Lout of order

It has taken me a couple of weeks to write this post because I am struggling to come to terms with how I am feeling. But there is no point in denying it any longer: I am embarrassed to be a West Ham fan.

This realisation was brought home to me in the aftermath of our home defeat by Chelsea a couple of weeks ago. The following day, the back-page headlines in most of the papers were dominated by Hammers fans’ abuse of Frank Lampard and John Terry. Variously described as ‘spiteful’, the reports focused on our ‘unacceptable’ taunting of the England pair, accompanied by pictures of fans’ faces contorted with rage. The Mail on Sunday asserted: ‘West Ham fans have developed a reputation for being among the most vile in the country.' In The Sun, the on-field action took up only the final fifth of the match report, with the article featuring such opinions as ‘even by the vile and hateful standards set by West Ham “fans”, the abuse meted out to Terry and Lampard was a disgrace’. The following day, PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor asserted that West Ham fans had ‘overstepped the mark’.

For those of you living on the moon, the fans were vilified for continually chanting ‘John Terry, your mum’s a thief’ and, at Lampard, ‘you let your children down’, in reference to a heated on-air debate the player had partaken in the previous morning with a radio DJ who had called him ‘scum’ for leaving his fiancé and children. According to The Sun, there were also chants about Lampard’s mother – although if it’s a subject below even the retard who sits behind me (see ‘Show Racists the Red Card’, 9/12/08), I am sceptical about such claims.

Personally, I don’t have a huge problem with the taunts about Terry’s mum. They are true. She made a conscious decision not to pay for the goods and was caught red-handed. It could be argued that it is irrelevant, but I still think it qualifies as terrace banter. The Lampard situation was obviously seized upon because of the fans’ antipathy towards him, as he has taken every opportunity to slate the club since he left. But do you think he wanted to walk out on his daughters? To bring the subject up, in a week that also marked the first anniversary of his mother’s death, was unacceptable.

There were numerous other ill-informed chants. So ‘Chelsea ain’t got no history’? Well, what about winning the first division title in 1955? At that point in West Ham’s history, our sole ‘achievement’ had been appearing in the first FA Cup final at Wembley – we lost, of course. Then, apparently, Joe Cole is ‘queer’? Does his stunning fiancé Carly Zucker know? And, according to the boss-eyed, overweight, pasty-faced, knuckle-dragging retard behind me, Frank Lampard is ‘fat and ugly’? Well, I train five days a week in the gym, but would still do anything for a physique like his.

Things have changed so much since I started attending matches in 1986. In those days – and it is worth bearing in mind that this was a time when football was it its lowest ebb, with hooliganism at its peak and the tragedies of Heysel and Bradford still fresh in the mind – West Ham fans were renowned for their humour. Many a dull game was livened up by a wisecrack from the crowd. Swearing was reserved for match-changing incidents or horrific tackles – not simply a misplaced pass, as is the case these days. Energies used to be channelled towards supporting the team, rather than abusing the opposition. But now, it is as if spending £45 on a ticket gives 'fans' the right to indulge in the kind of intimidatory behaviour that would get them arrested if carried out away from the confines of a football stadium. Do the idiots in the stand think that winding players up puts them off their game? On the contrary, it inspires them to play better.

At least I’m not the only one who is becoming fed up with the way Irons fans are being – deservedly – portrayed in the national media. A couple of days later, the Express featured a letter from a West Ham supporter expressing exactly the same sentiments, who after attending matches at the Boleyn Ground for 30 years, now wondered whether he wanted to be part of such a hate-filled environment. I know where he is coming from. After having missed only about 25 home games since March 1986, I very much doubt that I will be renewing my season ticket.