RA MEDIA

Noble Men and Nobbly Nobility Published 15/03/18 on Irons United

“All anger is not sinful, because some degree of it, and on some occasions, is inevitable. But it becomes sinful and contradicts the rule of Scripture when it is conceived upon slight and inadequate provocation, and when it continues long.” – Wilson Mizner

When many urged for passion, grit, uncompromising and unflinching address by the West Ham players for the game against Burnley on Saturday last, few would have predicted that past and recent terrors would provoke such a hostile reaction from fans nor indeed some players too.

Given the uprising from within the supporting casts, it was almost inevitable that some form of protest would be witnessed at the home games…especially after the proposed march was cancelled at short notice, leaving many fans increasingly disgruntled…for having their opportunity to publicly demonstrate their total dissatisfaction with the West Ham United board taken away from them.

The game started in reasonably good spirits and one assumed that any tension that was almost palpable was for the yearning for the team to perform at a much higher level than that shown at Swansea the week before…and that the players would eventually prove their worth and reputation by winning and securing the vital three points…but the gods had very different ideas!

There is cause and effect in play here and virtually every fan can clearly see the root cause of the unrest, however…there is protesting outside of the ground, there are protests, chants and banners from the terraces, but to allow fan invaders onto a live pitch and having free roam is not only an indictment at how poor the stewarding is at the London Stadium, but also how unsafe it potentially could be for any of the footballers!

Nobody would willingly condone the actions of the few individuals who stormed the game, however there would be understanding what would drive them to do it. The players have been feeling the unrest for some time and it started last season when the move to the stadium did nothing for the well being of fans and the club as a whole.

As results were poor and performances became dreadful…there was increasing questioning of the club’s decision to uproot the club from a land of founding principles and to transplant it into no man’s land that lacked an identity and for some…a soul. There were promises made to improve the squad and to bring in world class players but that was a failure of titanic proportions…and so the vitriol and dissension started to gather pace.

Fast forward a season and a half…and nothing has really changed. The team were woeful last year and the fans regularly expressed their opinions of player’s poor performances. Even Noble came under heavy fire for his flagging displays which prompted him to retaliate with a public decree that team’s will is strong and that fans know nothing about football. Any Martian teleported to planet Earth from Mars would instantly recognise a sloppy performance and a team struggling to find form…let alone a win. His reaction was ill conceived and in many ways his reaction on Saturday was not surprising as he has not been able to detach himself from the increasing unrest.

Many who witnessed the events unfolding would take different views for the rights and the wrongs, but few could argue that this would look bad for West Ham as a whole in the eyes of the FA and the media who would gladly take pot shots at fans to grab headlines and sell their rhymes. The seemingly hundreds of fans, who left their seats to march unto where the board who were sat in their privileged pews, had one purpose…to vent as loud and as vociferously as possible, however all around the stadium fans were battling other fans either in discussion or isolated skirmishes with physical blows from fan onto fan. This was indeed a horrific sight and one that will last long in the memory for all the wrong reasons.

When the first fan rampaged onto the pitch, dodging and swerving his way to the centre ground, one could tell that the players were bewildered and belittled. The fan who was obviously remonstrating and demonstrating with both the owners and indeed the players, sparked a chain reaction that may prove to be our undoing…but not necessarily the fan’s fault entirely either.

Noble claimed after the match that he wrestled the fan to the ground in defence of his own person. He may have indeed felt that way, however video evidence clearly shows that the fan had not clearly began to approach Noble directly, however Noble reacted and physically accosted the fan, threw him to the ground and continued to push him over as if to be the steward that everybody assumed should be there. Hart rushed over to separate Noble from fan but most of the other players simple stood and watched in shock.

Many fans would later praise Noble for his actions, finally demonstrating passion for the club. However this emotion was misplaced and more likely replaced with frustration that boiled over into confrontation. Between Noble and fans protesting there would appear to be many parallels…both driven to frustration and both losing control of the situation.

Whether it was right or wrong in the eyes of the onlooking fans, one would imagine that the FA would be taking a closer look at the situation and analysing the footage too. I would imagine Noble to be facing some form of disciplinary action because whether it was appropriate or not to become frustrated, he should not have taken it upon himself to physically address a supporter who one assumes has been supporting the club financially for some time. He, like the rest of the players should have not engaged…or at least acted only as far as Collins did to talk and usher a fan off the field into the waiting arms of stewards.

Nobel’s actions, however noble in the eyes of some fans, has surely attracted more derision and division from the loyal fanbase who are now starting to question whether their players or indeed their club captain will ever battle with passion and commitment in any future game. The whole situation has embittered many from all walks of life and the net result is the team and players are all at sea, the fans are up in arms and ready to revolt both with each other and the club owners.

The fans of this great club should never be drawn into infighting and should strive now to rebuild the unity within the club or at least amongst the fanbase. If dissension and revolution be the buzz words of the day, then each fan should direct their passions solely at the root cause of the problem, namely the club owners and the ongoing shameful performances both on and off the field.

The support and players need to be of noble men and not of nobbly nobility. They must stand united for the cause and help in whatever capacity they have, to help to dramatically improve performances and get as many points as possible in the remaining games. Protest as they wish, demonstrate at the owners, but for the good of the team at least, may they dampen the flames whilst the players still have a slim chance to turn the season around and save themselves from relegation.