Football Forum | Ticket Forum | Off-Topic Forum | All

Worst Case Ontario 3:59 Thu Jan 12
An East End connection - does it matter?

Not for the club, but for the average supporter.

Does it matter that one has no connection to the East End whatsoever in supporting West Ham?

xeastham 6:52 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

I have to agree with worst case, I was fortunate enough to be born and raised in East Ham so it was my local team, however for those not with those roots as long as they have the East end mentality and not adverse to having their hearts broken then good on you.

Far Cough 6:28 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

London, Ontario?

Worst Case Ontario 6:23 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

Branded -

(Hooligan) cult stuff?

BRANDED 6:01 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

Bad Canada

Yes. For the moment.

Top pro footy is and always will be in transition.

I know for sure that many Italians like West Ham for its association with all kinds of cult stuff.

gph 5:42 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

You'll be lucky - even the most anti-London Stadium fan would prefer it to Ontario...

Well, except for maybe Soldo.

Worst Case Ontario 5:26 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

Branded-

So as long as that fan buys into the East End identity of West Ham, it's ok?

BRANDED 5:21 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

Yes and No.
The club has a history which all of us are part of.
The club has certain traditions and traits that identify it differently from other clubs and the East End is a massive part of that.

However it is and always has been a business and like many others has expanded its aspirations and scope.

Aalborg Hammer 5:20 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

I'm a Berkshire lad but my Mum's dear old Uncle Jim was a staunch Hammer (from Heybridge Basin and a Blackwater man) took me a few times before he died ,once bitten

mr so & so 5:14 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

Wils 1:04 Thu Jan 12

know exactly the place. we had the same view of stamford bridge when my daughter was born. shes west ham thankfully

only1billybonds 1:19 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

Think it might have mattered mire years ago. I was born in Limehouse in 1960 when it was still the real East End. My ol man,his 5 brothers and my grandad were all bolted on West Ham and as i grew up i always saw the club as an extension of my East London roots of which i've always been fiercly proud. Not sure how important it is now to people as the place has changed so much. Maybe it resonates more with us older cunts than the young uns?

Worst Case Ontario 1:09 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

penners28 8:14 Thu Jan 12

That was what prompted me to ask. An old Scottish fella at the pub was giving me grief about not supporting a Scottish side (he knows my mom's side is Jock), and when I admitted my dad's side is from Manchester (about 3 generations back), he really took this ball and ran with it. He ended his rant saying something like that, that you have to be from around there to anyway.

Wils 1:04 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

Hackney born here. But family were Newham people.

My son was born in Chelsea hospital. The first thing he saw out the window was their stadium.

Happily he values family connections over glory.

DoubleDouble 12:55 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

Im the youngest of four and was born in Hornchurch. The rest of my family were born in London Hospital and always lauded it over me that I was a carrot cruncher! I must admit I did used to feel a bit of a black sheep because of it but now most of the old east end family that I associate my roots to be from are all in Essex and Kent anyway.

Its modern live. Up until the 1960's my family were either working at the old Billingsgate and before that the docks as Stevedores. That were my East End -ness is felt the strongest.

Takashi Miike 11:43 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

I applaud anyone not born in the area following us and not one the scum big six/eight

I was born in Forest Gate and grew up in Canning Town/Custom House, so there was only one club for me

Wilko Johnson 11:41 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

Gavros 9:38 Thu Jan 12

The general office building of The Thames Iron Works was on the east or Essex side of the Lea.
Fair enough, prior to that the whole operation started on the west or Middlesex side on Orchard Place.
The forerunner to TIW was Ditchburn & Mare, based at Deptford, old Kent.

Pub Bigot 11:34 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

SecondOpinion 10:23 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

It's a funny one. I was raised in the flats behind Mile End station and I researched my local team and it turns out, Millwall and Leyton Orient are closer as the crow flies. What is considered local to me is West Ham, Millwall, Leyton Orient, Arsenal, Charlton and Spurs.

defjam 11:34 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

Eddie B 10:47 - Doesn't bother me one bit.
Everyones a glory hunter at the end of the day, just look at the rush to get tickets when we went to the play-offs, FA cup final etc

It's the same as Belgian/Dutch who support WHU, no different, at least they're in the same country.

Darby_ 11:23 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

They're just Glory Hunters though, Eddie.

Why is it that hardly anyone born and bred in the East End supports clubs like Villa, Newcastle or Everton? Because they're not successful enough.

Full Claret Jacket 11:21 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

No it doesn't matter as long as you have bought into the history and ethos of being supporter. A lot of new supporters may need a bit of time to get there and understand there is more to belonging than winning.

I wasn't born in the area and none of my immediate family were Hammers supporters but I've always been one since I was about 6. Wore the kit as a kid and took loads of stick for it in a time we weren't even in the old first division.
Since digging into my family history, I've found great grandparents on both sides were from the East End with my great grandfather actually being a ship builder there so I guess there is a distant connection even without me knowing it.

Gavros 11:07 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

BERKSHIRE is definitely not West Ham

Sven Roeder 10:49 Thu Jan 12
Re: An East End connection - does it matter?

My Mums family were mainly Arsenal but an uncle took her to Fulham and she watched them with my Scottish dad in the Johnny Haynes/Jimmy Hill era.
When we moved to Australia my brother and I used to watch The Big Match with her so saw all the London teams around 1973/74ish.
I fell in love with West Ham and him with QPR as they were exciting compared to the dreary negative shit served up by Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Funny how in those days adopting the BIG TEAMS WHO WIN ALL THE TIME wasn't such a thing.
Maybe we were just strange kids.

Page 1 - Next