Farewell Boleyn: the end of an era for West Ham United
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 พ.ค. 2016
- In March 2013, West Ham United were awarded a 99-year lease to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London. And on 10 May, the Hammers will play their final match at Upton Park. As they prepare to move after 112 years of history and memories, fans whose lives have revolved around the old stadium, the Boleyn Ground, reflect on what will be lost
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I'm not a West Ham fan but this is really sad
Lord Eccles
I'm West Ham and it's proper sad!
As a fan of Football, this was touching
I cry every time I watch this. When I was a kid i used to wash the cars of the market traders from Romford market and one of them (Roy from the Teapot cafe) gave me a complimentary ticket for each game. He used to get them for selling West Ham scratch cards.
Goodbye Boleyn ground, thanks for all of those excellent memories.
Lol your profile pic is the Original badge ⚒️⚒️⚒️ mine is London stadium badge
Definitely some of the Guardian's more finer pieces of work.
Not a West Ham fan, but this was lovely. I wish we had more of these pieces that take a look at club culture and the surrounding community.
I'm french ( fan of Sochaux) and I'm very sad for the hammers fans. Football business ( and particulary Premier league) is killing the real Football, the emotions that football procure us, and this is the football that we love you. And now, I wish you a favorable exit for you. We love football...
I nearly cried😢 LONG LIVE THE BOLEYN GROUND/UPTON PARK
3years and it still burns Boleyn ground is and always will be the most important ground in football history
i moved to london a short while ago and the coincidence brought me really close to the west ham stadium.i lived 1 minute away by foot from that beautiful statue.you can imagine what i felt when i saw for the first time the big supporters family.i was amased and petrified of how many fans this football club has.THEY look like a big family .my wish was to go on that stadium at least once to have a glimpse of what it feels like to be a west ham supporter...and i had this wish only after i did some reading about this club so rich in it's history. hope that i'm still going to see lots of fans during the match day.
3 years on I still miss Upton Park always made me happy no matter what troubles I had going on at home London stadium is tourist attraction over priced everything no tradition and no history sad my kids will never experience the west ham I grew up with and love so much
We're a family at the famous Boleyn and we can't replace it and no one ever can forget it and it brings a tear to me eye when I see that's it's gone forever and we are all missing it. RO Former West Ham U21 Defender
Another traditional English stadium gone. All it is now is them lifeless stadiums by a retail park away from the town and pubs.
+JustFootball "progress" "moving on" ....cashing in money for some..... very sad...they get rid of all the original authentic culture and replacing it with this stupid, commercialized, idiotic event culture, and try to make it look like progress and moving on, like its a natural law and there is no other way.... the new "badge" / logo is a mess to me, representing everything about todays game and culture in general... very sad loss like all the other grounds like highbury, filbert street etc...
America
@@robtylerblack2617 definitely
Great video and i'm so sorry and sad that I won't have chance to visit this legendary fortress, salutes from Zagreb and hope to visit as soon as possible the new ground
I'm not West Ham fan but I have respect for them, but can't believe in don't play at Upton Park. West Ham and Upton Park Is what is great about football
Im a gooner, can relate, Im from Islington, Highbury & Upton Park, Great Grounds, I knew what you lot were in for when you was moving stadiums, Londons been bought out, cockneys are a dying breed.. we was lucky to move 5 mins away tbf, do feel for you hammers, proper club just been ruined through the expansion and growth of London
At least Arsenal have done a great job in commemorating Highbury. Anyone who walks past the site knows it was once your home.
West Ham's Boleyn Ground on the other hand is completely gone. It's just apartments. There is absolutely nothing left to show it was once the site graced by the likes of Bobby Moore, Trevor Brooking, Geoff Hurst and Billy Bonds.
It's disgusting the way that Gold, Sullivan and Brady just bulldozed it for a quick buck and haven't even marked the site
They ve taken much more than a football ground, they´ve taken our soul, our heart. Will follow WHU away, no doubt, but will never set a foot into the Olympic stadium! That´s for sure!
Loved the Boleyn ground had some great times there as a Hammer miss it loads always be our home.RIP 1904-2016😢❤️⚒
These kind of changes are an unfortunate consequence of both the age of football in this country both for the clubs and their grounds (those who haven't already moved into newer surrounds) and the ever growing television money as the English league is beamed to a global fanbase. I genuinely feel sorry for fans of clubs like West Ham who are seeing so much change about their club, and the modern era of English football even living through it is losing much of it's character and culture in pursuit of money. The history and culture of our game is what made it a global success and that is being erased infront of our eyes for a glossy commercialised future. Whilst I don't wish the current system to fail as such I do think there will be a time where regular fans just have enough and will seek other forms of the game that are more to their needs. What needs to happen is for local people to get behind their local lower division clubs and perhaps help run them in the image of how the big boys used to do it.
I cannot agree with you more (15 year old brighton fan speaking)
+Dan Clegg so true
The soul of my club has been sold.
love this video, so sad but glad to be a west ham fan
I'm one of your colonial cousins from across the pond but one thing I would absolutely love to have experienced would have been a classic match day with West Ham fans. The camaraderie, the community, the singing and chanting, the drinking and partying. It would be so much fun and a day I would never forget.
Excellent video. So sad. Such a huge loss to the area.
Pompey here
Brilliant vid
Wonderful film.
They’ve spoilt us don’t even feel
Like I’m in London in Stratford feels like Some other place miss Upton Park so much
So many ups and downs about the move, until a few years have gone we won't know if it's for the best.
Dan Dowley it definitely wasn’t unfortunately
I loved that ground so sad to see it go😢😢😢😢😓😓😓😓😢😢😢😓😓😓😓😢😢😢😓😓😓😢😢😢😓😓😓😢😢😢😓😓😓😓😢😢😢😓😓😓😓😓😢😢😢😢😓😓😓😓😥😥 i saw my first ever Whu game there I am a massive West Ham supporter
I’m West Ham the Boleyn was one of a kind iconic stadium,miss going to Upton Park,I just hope gold Sullivan Brady sleep well at night.RIP BOLEYN GROUND UPTON PARK 1904-2016.COYI ICF.
I love this channel
They say you keep supporting your team no matter what but when the fabric of the team you supported for 46 years evaporates in front of your eyes you just can’t keep up the charade of convincing yourself that this was the same club that You’d been a season ticket holder at for 28 years. The pain and turmoil this has caused in me resulted in my decision not to renew my season ticket for this 2019-2020 season, a decision just 4 years ago that I would have berated and even accosted anyone for suggesting to me that I would do so. RIP West Ham United 1895-2016!
Best Fans on the planet....! 60,000 season tickets for new season. Numbers speak for themselves. COYI
Excellent video.
Long live the Boleyn
I miss that spot ⚒⚒
As a Chelsea fan I hope we never make the same mistake with Stamford Bridge
WEST HAM TILL I DIE #INDONESIA
COYI lur dr hammers surabaya ⚒️⚒️
west Ham united is my true love
Could I have a burger please? Hahaha
man, that made me sad and i'm not even a football fan..
I'll miss it, even though I've spent most of my life moaning about the area. Meeting your old mates for a pre drink in the black lion, jellied eels at the fish stall, saying hello to the old faces at the Stanley before walking down dog shit ally to the ground (which I won't miss at all). Thought this film really caught how the community will suffer...good job.
WestHam Liverpool Everton Newcastle and Leicester have the best and passion fan base in England.
Leicester aren't that great
Cheko Slovaki not Leicester
Great film, true history, if there was any justice it should be a listed building for its genuine cultural significance to millions of football fans over generations..... onto Stratford .....
jacqueline ekim unfortunately it’s gone
my first westham game was the cup final at Wembley 1980.my mum was westham and dad god bless was spurs and he reluctantly took me but he was over the moon at the end cos they beat the gunners.
I've been in the Boleyn pub
Should never have left . The owners have taken away the heart of the club . They will never be forgiven for that major mistake . Lifeless Olympic stadium
Still gutted. The new place is like a day at the carnival, mixing with hipsters and drinking craft ale from trendy pubs. The one thing throughout all the changes at West Ham was those in the stands managed to hang onto our identity. On a cold evening in the winter, losing to some god awful two-bob side from the lower divisions, hearing a chant break out in defiant support or an angry Cockney voice lamenting another poor performance, it was just West Ham.
I'll fight off the modern era, I'll fight off attempts to rebrand my club as something for the middle classes to sit their as a place to take selfies and update social media without paying attention to the game. Somehow, some way, we'll drag that spirit of E13 to E20 even if it takes sometime
Those words could come from my mouth
Well said Scott...I've had a S/T since 1981 I feel like our club has been hijacked.In time I hope we follow what happened to Juventus.They detested the ground with a running track so they demolished it and started again.In time the novelty will wear off for these non West Ham fans and,like you, I hope we get back the spirit of E13...The Real West Ham support.
Forza West Ham...(From Italy)❤️
Mi spiegate come mai ci sono così tanti italiani che tifano West Ham?
@@Mugen2201 posso spiegarti perché tifo io: è la squadra di un quartiere proletario, come ce ne sono tante nel mondo dal
San Lorenzo alla Sampdoria, ed io che sono figlio di povera gente tifo sempre per il proletariato. Anche calcistico.
the footage of fans fighting was actually Leeds away at Arsenal
Players and menagers,come and go.Only stadium,ground,stands,wet walls and logo stays forever.If you change your stadium or logo you killed your own club.Big shame for all.Modern days in Britain,forgot on heritage and tradition.Even fans last game on Upton Park start with song about Payet.Fuck that.That guy will play for Chelsea tommorow.Nothing is the same anymore.This is not West Ham anymore.WHU RIP. It was pleasure to watch you on tough Upton Park.
this move is for the best for the club if they want to improve as a club
I still agree, but you have to imagine how much this stadium meant for the fans
Watching this kills me :'(
❤️❤️❤️❤️
This is so sad!
I went to this. It is sad, however it would be nice to not see any more relegation battles for West Ham. Relegation is much more sad and I have experienced far too many in my life time!
Agent Samson Eating these words?
COME ON U IRONS
But the move was necessary. At Boleyn ground, they would have never got into QFs of europa league. To become a bigger club, it had to be done. Every club does that. Chelsea will do that eventually as well.
Liverpool supporter here but I’ve always had a soft spot for West Ham
Bill gardner Carlton cass swallow etc icf legends of west ham👍⚒
Here here, fuckin too right. These so called young hoolies these days aint fit enough to lick their boots.
Upton Park. Wasn't that was always the grounds name ?
It's the Boleyn ground in area of Upton Park.
bear wired seeing my ends from a few years back
Our owners are a disgrace, we moved fro the best ground in English football to a goldfish bowl.
hmmm I agree with the sentiments as a West Ham fan from Didcot Oxford area known by Roddy or Oxford to some . I went regularly 80-84 a wannabe ICF HOME N AWAY SKINHEAD TO CASUAL. Stopped going went I got nicked several times Oxford Reading away I steamed their end then arrested out of football too so stopped going because I was addicted to the buzz the violence etc comradeship Bill Gardener my hero n Cass . regarding moving to other place I think genuine regular fans paying supporters have been robbed . They shouldve refused to go for a few months . they've been bullied by owners . it's about more than money . All the businesses too losing out . Bill I agree with you . especially your background n many like ex naughty boys n non fighter supporters. (is part of the youth growing up. like Cass! (: )
I understand the move but will not accept it, I love the club but I also love the ground, our ground. And I understand the money part of it and blablabla. Sure I want the money, yeah I want us to win the prem but I don't want to become a plastic "big club", that's not who we are..
I stopped watching arsenal in 2002, as arsenal decided to leave highbury
Have not seen arsenal since, and never will again
Highbury will always be what arsenal was for me, standing on the north bank as a kid
For me, arsenal is dead, highbury is gone
So i understand what these west ham fans feel like. Highbury went and so did my love for arsenal.
So i know what you guys feel like, but off course for you it was west ham, and upton park.
Your new ground will never replace the old stadium.
Glad i will never watch arsenal again, no matter what they do.
Arsenal for me, will always be highbury, remember my first game there paying £4 as a kid to stand on north bank
So i know what you west ham fans feel like
I'm sorry but I'm struggling to see the point of this video. Don't get me wrong, I do feel really bad for the local business' and the people as it is their livelihood that's moving with West Ham. However, as unfortunate as it is, the main aim of a football club isn't to make sure the local business' make money on match days'. The main aim of a football club is to be successful and win trophies and the best way to do that is the move. I'm going to seriously miss Upton Park but moving isn't going to change the clubs history. History can never be changed, West Ham United will always have it's history, we'll always have those 112 years at the Boleyn Ground. Yes the badge is changing and the stadium is changing, but the badge has changed a number of times throughout the last century, the crossed Hammers will still be the main part of the badge. Over a century ago we changed from Thames Ironworks FC to West Ham United, the colour of the kit changed from blue to claret and blue, our home changed to Upton Park. In order to move forward as a club, sometimes changes need to be made, it's not like the club are going to do an MK Dons and move to a completely different part of the country. It's the same club with the same history, just a new stadium and slightly altered crest.
+Jordan Brown Sorry, when did I state that we were guaranteed Championships by making the move to The Olympic Stadium? I'm not saying that we're guaranteed trophies with this move. However, it's an undeniable fact that, if filled, a bigger stadium means more income. More income means we'll be able to buy better players, therefore we're more likely to compete for trophies in a new stadium than we are at Upton Park.
We may well end up back as a mid table club. But if the board and the manager get things right, as they have the majority of the time since taking over, this stadium could take the club to a new level. We've already broken our record for season ticket holders next season and had to extend the ground capacity from 54,000 to 60,000 to keep up with demand.
Also there will be retractable seats that go over the running track. So we don't have to worry about that next season. Also unlike most new stadiums that teams move into, The Olympic stadium has the legacy of the 2012 Olympic games behind it, hardly zero history. Also as I said in my previous comment, it doesn't matter where we go, the history of Upton Park and all the memories we had there will still exist. Even when the stadium's gone, the history and memory of The Boleyn Ground will stay in West Ham hearts forever.
And finally, since moving to their new stadiums, City have won the Premier League twice, The League Cup twice and an FA Cup, while Arsenal have finished in the Top 4 every season since moving and have won two FA Cups. They obviously have different backgrounds to West Ham United, but I'd quite happily risk moving if it means that we can enjoy even a tiny bit of the success that those two sides have enjoyed since moving stadium. If we win 1 FA Cup and compete for a spot in the top 6 over the next 5 - 10 years, I'll say the move has been worth it.
+ellisg95 So they won't be a running track around the stadium on match day? If that's true that's a good thing as seats miles away from the action for me always make for poor atmosphere. I hate those big stadiums you see in Europe where the pitch is miles away
BIBLICAL BABOON!!! On match days the seats will be retractable, so they'll be closer to the pitch. Then during the summer the seats will be moved back for track and field events. So the view shouldn't be too bad
ellisg95 that's good, I didn't know that👍
Yeah,and it's all working out great!
I'm not a West Ham fan but have every sympathy with these fans who are obviously "real" fans and love the club and the community and culture that goes with it.?
Even the Nuns understood what it's all about.!!
Sadly real fans are being squeezed out of it now by the corporate owners of clubs and the genuine football culture is being lost.
Come on you irons
Am not a west ham fan maybe they may come back home in future maybe it's planing to build a new stadium we know that stadium they use u cant use it forever it's government stadium
Go WestHam Bowling
what was the point of this video. As someone who grew up a mile away from the ground and sorry to see it's links cut off from the Upton Park area that shouldn't mean that the club has lost its soul or history. I wished that the flats in Priory rd had been demolished and a new stand built in its place and maybe at the top of it we could have seen a big white elephant 2 miles away in Stratford. Once London won the Olympics in 2005 it was the most common sense approach that anyone could come up with. I will miss my trips to the Boleyn but that area is to small for a modern forward thinking club who have a fan base that could fill the Boleyn twice. This video is just another way to give West Ham a kicking over the perception that they got a good deal. Why bring the ICF into a documentary on 112 years of local history between a club and its neighbour s.
Paul O'Brien
You still shaking that now
Maybe it shouldn't have meant that, but unfortunately it has completely changed the soul of that club. "My" West Ham died on 10th May 2016.
How are Brady and her cronies allowed to get away with this. They have no regard for any of these people whatsoever
America has deal with this on a daily basis, so in our mindset we are like welcome to our world where your voice means crap when it comes to your favorite sports teams.
+katsist West ham owners are fortunately very vocal with the fans, just pushing the club in what they believe is the right direction.
Adaaaaaaaaaaam
😂
harry
America h
People who what to stay have no ambition. Yes its going to be sad to leave but if we are to become a giant in European football we must move grounds. I admit the shops and the Boleyn pub will struggle but like I said we must move to become bigger. City did it and look at them now. This will bring more money in and better players. David gold and David Sullivan have saved this club and they are not doing it to better them selfs there doing it to better the club they love West Ham United.
+Brad Wright No ambition?? Did you even watch the video? This was all they had throughout their entire lives for some that they truly loved and that stadium is part of some people.
Adaaaaaaaaaaam So do they just want us to rot in mid table and not to win anything because to be honest I'm fed up of not competing in anything and just getting relegated. The move is the best thing for the club.
Yes I know, but at least understand the position in which they're talking from. I'm so disappointed I haven't been able to go to a match since pre season
+Adaaaaaaaaaaam and now new kids are here, new fans. The club got bigger than one small community in east London. You guys accept the new and we will remember the old.
City? That's your example for growing but not forgetting roots? Laughable. If you're willing to piss on hundreds of years of community and history in the name of plastic, generic success, just go support Chelsea or whoever wins the league from year to year. As much as Man U get stick, and deservedly so, at least they've stayed in their area and kept their history.
I am not English, and have never been to England, but I like West Ham. Great support. I'm genuinely sad for this move. That wonderful atmosphere of the intimate ground is gone, and I'm not excited for how the new ground will sound on matchday. Hopeful that it's not a library like the Emirates, but as they say, the terrace lost its soul when the money moved in.
a big mistake to leave Boleyn and move to sterile Olimpic. Boleyn could also get some more seats.
Disgrace. The Dildo Brothers stabbed us in the heart and then was cheeky enough to steal our soul. The ONLY people enjoying THE OLYMPIC STADIUM is GOLD, SULLIVAN and BRADY. Football is all about community, friends, our brilliant traders, the pubs that recognised you, football used to be an experience. We are West Ham and WE support you x
Never should've happened
Should have set up something for the local Green Street traders and eateries on match day, it would have made some sort of statement. I'd say it was suggested but I'd imagine Brady would never have had that. I can picture her distaste.....effect the global brand she'd day. How's this global branding working for you so far missus??
We are still a million miles away from the top 5 +1 and will be for a while longer......if ever we get there.
BTW....weren't the nuns fantastic :)
In hindsight the move wasn't the best decision
4:56 HAHAHAHAHA
Sickener,whats there now?-another shopping centre?
HOWWYY E modern flats unfortunately
How are they going to lose their businesses?
West Ham play at Boleyn once every two weeks ffs. If you're relying on that then you're not doing very well.
Maximus 1 If you get 8-10 times the regular business of a normal day that means they did almost 2 weeks worth of what they do now in one day. Are you slow?
Several miles away bollocks
MILLWALL 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
Sad not a west ham or even a soccer(gaelic football is what i call football and i make no apologies) ,but a whole culture is dying.
good riddance.. be honest, it was a dump
Bette Bleu Yh but it was ar dummp
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
The same will happen when Everton leave Goodison Park to play in another souless monstrosity😢
I love this channel