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Sesar 3:29 Sun Nov 13
West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

FORMER West Ham supremo Eggert Magnusson says the London Stadium must be torn down and rebuilt.
The Icelander drew up plans for the venue to become the Hammers’ home back in 2006.

But they were rejected because London 2012 chief Lord Coe wanted an athletics legacy following the Olympics.

The Hammers were eventually granted tenancy — but only after the stadium was built.

They moved in at the start of this season but the switch has been beset by problems.

Overall costs spiralled to more than £750million while club chiefs have battled to deal with crowd trouble.

Magnusson, 69, said his plans would have avoided the violence and saved a fortune.

He said: “You cannot build an Olympic stadium and THEN make it a football stadium.

“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.”

Magnusson met with former mayor Ken Livingstone, Olympics minister Tessa Jowell and other senior Games figures.

And the Hammers chairman from 2006 to 2007 recalled: “It was heated. They wanted it to be a monument to athletics.

“Lord Coe had ambitions to be IOC president, so he demanded this. They offered us another site but it wasn’t right. They did not want us in at all.”

West Ham signed a 99-year lease in 2013 after a ruling from mayor Boris Johnson.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/2174037/west-ham-former-chairman-eggert-magnusson-calls-for-london-stadium-to-be-rebuilt-after-problems-settling-in-to-new-home/

Son of Anarchy 6:23 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

Mike...

Good post sir, agree on Upton Park.

Ignore Private Mincer, he's just mincing for money and any old peanarse will do

Private Dancer 4:51 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

Oxsaw - Do you always post (frequently these days) pissed, or are you just an odd unt? I fancy the latter.

Mike Oxsaw 2:24 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

I don't see the situation remaining static, the same as very few people stay in the first house they bought, with the same mortgage for the whole tenure.

What that change will be I can't say. You want the answer to that, go see Mystic Meg, but what was good for us leading up to the move does not always have to be good for us for 99 years.

I've always seen where we are today as a stepping stone; we may move, we may be able to buy the stadium, athletics might implode under a cloud of corruption and the UK be banned for 25 years - there are as many possibilities as the number of birds you've shagged (senseless).

I do think though, that we really did NEED to get out of the Boleyn. It was a large part of our history but nothing stays the same forever.

What I feel will (OK, should) happen is that after this season, the on-pitch activities - you know, the actual reason we're all here - will pick up.

That, in turn will drive attendance numbers north. In parallel, I can see several non-football related scenarios that enable us to get the ground more as we want it - not at the click of a mouse, but as part of a structured plan.

You want it all, you want in now? You want to be following one of the media favourites, you do.

Son of Anarchy 2:08 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

Sir Alf...

Have you seen the border around the pitch, the temporary seating, the segregation & lack of policing.

no expense spared there!

Sir Alf 12:35 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

In my opinion, we have been duped if the 2 old men do not up the investment in the playing side which is not just transfer budgets but the youth set up and the training facilities which are arguably still "state of the ark" in comparison to our peers.

Hopefully the transfer strategy moves even more towards investment in young, upcoming players who even if they do not stay long term have some sell on value. Next summer is the test for me.

Will S & G match the budgets of Everton, Liverpool and even Palace? That's 2 players in the 20 - 30 million bracket fees alone. Or will they continue to look in the bargain bucket and a war chest of under 50 million for 10 players and drive hard bargains on wages to miss out on the bigger names?

theaxeman 12:25 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

If you accept that the stadium was the right thing to do then at least make sure its suitable before moving in. The board didnt give a fuck they just wanted the biggest return for the smallest outlay and thats meant we are where we are now. If it was to be our home at least make it the best possible. We have been duped im afraid for the investment of two old men

Sir Alf 12:15 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

theaxeman 12:06 Wed Nov 16

I understand that too but that is not so much the stadium as the handling of the move and organisation or lack of. The rebranding is almost inevitable because the Premiership and Sky rebranded football itself. We either had to stand still or descend or try to keep up. We went with the latter and with it comes family atmospheres, prawn sandwiches. Gone are the days of water boiled burgers and the sea of urine in the bogs at UP.

Umbrellas in our beers next but not sure what the alternative was. Like I say, get a decent team one that is not always worried about relegation every year and wins even a couple of things now and then and most will accept the trade off. That is what the owners need to do now.

They have been using the club as an investment by loaning it money from their personal fortunes at 8% interest which is good seeing you cannot get about 1 or 2% max anywhere else.

So while I accept the reason for the move and am ok with the stadium, the investment in the playing side has to ramp up to make it worthwhile. This summers business was awful so next summer is going to need to be much better or even I might start to get a tad peeved with Messrs S & G. :-)

, 12:12 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

I would bow to the melts superior knowledge if he had any.

, 12:12 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

Interesting article and as it was three years ago and some people who managed the Arsenal migration were brought in for our move it begs the question of why didn't they learn from it.

What stands out a mile is that the standers are the ones that top up the atmosphere and that is what is missing at most grounds these days.

Johnson 12:09 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

You really know fuck all about football comma, it's just not for you.

Face 12:06 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

Comma - They haven't been happy, years after moving in...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/10463683/Arsenal-fans-unhappy-with-Emirates-Stadium-atmosphere.html

Sir Alf 12:06 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

theaxeman 12:01 Wed Nov 16

Thanks. That I can understand. I am half way up and do not feel that but I'm getting on and not so animated these days, hearing going etc and besides I'm in the East Stand where its been like a morgue for years even at UP :-)

Perhaps the safe standing will improve things in the atmosphere sense for some ?

theaxeman 12:06 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

Then you can add the rebranding, the standing issues, the baning of fans and also £65 for a ticket for the arsenal cunts

theaxeman 12:01 Wed Nov 16
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

The simple reason its not good for football is the stands are to far from the pitch, you get absolutely no feeling from the game its almost detatched. Visually its difficult to see who is who when up the other end, there is no other sense of being at football either, you cant hear players, cant hear the ball or sense a crunching tackle. The lower tier curves so you must be 25yards from the pitch at some points, thats totally unsuitable. It is literally a square peg in a round hole. Thats why its shit Alf and had we known before hand we wouldn't have all marched over there with out a by or leave.

Sir Alf 11:59 Tue Nov 15
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

Pee Wee 11:55 Tue Nov 15

That's not very nice :-)

Sorry you feel that way. Was not the intention. Just interested in the alternative view. But if you feel it was condescending there's nothing I can do.

I dont think it looks cheap. Unsuitable initially but getting better and I reckon most of the issues will be overcome eventually. We shall see.

, 11:57 Tue Nov 15
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

Unlike us Arsenal moved into their own custom built stadium. That being the case they had the home fan, away fan thing sorted. They did though like us introduce over 20,000 more seats and I've not heard of anything like the same sitting, standing that we are experiencing.

Sir Alf 11:56 Tue Nov 15
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

, 11:49 Tue Nov 15

Do you think the segregation issue will be overcome comma? I agree with a little foresight or with the benefit of hindsight more could have been done.

But on balance and over time I think it will be seen to have been the right decision personally. Time will ultimately tell.

Shame there is not a place on this site to archive threads that we can revisit in the future. I know I would be embarrassed by some of the initial conclusions I came to about different players, managers etc... :-)

Pee Wee 11:55 Tue Nov 15
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

He is right, it does look cheap


He is also right that you come across as a right condescending creep.















I mean he didn't actually say that, but if he did, he'd be right.

Face 11:53 Tue Nov 15
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

"Alongside this is also the fact that fans who have stood for years were not catered for and spread among people who have sat for years or expected to sit throughout a game."

Would have happened what ever ground we moved to, unless they made official standing areas - which I'm pretty sure they can't do.

Sir Alf 11:51 Tue Nov 15
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

Son of Anarchy 11:41 Tue Nov 15

Its looks cheap although it wasnt :-)

Do you think it looks cheap? Do you really mean unsuitable? Is it the distance of the upper tiers from the pitch that bother you or most people when they refer to it being "cheap" etc... That seems the biggest problem but again when considered against the alternatives to me it was a fair trade off?

The issue might simply be that we don't own it? The old rent versus buy thing like with property. I am honestly trying to get the the heart of why some people are so against the stadium which seems impressive to others? I don't think we had a better choice based on the debt we would have accrued on top of what we already owed?

Our priority now to me is getting a better team and squad to realise the potential and growth opportunities the stadium provides?

, 11:49 Tue Nov 15
Re: West Ham former chairman Eggert Magnusson calls for London Stadium to be rebuilt... C&P

The stadium has been converted for us but it has not been set up to deal with the segregation that is necessary to deal with visiting football fans. Almost uniquely football, as opposed to other team sports, has this problem with the rivalry of spectators potentially leading to violent confrontations. And our owners failed to put this message across to the stadium landlord. Alongside this is also the fact that fans who have stood for years were not catered for and spread among people who have sat for years or expected to sit throughout a game. It's been an object lesson in how not to do a stadium migration and sorting it out is leaving a nasty taste in fan's mouths.

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