The unrest, in he crowd, at the London Stadium, has been growing for several weeks.
There`s no denying that the support have become increasingly frustrated at the way the club is being run and the poor results on the field of play.
However, what happened against Burnley surprised many.
The sight of Mark Noble, a Hammers hero, grappling with a West Ham supporter who had come on the pitch to protest, is something that will linger long in the memory.
After the game, it was inevitable that Noble would be asked to explain his actions to the media.
When asked about the incident, Noble had this to say,
‘It’s well known fans haven’t been happy for a long time. The only way to squash that is to win games.
‘We should have been two up in the first half and as soon as we conceded, the atmosphere changed. The fans’ feelings took over.
‘I’m a human being. I know I’m out on the pitch, under scrutiny, but if someone approaches me I will protect myself. So will a lot of other players.
‘The crowd weren’t happy. No matter what happened today, it seemed they were planning something anyway.’
‘I wouldn’t say I felt in danger, but you never know in this world. I’m a West Ham fan and I’ve always protected the club. If someone approaches me, I’ll protect myself.
‘It’s been like this for the past two seasons, since we moved to this stadium. Every time we lose we and the board get a lot of stick. It seemed today that the fans had had enough. They wanted to show their emotion. When fans come to the game with the hump, they know how to show their emotions.
‘The atmosphere was horrible. We know a lot of it isn’t aimed at the players, but we have to be man enough to play in that atmosphere.
‘I’m really hoping the fans have got it off their chest. They are a true, honest and passionate bunch of people. I’m hoping that they have had their outburst, because all that matters is staying in the Premier League. if they can help us get over the line, maybe we can sort it out in the summer.’
It`s hard to say what will happen next, thankfully there`s a break in the fixtures with the FA Cup taking centre-stage next week before a couple of England friendly internationals dominate our thoughts.
But will the break be a cooling off period or will it allow the thoughts of those behind the scenes yesterday to simply fester further?
COYI`s
