Former West Ham goalkeeper David James has told Irons supporters that they should be worried about the club's proposed move to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, and has questioned the motives of the club's owners for wanting to move.
Writing in the Guardian today, the former England stopper stated that "one has to question whether this move is really about West Ham," and raised his doubts about the move, confirmation of which could be announced by the club as early as next week, with co-chairman David Gold being quoted last week as saying that a new date of March 16 is expected for the club to announce the move.
James enjoyed two and a half seasons playing at the Boleyn Ground and admitted that there was an emotional aspect involved in the debate for him, saying that "I do love the atmosphere of Upton Park, the sense of an old-fashioned East End.. the idea of that being replaced with a bunch of corporate box prawn sandwich munchers from the City breaks my heart."
The 42 year old, who now plys his trade for Bournemouth in League One, went on to discuss the logistics of the move and raised several concerns about the financial viability of the club relocating to Stratford.
"Unfortunately, the figures (£15m up front and £2.5m a year to rent the ground) only stack up if the club can attract enough supporters to fill a 60,000 stadium. And how will the club attract new supporters if the team don't perform? West Ham are hardly the model of consistency, having spent three of the last ten seasons in the Championship; to me that's worrying. If the football isn't pretty and results aren't forthcoming, why would anyone want to pay to watch mediocre football?"
James also raised the question of a business model; and pointed to Arsenal's decline in fortunes since their 2006 move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium.
"Arsenal have not made a footballing success of their move; at most to-end clubs, no trophies in seven years would have the fans baying for blood. But luckily for Arsenal, the club have a history of success and that has brought them time and patience from the fans. West Ham do not have that luxury."
The ex Hammers keeper is absolutely right in all that he says; moving to Stratford at this point is a big risk for West Ham and is, as James describes it, a gamble and there would appear to be more to lose than to gain from the move. It's also incredibly disconcerting that the club will not consult the fans on the move until the deal is finalised and we can't do anything about it even if we're not happy with it. Anyway, it's certainly refreshing to hear a former Irons player engage in some serious debate about the Stratford issue instead of issuing inconsequential banalities about "legacy" and "tradition" a la Geoff Hurst and his ilk...
By Alex Shilling, News Editor
@alexshilling
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