Knick Knack Kerouac – Give A Dog A Bone Published 29/03/18 on Moore Than Just A Club

They say the job is not done, there is more to come, more to give but is this the case of just more to take? Whilst there could be protests and marches, finger waving and scornful shouts…is it enough to make the madness stop and for the masters to throw it all in and go…On The Road?

“The only people for me are the mad ones: the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who… burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow Roman candles.” – Jack Kerouac

The West Ham support has been dragged kicking and screaming along a journey that it did not want to take and now the climax is finally approaching, making many wonder what will happen next. Everything is centred around being in the Premier League. Financially it is the cash cow for all concerned; players and agents get filthy rich as do managers and owners, whilst fans are increasingly bled dry for match day tickets, merchandise or the vast array of footballing accoutrements.

However, much of the modern experience of watching West Ham in the top league is based upon the fan’s interaction with the club and of course with each other. Those 55 odd thousand fans that get to home games on a regular basis are ‘treated’ to dramas unfolding before their eyes, whilst only a small percentage get to go to away games. However, there are countless fans both near and far that are unable to get to the games but have the luxury of watching the games either on TV or via live streams on the internet.

This access to live game viewing has made the game and the club a lot more accessible for many fans that largely go unnoticed and are usually disregarded when many speak in terms of proper West Ham fans. Even the many football and West Ham YouTube channels, blog sites…even dubious columnists, are in the enviable position of accessing games in person or via live streams…however, has anybody asked what would happen to everyone’s online pastimes if the club get relegated?

The current situation lends itself to 24/7 engagement for the fans and also for the Vloggers and Bloggers. Indeed, the fan sites have their own legions of fans too who regularly tune in and get involved in online discussions themselves. Being a supporter of any club, let alone West Ham who reside in the top league…for the moment, is much more than watching a game of football for 90minutes a week, it is about the all inclusive experience that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Will that change if the worst situation becomes reality and would the adoring fans simply fall away in their droves?

This is not a reflection of any fan’s loyalty in particular, simply an indictment of how most fans get their daily or weekly West Ham fixes. Of course there are many fans, who are of the older generation who possibly would not embark on the suicidal Twitter and Facebook pathways, but would rather save it all up for conversations best held in public houses, cafes and eateries. However, there is an overwhelming number of fans, especially of the forty-somethings and younger who do engage in this way…and this trend is only set to increase.

It is a popular held belief that if the Hammers do get relegated then this will undoubtedly affect match attendances and would certainly test the validity of the club’s claim that over 50,000 fans are waiting to get season tickets. Of course if the club rebound in a single season, then it should recover quite quickly, however any longer than that, and it could be catastrophic both in financial terms for the club and for the support also.

For any given Premier League match, there is an opportunity to either see it in person, on TV or  via live streaming. That is every single match…regardless of time…day or night! However the companies that televise or stream the camera feeds, tend to focus on the top leagues in the respective countries, so a drop to the championship would severely affect fan’s ability to remotely view from both this country or abroad. This also affects all of the West Ham online supporters presence too. For some, they will get the greater market share and for others, they will suffer as a consequence.

There is no ignoring the fact that stares all fans clearly in the face…if West Ham get relegated it will set the club back in all respects but it will send the fan’s ability to engage with the club, the games and the players…further back still. This leads to disconnection and apathy for most of the fans who cannot afford to go weekly or live too far away for it to be workable.

Irrespective of how many of the supporters now claim they will always follow the team, regardless if they go down, down and further down…the truth remains that the longer the club stay out of the top flight, the more likely it is to lose existing fans and certainly will be the case that it will not gain any new fans either…the malaise will continue to spiral downwards until this club is a shadow of its former self…in a half empty stadium full of echoes and memories of woes.

The fans have set out on this road and were led along by the ambitions of the club and the owners…but there lacked sincere gold and glitter. All that they found were oddities, phantasms in shadows and the reality in the grime of failures and forking tongues. They were told a nursery rhyme and it was repeated over and over until they became desensitised and indifferent. One to ten…the same tune, one to ten you could see the knick knack on the road with kerouac, one to ten…just giving a dog a bone…one to ten, it all comes rolling home!