Former West Ham United chairman Eggert Magnusson has slammed the London Stadium.
Former West Ham United chairman Eggert Magnusson has told The Sun that he thinks the London Stadium should be ripped down and started again.
The Hammers left Upton Park over the summer to begin a new era, as the club moved over to the London Stadium, formerly the Olympic Stadium having been the main venue of the London Olympic Games in 2012.
General view inside the London Stadium
Whilst it was seen as the next exciting step in West Ham’s development as a football club, many fans were reluctant to leave Upton Park given the memories that were made there – and the move has so far been something of a nightmare.
On the pitch, West Ham have struggled to settle in their new surroundings, winning just two of their six Premier League home games this season whilst also suffering heavy defeats against Watford and Southampton.
Off the pitch, fans have been restless. Complaints about the distance between the pitch and the seats have been made, whilst the lack of clear segregation between home and away fans has been a major source of problems so far.
Eggert Magnusson at West Ham United
Because it’s an athletics stadium converted into a football stadium, the setup – particularly in terms of segregation – isn’t the same as it would be in a normal football ground, and ex-Hammers chairman Eggert Magnusson has now slammed the stadium.
Magnusson, 69, has told The Sun that his plan was to go with a stadium like the Stade de France, with retractable seats, but what West Ham have now is a ‘mess’ and ‘simply unfit for football’.
Magnusson added that West Ham have lost the ‘special atmosphere’ that Upton Park had, and feels sorry for supporters, advising that the club tear the London Stadium down and start from scratch.
Honorary president of the Icelandic FA Eggert Magnusson celebrates
“You cannot build an Olympic stadium and THEN make it a football stadium,” said Magnusson. “You BEGIN with football in mind. We had plans and costings for a stadium with retractable seats, like the Stade de France. Upton Park had a special atmosphere and you want fans to hear tackles and what the managers are saying. What we have now is a mess.”
“Money has been thrown down the toilet and the original plans could have saved hundreds of millions. The stadium is simply unfit for football. It’s a coliseum for athletics — you have people 40 metres from the pitch, moving to concourses so they can see. You have big open spaces outside, which are very difficult to police, and rival fans sharing concourses inside.”
“The seats are very slow and expensive to move as they were an after-thought. I really feel sorry for the fans. I don’t think anything can be done now. It’s better for it to be torn down and started from scratch,” he added.
What have you made of the London Stadium so far?
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