Latest Opinion

Well that depends on whether we’re talking about home or away. If it’s away you talk about, our support is consistently top drawer both in volume and number –all the players and manager will tell you that.

If it’s home however, that clearly is a totally different story altogether. The issue at Upton Park is not one of numbers – we consistently get 25-30,000 fans, which is quite good for this division. Especially when you compare it to a club like Middlesborough ,who played this weekend to a half empty ground or worse, despite sitting third in the table. Or Leeds who on a recent Sunday couldn’t fill half their ground against Cardiff, one of the top sides.

No. The issue of course at the Boleyn Ground is one of atmosphere, not numbers. And it has been that way for a long, long time. In fact, the last time Upton Park was anything like Fortress Upton Park was probably 2001-02 when we finished seventh, ahead of the 2002 World Cup attended by three members of that season’s West Ham team. And you could argue that in our first season back in the Premiership after relegation,the season that saw us nearly win an FA Cup against Liverpool under Alan Pardew, Upton Park was a bit of a fortress. Maybe,except when it involved Bolton.

But the truth is that for a decade now, Upton Park has been a relatively easy place for opposition to come as West Ham simply haven’t collected a whole lot of points at home over that period - regardless of what division we played in or who the manager was. Hence why we have been relegated twice in a decade and never finished higher than ninth in the top flight since the 01/02 season.

Part of the reason for our mediocre-at-best home performance over the last decade (and at worst, absolutely shambolic) is that the quality of our support at home over the past ten years has deteriorated . Nosedived. Plummeted. Fallen through the trap door.

The atmosphere at Upton park now - and for many years - has been completely non-existent. There is more noise in a morgue or a library than there is at the Boleyn these days. The only noise, and all too often, comes from away supporters who love to take the absolute p*ss out of us because we sit there in virtual dead silence.

The songs, few and far between, are very half-hearted and are often limited to 'Bubbles' alone. It is absolutely depressing and explains why some season ticket holders have thrown in the towel in recent years – that and the substandard results, of course.

All this makes us very easy to stifle or even beat at home. We’ve already lost to sides like Cardiff and Ipswich, who although potential promotion candidates are really nothing special. Opposition managers and players come to Upton Park with a definite game plan: they know very well that if West Ham don’t score early, or heaven forbid, concede early, the home fans will turn on them. And start booing them, cursing them, fingering them etc.

So the atmosphere, rather than being positive, can become negative in Upton Park very, very quickly. And the opposition know that and thrive on it. They know that it is so easy to completely take the home supporters out of the match at Upton Park. So that playing at home actually becomes a DISADVANTAGE - and even when the opposition trails, even if it’s by two goals or more, they know that they are NEVER out of the match completely. They know how nervy our fans are even if we’re ahead late in the game at home, because of our horrific record of conceding late goals.

Like anything else in life though, it takes two to tango. Has the club really given the fans that much to shout about over the past decade? Hardly . Even in our promotion winning season, we scraped into the last play-off spot very late in the proceedings. Neither the results, nor the performances, have been anything to inspire good vocal backing at home.

Many times the style or manner in which we have played,especially under the likes of Roeder, Curbishley, Grant and even Zola has been mindnumbingly dull, simply frustrating to watch or both. With respect to the current season,the one and only time there was any kind of proper atmosphere at Upton Park was the 5-0 defeat of Blackpool. So is that what it takes to get the Boleyn 'faithful' to sing ? Anything less than a mauling of the opposition and we can’t be bothered?

Alas, there are further explanations, if not excuses, for the graveyard atmosphere at Upton Park over and above results. For a start, prices across the Football League have gone up tremendously over the past decade which perhaps has affected the type of supporter that comes to matches now . You could argue that some of the more passionate supporters have simply been priced out - not only at West Ham, but across the country.

You could also argue that is not just the Boleyn Ground where the atmosphere is dreary - you can hear a pin drop at some other former bastions of passion or glory, which in some cases remain half-empty. You also point to growing resentment amongst supporters at West Ham (and elsewhwere, for that matter) at how grossly overpaid footballers are today. And how lazy they can be despite being so absurdly overpaid.

So fans aren’t interested in 'supporting' overpaid, lazy tarts, especially given that some of these players either end up in jail or else embarrassing themselves in a highly public way. In fact, some supporters - at West Ham and elsewhere - may have simply lost respect for footballers . As a result, they are quick to slag off or abuse their own players, rather than encourage or get behind them. A real gap or disconnect has developed between players and supporters – and again, this is not just at West Ham.

And then of course there is another very specific reason why the atmosphere has become dreadful at Upton Park: the absolute incompetence of Terry Brown and the Icelandics as owners. Owners who soiled our reputation with Tevezgate and who wasted tens of millions of pounds on absolutely daft contracts for even dafter players. Is it any wonder that the fans at Upton Park have lost heart after the financial mess created by mainly the Icelandics and to a lesser extent, Brown?

After all, what have we really had to look forward to? Remaining permanently in debt; fearing bankruptcy; being constantly at risk of losing our best players; always fearing that relegation is right around the corner - despite a couple of great escapes... There is, after all, only so much pain supporters can be asked to take.

One last thing to take into account is to consider what has happened around the world over the past ten years. We’ve had 9/11 and we’ve had 7/7 amongst other horrific terrorist events. Not to mention wars, two of which are not finished yet (in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya). Which have resulted in the loss of a lot of British lives. And that lovely global credit crunch /recession that stumbles on ,and if anything looks set to get worse before it gets better.

Maybe West Ham fans - and fans at many other clubs - have decided that Bill Shankly was wrong. That football is NOT more important than life or death. And that overpaid primadonnas with no loyalty, who prostitute themselves to the highest bidder,really aren’t 'heroes' or even 'role models'. Yes, Upton Park is a part of society and can reflect trends in broader society in some ways. Upton Park does not exist in a vaccum, nor does any football ground.

So yes, perhaps our support at Upton Park is genuinely that bad. And though I don’t condone, like or agree with it, I can certainly UNDERSTAND it. But we have a choice to make as West Ham supporters. We can continue to sit silently, except to boo or abuse when things don’t go our way. Or we can try to back this manager, this set of players and, I daresay, this set of owners who have dug deep into their pockets to win promotion right here, right now - and to win it convincingly, not via the lottery of the play-offs.

It is very simple. To win promotion this club must dramatically improve its home record. Draws with Bristol City and Leeds and losses to Cardiff and Ipswich, especially to late goals, are not good enough. We as fans have a big role to play in that. If we want to play it. By providing positive support and helping our lads stay switched on and focused for the full 90 minutes, no matter how exhausting they are. By getting behind our team, on both good days and bad, to make Upton Park an intimidating place to come,not a soft touch.

To win promotion, Upton Park needs to become something it has not been for ages again: a fortress and a cauldron where the opposition hate coming to play. We have to do our bit. If we don’t, we are not going to have much to cheer about for a very long time.

* Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.

* Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the highlighted author/s and do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy or position of KUMB.com.