Former West Ham United captain and fans’ favourite Steve Lomas has an interesting theory on why the players have dropped their standards.
West Ham sacked Slaven Bilic after the 4-1 home drubbing to Liverpool left them languishing in the Premier League.
But in truth their problems stretch way back to last season.
Although the Hammers managed an 11th place finish in the end, they flirted with the relegation places and struggled in their new London Stadium following the move from Upton Park.
The stadium move was cited by many as the reason for the club’s troubles while others dismiss it as an easy excuse for the players and point out that the opposition are having no problems performing there.
But speaking as a guest on Sky Sports’ The Debate, former Hammers skipper Steve Lomas has an interesting theory on why the club’s players have dropped their standards since leaving the Boleyn Ground.
Steve Lomas in action during a night game at Upton Park
“They’re missing that fear factor (from Upton Park) because you knew you had to give it your all because you had to do the walk (through the club’s car park on Green Street) after the game,” Lomas told The Debate.
“It was like a tunnel of death (going through the car park after a game), imagine being stuck outside the Boleyn pub and you’ve had a stinker you’d definitely want the blacked out windows then.
“Whereas I look at them now and I see the players come out and it’s all nice and there’s a lovely car park and not a fan about, they can just totter off while the fans are (over the other side).
“I think with the ground being so spaced out the fans are not there to dig you out. If you weren’t playing well (at Upton Park) the last thing you wanted to do was go and take a throw in over the chicken run because they’d be halfway over the fence at you.”
West Ham’s Green Street car park at the Boleyn Ground was like a ‘tunnel of death’ says Lomas
Lomas has potentially hit on precisely what is causing the disconnect between the supporters and the team.
The malaise over the last 18 months has been striking and has led to thousand of supporters leaving matches early as they grow increasingly fed up with what they are seeing on the pitch.
At Upton Park the supporters felt they could get their point across to the team and manager.
But at the vast London Stadium, as Lomas points out, that is more difficult and so leaving early is the fans’ way of showing their frustration.
Supporters will hope David Moyes will bring back the intimidation factor from within, something the Scotsman has already hinted at in his first press conference since replacing Bilic.
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