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Big Dawg 1:56 Thu Dec 22
*must see* open letter to the board.

https://youtu.be/XqaGkk1t_8o

Great video about the club losing its identity and its roots - jack Sullivan has seen it and posting about it on twatter

grasshopper 8:09 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

Brilliant video. Should have added the clips about a 20m+ striker at 20+ goals a season before the zaza fuck up and then had the value for money clip directly afterwards

Full Claret Jacket 6:48 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

What am I looking at? Are you comparing us to them?

Have a look where we are in the pecking order currently. Miles off those two clubs.

https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/deloitte-football-money-league.html

Wils 1:49 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

Full Claret Jacket

"Some of you expect the club to be competitive, attract and retain talent and entertain by staying a small community club pandering to a dwindling number of 'proper' fans.
You fear change, not doing what you've always done and the sanitised and fickle nature of the modern football businesses and fanbases."

No mate. Have a look at Liverpool. Or even Tottenham.

Full Claret Jacket 1:44 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

Some of you expect the club to be competitive, attract and retain talent and entertain by staying a small community club pandering to a dwindling number of 'proper' fans.
You fear change, not doing what you've always done and the sanitised and fickle nature of the modern football businesses and fanbases.

Let's not pretend they are clubs anymore because they haven't been that for many years- long before this board took over.
Lets also not pretend that London and the East End hasn't changed massively since the club arrived on Green Street. West Hams fanbase is no longer derived from swathes of local working class people.

There are a lot of things I dislike about how Football has been destroyed by money but I don't hang this all at the door of the current board. I wasn't a big OS supporter but can see why they took the opportunity. Moving stadium doesn't kill the club but changes the dynamics of it massively.

What does being West Ham mean? - It's not our legendary footballers, trophies or old lopsided stadium. They give you memories but for me it's always been about more than the football, players and success on the pitch.
Many of you remind me of what it really is on here. How you stick together when things are tough, how you can be generous to strangers in trouble and vocal, stand together and strong willed against unfairness.Have witty humour and not afraid of sidestepping political correctness. It's being a team, a community, a family.

It's true that tomorrows West Ham supporter could be whoever can afford a ticket or blindly sucks up the PR which IMO is inevitable to a degree when you are looking to attract thousands of new fans.

I'd love people to want to be part of West Ham for what is in it's soul but with so much negativity peddled by some fans and the media it's going to be a tough ask.
It's going to take time but I hope we can stick together and embrace the new fickle fans/daytrippers and teach them what it's all about. Get them thinking of it as different to going to the cinema or pantomime. Get some of the positive passion and togetherness back.

In the meanwhile I like the sentiment behind this video. It's well thought out, not abusive and gets across a point. Some of the ranters on here could take note.

Pub Bigot 1:18 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

It's a good video.

Illustrates some of the points that we're raising weekly

SurfaceAgentX2Zero 1:17 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

Arty, entitled and embittered.

He makes a point or two, by I can't get past the above.

Wils 1:04 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

These videos are pointless. All the fans will do is turn up as usual without offering any resistance to what these three are doing to the club, leave their seat 20 minutes before the end of the game, and wish everyone "Happy Holidays".

HAMMERNH 11:25 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

These videos are pointless. All the club will do is launch another tacky Moore than a legend type campaign or parade Gorff Hurst or Sir Trevor on the pitch at half time to placate the nostalgia merchants and try to convince us it's still the same club.
It isn't. That one ended in May. If you were there then think yourself lucky you witnessed Farewell Boleyn.
If you weren't there then just enjoy West Ham London and some popcorn.

Sniper 11:05 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

You can develop your brand without banging on about it though can't you? And the easiest way to do it is to sign well known recognisable players and maybe have a bit of success. Robinho may not have been an overwhelming success at Man City but his signing made people sit up and take notice. We got a bit lucky with payet - he wasn't well known everywhere before we bought him. But aside from him there's no household names or top signings that we've brought in over the last few transfer windows so our 'brand' means fuck all in most of the markets Brady and co want to exploit

It's the same old same old talking big and acting small mentality. This season was a real chance to build and push in and the board and then bilic have ballsed it up horribly. Our best hope now is doing what Southampton did last season and quietly sneaking back up the league with a good second half of the season. But we'll need some fresh faces to do that and scrapping around for shifty Brazilian loans simply won't achieve that.

Johnson 10:56 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

I refer you to my 9.44 post from yesterday, FCJ.

Name one club that has achieved anything, including more fans, simply from marketing a new badge and stadium.

Full Claret Jacket 10:54 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

I think a lot of people are getting precious over our marketing. It's almost a sort of protectionism and a 'hands off, I want this club to myself' attitude.
I think our marketing has massively improved over the last few seasons and it had to.

The hype and bullshit needs to be there, they need to make sure people know West Ham exists and attract a wider audience here and overseas. This takes a lot of effort and many years. It does mean daytrippers, newbies, people with no understanding of the clubs history and roots.

Much of the marketing is cheesy, disingenuous and misleading perhaps but I always ignore it and make my own opinion anyway. Other clubs have been doing this for years by the way including those with 'big brands' these days.

The biggest mistake that has been made was around the arrangements in the stadium move with seating/standing and the fallout including moving and banning without much cause.
Brady is at fault for this and has been embarrassed. She is too pig headed to admit it and address it properly.
I'd like to see the club stick up for fans more here - not condone any bad behaviour but give fair hearing and assessment of what is happening with stewarding and police activity.

we did the great esc 10:53 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

The video is fantastic.

If we want things to change we need to do more about it.

fraser 6:02 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

Private Dancer 5:58 Fri Dec 23

We've still retained the one bit of our identity, the inevitability to fuck an opportunity up.

Private Dancer 5:58 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

DaveT 9:30 Thu Dec 22

Come on man, read what I said. Of course we aint a Man City,. I was responding to the previous poster who said that Man City went through a similar change. So my point being at least it was worth it for them. Where we have lost our soul/identity and for what? We don't seem to be progressing at all, in fact we're going backwards.

Johnson 1:00 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

I've moved on, don't worry about that.

As will hundreds and hundreds of others at the end of the season, you best hope the fictional waiting list plugs the gaps.

stoneman 12:33 Fri Dec 23
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

Another idiot who refuses to move on.

We are awash with them.

Johnson 10:44 Thu Dec 22
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

It's them cambs, Sullivan is a Cardiff fan so gives no fucks about us, Gold0 is too stupid to notice.

If Sullivan wanted Brady to stop he'd stop her, or sack her, fact is she's working to order.

cambsiron 10:40 Thu Dec 22
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

Johnson - I agree totally that success breeds visibility and hence investment. There was even a fleeting interest in Leicester in the far east because of their success last season. I suspect the interest in them will last as long as their success!

The Premier League brand is something that lots of investors/marketers want to have a bit of. To have a bit and get their name out there they have to have an outlet i.e. a club to latch on to. If we can benefit from some cash by being that outlet then all well and good. If we aren't visible or attractive (i.e. branded) then we will lose out on hard cash to the likes of Southampton. It is our muggy owners that will influence whether the branding will destroy our roots. So far they (Brady) is taking a sledge hammer (pardon the pun) to the past.

Johnson 9:44 Thu Dec 22
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

cambs - Football is slightly different to normal marketing to me in that the BEST, possibly only way to "develop your brand" which basically means have more people to support you is be successful.

Unfortunately, unless you're Chelsea of that list teams don't tend to artificially become successful in quick enough time to warrant a boom in brand value.

The rest have developed their brand over tens of years, fuelled mainly by success.

You only have to ask people why they support teams when those teams are abroad, it is usually connected to some kind of success (continued or a one of), containing a talisman world renowned, or the team being involved in a famous incident - the Munich Air Disaster possibly.

That's not to say that club's should know their place, more that this is not a club one can forge a ticket for.

Being diligent, growing your club organically, unearthing the occasional superstar, a couple of plucky victories or a European run will do far more for brand development than whacking London on a cartoon badge and moving to a rented athletics arena to save on operating costs.

Some clubs are going about it that way, Southampton probably the most notable, Bournemouth to a lesser degree but similar ethics. Man City of course took the forgery route, although their ownership have respected the club's tradition far more than ours have.

We're stuck in some grubby void, desperately trying to get attention, but like the proverbial dirty needy slapper at the end of a night out, no one is really going to start loving us this way.

Only option for us now is the Man City route, everyone should hope for a buy out before these fucking cunts kill us off for good.

DaveT 9:44 Thu Dec 22
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

Rios. Sorry forgot about them!

riosleftsock 9:35 Thu Dec 22
Re: *must see* open letter to the board.

Dave

I think they started to pick up when the Ladyboys bought them.

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