So after a break of just 5 days it was time to get back into the swing of a new season. And what better way to kick off proceedings than a trip to The Boleyn Ground, London E13. None of this pre-season friendly malarkey either – this would be a full-blooded European game, played in front of a capacity crowd.
35,000 tickets had been snapped up in less than 4 days – that’s simply incredible. If this was a second round league cup game against a smaller team then a crowd of 15,000 would be considered good, in four weeks they host Werder Bremen in a friendly and will be happy with a crowd of over 10,000, so why has the Boleyn sold out in almost record time for the visit of the second best team in Andorra, and sit in 411th spot in the UEFA rankings. The attendance would be over 100 times that of a normal club game for Lusitanos. That’s the magic of European football.
West Ham fans know that the club are lucky to be in the tournament, having qualified through a back door route that has now been permanently shut by UEFA. But there is a generation of fans who have never experienced the thrill or excitement of a European Tour. It’s been nine years since we played just two games in the UEFA Cup, losing 5-0 on aggregate to a strong Palermo side, before that it was over fifteen years ago to the halcyon days of the Intertoto Cup. Fans too young to remember the games against Jokerit, Heerenveen and Metz now have their passports at the ready. We’ve seen our London rivals Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal all enjoy season after season of European trips, to an extent that some fans now take it for granted. We’ve also seen the contempt that some clubs have for playing in the competition, something that in cases like Hull City have backfired in the worst possible sense.
Then there is the new manager factor. Bilic was a popular choice, being an old player and all that but it’s probably fair to say the (long overdue) appointment of club legend Julian Dicks to his backroom staff that has really got the Hammers excited. The “never say die” and “win at all costs” mentality that has been sadly lacking for a number of seasons. Bilic technically wasn’t in charge yet, that honor was with Development Squad coach Terry Westley but he would undoubtably be paraded in front of the sell-out crowd, sending the bubbles machines into a fury.
Of course there is the nostalgic element too. This is the last season at the Boleyn and general sale tickets come the start of the season will be at a premium. So fans have taken the opportunity to get a game in whilst they can. And for once, I’m actually going to praise the club with their ticket pricing – there can certainly be no complaints of affordability for this game – less than the price of two pints of beer in the bar across the road from work in Canary Wharf. On my world-famous Ticketobeer ratio, a price of £10 sits firmly in the green zone.
It may also be the lure of the visitors. As far as my extensive research went, I cannot see any games played in the last twenty years between an Andorran team and an English side. If there has been one somewhere it’s pretty fair to say the English team would have won. Andorra are ranked 48th in European footballing terms, with out Armenia and Gibraltar below them. Their record in the past five years of European club competition reads P 37 W 1 D 3 L 33. FC Santa Coloma hold the distinction of that solitary win (and – of the three draws) after beating the Armenian side Barants 1-0 a year ago. New club sponsor Betway were being a little bit charitable by only offering 2/1 on there being more than 7.5 goals in the game, although 50/1 on a Lusitanas win was probably priced about right. As Saint and Greavsie used to say, “It’s a funny old game”.
Whilst there had been undoubtable honor in being granted a Europa League spot, the timing couldn’t have been worse. New boss Bilic only had the first team squad for a few days of initial first team training in Ireland before it was time to pick his first squad. Despite being 50/1 to win the cup, West Ham fancied their chances of a decent run in the competition. To get to the final though would be a mammoth 22 games played over 45 weeks. To stand any chance you essentially need two squads of players, something a club of West Ham’s size could never do.Stepping out of the tube station at Upton Park is an assault on the senses. Claret and Blue everywhere, the shouts of programme and fanzine sellers, mixed with ticket touts and half ‘n’ scarf sellers (with our opponents name spelt wrong) competing for the title of the scourge of the modern game. The Queens, one of the most famous West Ham pubs, Ken’s Cafe and London’s Best Buger (sic) all trying to entice you in. Football is more relaxed these days. Fans buy their beer from the numerous off licences down Green Street and sit on the walls of the houses and shops, enjoying the summer sunshine. Families make their way into the ground, clutching carrier bags from the shop where the special “farewell to the Boleyn” replica shirt is setting the tills ringing at £49.99 a piece.A quick “Mad Dog” from the cafe in the wall on the South East corner of the ground (sausage in French bread with bacon and cheese – named after Martin Allen) and it was time to squeeze through the turnstiles designed for Kate Moss and take my seat, designed for Bridget the Midget, ready for the start of the final season at the ground I’d be coming to for 40 years.
West Ham United 3 Lusitanos FC 0 – The Boleyn Ground – Thursday 2nd July 2015
So this is a difficult one to call. There’s no doubt, despite the whole “there’s no easy game in football” rubbish that West Ham will now be in the next round of the competition, but the manner of victory was hardly emphatic. But, who really remembers the score or margin of victory when you are a few rounds in? Deep down the capacity crowd were hoping to see a hatful of goals. Perhaps if they would have got the ball into the Lusitanos penalty area quicker for Sakho and Zarate instead of some possession play in midfield that often went nowhere it might have been a different story. But we have to bear in mind that this was the first game of a very long season, one that’s started whilst many other clubs players haven’t even started their summer holidays yet, let alone pre-season.
Firstly the positives – despite one shot from the kick off after West Ham had taken the lead, the Andorrans didn’t trouble debutant Randoph in the Hammers goal. They back four looked assured and it was great to see Reece Oxford, the youngest ever player to play for the first team, just 16 years and 198 days old, looking so assured on the ball. A number of other youngsters were also blooded by temporary boss Terry Westley including second half subs Elliott Lee and Josh Cullen. A three-nil victory flattered the opposition, although they couldn’t be accused of suffering stage fright on their biggest night of their lives.West Ham made hard work of the first half, trying to overplay at times with Zarate and Almafitano dancing around the defence but failing to deliver an end product. Matt Jarvis was the stand-out player in the first period, beating his man time and time again, creating the chances for Sakho. The Andorrans had come with a whole book full of time-wasting tactics, none better than the all too often triple pike, double somersault reaction to some soft challenges, although the referee was having none of it and they simply disgraced themselves with the histrionix on such a big stage.Sakho picked up where he left last season, grabbing two first half goals whilst Tompkins added a third with a well-taken second half header. It could and should have been more with Cullen hitting the bar late on, by which time most fans had left the ground to join the half-mile long queue for the tube.
Sitting in the old East Stand upper tier certainly gave me a great view of the action but also put into context just how bad the facilities are. Cramped seats, obstructed views, narrow concourses. You can’t help think that the Boleyn is still a magnificent venue on three sides, perfectly adequate for the club. Yet on the east side of the ground there is room for a redeveloped East Stand. The club has always insisted this isn’t a viable option yet opinion is still divided on the relocation. Nobody wants to stand in the way of progress but likewise it seems such a shame to throw away the history of a ground that with a smallish investment could be ideal. So many local businesses will suffer massively when West Ham move out – community is a big word these days in football and it does feel in some ways as if West Ham have won the lottery and will be moving out of their council terrace house and into a detached on a posh estate. Of course they won’t forget their old friends – it’s just they don’t want to be reminded of them once they move.Next up, Andorra away, for arguably the principalities biggest ever football match. Alas, with only 450 tickets on offer I’d be watching this one online.
