep super quiet as the surrounding bald head thugs went increasingly mental, restricting myself to a tiny little "mmmmffff" as JB banged in another one. Eventually got asked whether I was a Watford fan and denied it - no, no, no - don't support anyone really, just like watching football you know...but the stupid gf piped up "YES YOU ARE! YOU KNOW YOU ARE! WHY ARE YOU SAYING YOU'RE NOT?" etc etc. Fortunately the thumb men either felt sorry for me having such a stupid woman or were charmed by my shít-eating grin and left me alone, but gave her a Mars bar. Yet another time I was there and again in their end some time later in the 80s and this time the West Ham supporting mates did show up. Before the game I'd had an extensive brag in the pub about how great we were and put on a heavy bet for us to win. I especially bragged about our wonderful new keeper, Tony Coton, who was just about unbeatable. Nothing would get past him. They should just wait and see. Of course, about 10 mins in, we're right behind TC's goal and a spammer has a trickling little effort barely deserving of the name 'shot' and TC embarrassingly let it trickle through his legs or whatever. Can't remember the final score, but we lost and they ripped the pish out of me for months afterwards.
Was at the FA Cup tie in 1978 - we were top of old div 4 and they were established div 1 and we played them off the park but couldn't score then Pop Robson scored after about 80 mins. Remember coming out of the tube and suddenly realising the difference between Halifax at home and West Ham away - a lot of scumbags looking for a scrap. Good day out though. I remember having bought Eddie and The Hot Rods album that morning. Happy Days !
It's forum bullying. Can't allow someone to have a different opinion without the pile on. I can't wait until full time after a limp defeat to get really toxic on here.
Upton Park was one of the few largish grounds never to have fencing and looking at that clip it was probably just as well. 1975 was well before proper segregation and fencing and it must be remembered that almost no games except big Cup ties were ticketed. People just paid at the turnstiles until the ground was (over) full. Atmosphere-wise Upton Park was terrific, particularly in the 70s and 80s, but as others have said one of the most intimidating for an away fan. The ground was widened somewhat in later years when a new stand was built, certainly before our two wins there in 2006/7, but before that it was the tightest ground you could imagine with barely a yard between the pitch and the fans. This was also true at each end and from the away corner it was impossible to see the goal line in the goalmouth. In my view the West Ham fans were right to bemoan being forced to accept the move to the ‘London’ stadium and, although they are happy at the moment because they have a decent team, they will never feel the same attachment to that horrid bowl as they did to Upton Park and the neighbourhood it stood in.
A few times in the 80s. Most of the time the police would kettle away fans at the tube, and then it would be a short walk to the ground. Police used to put spotters on the roof of the flats on the right and would see trouble brewing long before it started. Was generally pretty safe, unless you were acting like a ****. Always got your heart pumping though, it was a cracking ground when full.
Roy does know how to organize a defence & I saw a marked improvement against Burnley. I can see the game being close & hopefully Watford nicking a point.
I went there as a school kid, didn't make much impression on me. The most feral atmosphere I've experienced in England was in the home end at Elland Road. That was like going to the zoo.
What Roy says in his answer to this question is pretty fuccking great, and not just the bit the tweet quotes - ironically, his words making me feel better about the situation than any expended previously of the type he is referencing: https://twitter.com/WatfordFC/status/1490739635483463693?s=20&t=q6qzLeJKWZ_-mpaFVa3OCA
Interesting to read that despite the intimidating atmosphere it was pretty safe. Just read some pretty scary stories of match day experiences in the comments section of that video (click on "Watch on YouTube" if viewing on a desktop or on the top of the video if viewing on a mobile to read them).
I'm fairly certain it United vs West Ham and it kicked off everywhere. Don't think it was this one though
True , but if you head west for 40,000 km you will eventually get to East London . Id properly set off sooner rather than later if you taking that scenic route though .
Agree. Already gone up a few pegs. Doesn't hide anything and tells it straight how it has to be with no BS. Taylor-esque.
The only reason we lost was because GT put Brian Pollard on after around 79 mins and told him to attack instead of trying to hold out for a 0-0 and a subsequent replay!
Burnley was our first clean sheet. I won't be surprise if Roy starts the same team and wait till we concede before making the right subs. Sent from my TECNO P701 using Tapatalk
Roy is probably thinking he will show the same commitment he showed for his country. Sent from my TECNO P701 using Tapatalk
So one would imagine the team will be same except Dennis in for Ken. ( it breaks my heart to be so disloyal ) Perhaps Louza in for Kayembe . I would like to see that but feel Roy will probably keep it more solid with Kayembe . When Sarr is back , assuming we play 442 and Sarr starts , who gets dropped ? Kucka in RM or Pedro up top ? Or does Roy change formation to 433/451 ?
Agreed. I saw enough at Burnley to suggest we'll be going down with a whimper. He waited 83 minutes to make an attacking sub against a Burnley team who were there for the taking. And even then it was JP he took off!
Baffles me that three successive managers seem to favour Sema over Cucho (who really needs more starts). Makes me wonder if someone else is really behind the team selection, or at least part of it.
Yeah, reminiscing about a revenge fight from over 35 years ago for something that happened even longer ago is a bit sad.
I believe West Ham have 2 grades of stewards. The rank and file hi-vis yellow chaps, probably provided by the London Stadium, but then they also have a crack team of stewards dressed all in black. This elite unit are former Upton Park barmpots who are deployed when the usual bods can't deal with a situation and are probably more up for a ruckus than whoever in the crowd is creating a problem.
