For a club that has never won the Premier League or the then Football League as it was called, to say that West Ham is a big club can cause stares anywhere else except the London stadium. To further rank them eight out of 20 in an all-time Premier League table will be the ultimate statement, and that is exactly what Betway have done following some extensive research.
However, English football and fans are about the most passionate pairing that can be and it is this aspect that sees West Ham make up for their not so decorated trophy cabinet.
When the Hammers made the long-awaited move from Boelyn Ground (Upton Park) with a 36,000 capacity to the London stadium in 2016, one could easily think they would struggle to fill up the 57,000 capacity of their new stadium.
Fast track three seasons and via a report on the club’s official website, West Ham have sold all 52,000 available season tickets for the third year in succession. That number, in the time frame, has only been bettered by Manchester United in all of English football. Quite a hammering statement.
To think that wasn’t enough, West Ham announced an upgrade in the stadium’s capacity last season (from 57,00 to 60,000) and it brought even more increase in numbers. It gets better when you realize that West Ham ranked third for highest average attendance last season – 58,336 (via the Mirror) only behind Manchester United and Arsenal.
With further talks of increasing the London stadium’s capacity by 2,500 ongoing – it would see them surpass Tottenham’s new ground (currently the highest in London at 62,062) and ultimately leave them as the Kings of London in that regard. Leaving only Manchester United with a better stadium capacity in the whole of England.
Of course, that will only bring further increase in ticket numbers. And for a club with no major trophy in 38 years, they are doing well to justify their “big club” status.
