No. 2398
Marking the 10th Anniversary of the Final Game at the Boleyn Ground.
A collection of 108 images, presented in a beautiful A5 landscape photo book.
Available now from the Trade Union Football & Alcohol Committee online shop for £13 + P&P.
https://tufac.bigcartel.com/products
Proceeds will go to:
West Ham United Disabled Supporters Association
Irons Supporting Foodbanks
“Football is working class ballet.” – Alf Garnett
Both my grandfather and uncle held season tickets at Upton Park from the mid 1960s to the late 1970s. My uncle liked to say that during this time he had seen almost every game, home and away, in England and Europe, and he had the programmes to prove it.
I am from Lambeth in south London. My mum was the youngest of fourteen, and most of her brothers were Millwall supporters, a few with season tickets. My dad’s family had moved from Southwark to east London and that is why they followed West Ham.
I first went to Upton Park in 1971. I was ten. I stood behind the goal on the South Bank with my dad, my uncle and my grandfather. Three generations. It was an evening game under the floodlights. I do not remember the opposition or the score. I remember the feeling. The atmosphere was electric. The result did not seem to matter.
After the match we went to Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club. It was packed. People laughing. Drinking. Talking football. Back then the night did not end when the whistle went. That was it for me. I was West Ham. Loyalty is royalty.
On 10 May 2016, West Ham played the final game at the Boleyn Ground.
I was there helping to lay the pre-match mosaic with my wife Cheryl. In the Chicken Run, fans held up claret and blue spelling out “1904–2016”. I was also managing the DJ, Jack Francis, as he played to the crowd in the car park. Kick-off came closer. The tension was rising. Everyone knew what the night was about.
Just before kick-off I found myself near the dugout with my camera and no AAA pass. The media packed in by the tunnel, waiting for the last walkout. When the players came out the energy exploded. I stayed put. I watched the whole game from pitch side, waiting for a tap on the shoulder and a word from security to move on. It never came.
Manchester United took the lead. The fans answered. End-to-end football followed, driven by noise and belief built over 112 years. Winston Reid went up and headed home the last goal. The fans roared.
West Ham won 3–2 on the final night at the Boleyn.