Julian Dicks has backed the supporters' right to protest, ahead of two anti-Board demonstrations planned for this Saturday.
Two separate protests are being staged ahead of this weekend's Premier League match against Southampton as fans turn up the pressure on West Ham United's deeply-unpopular owners David Sullivan and David Gold.And Dicks, who was dismissed by the club earlier this year along with the rest of Slaven Bilic's management team played down the protests that occurred during the 3-0 home defeat against Burnley earlier this month.
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"Some of it overstepped the mark but some of it was more out of frustration than anything else," he said. "The guy who ran on the pitch with the corner flag was no yob. It was done out of frustration because West Ham clearly meant a lot to that bloke. He wasn’t a thug.
"At the moment, West Ham fans don’t like what is happening to their club and feel nobody cares what they think. They are making a point. I don’t agree with the fighting and the violence but fans must be heard. They are deeply frustrated with the way things are going and want to get their point across."
Dicks, who was fired last November having returned to the club two years previously as a coaching assistant also hit out at the Olympic Stadium, which has been widely hailed in recent weeks as being unfit for purpose.
“I used to look at Slaven when he was manager, standing 25 yards out from the dugout, exposed," he said. "At the London Stadium you’re alone out there. Upton Park was a horrible place to go as a visiting player and that gave West Ham an edge at times.
"It wasn’t a fortress by any means, but at times it helped us with the intimidating atmosphere."
For Dicks, the corner flag incident brought back memories of the Bond Scheme protests of 1992 when a fan performed a similar ritual by planting a corner flag in the centre circle.
"I remember the same thing happening when I was playing for the club," he recalled. "We were at home to Everton and fans were up in arms about plans to charge them just for the right to buy a season ticket.
"A guy came on with the corner flag and sat in the centre-circle. He wasn’t aggressive, just determined. I tried to reason with him and took the flag off him. I left Martin Allen talking to him but he didn’t want to budge!"
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