West Ham fans are angry enough as it is this season but now the club’s board have poked the bear ahead of the clash with bitter rivals Spurs.
West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur fans need little excuse to have a pop at their owners.
A competition between the London rivals over who has more disdain for their respective boards would be a close run thing.
In fact there were rare scenes this week when West Ham and Tottenham fans came together online to bash their owners ahead of a derby they’ve given a novel new nickname.
There is no love lost between West Ham and Spurs – on the terraces, pitch or at boardroom level.
So there’s plenty riding on this Sunday’s Premier League clash at the London Stadium.
West Ham board face fan fury over Spurs ticket farce
West Ham boss Graham Potter is desperate for any kind of win having overseen just three of them in his 15 games so far.
Ange Postecoglou has bigger fish to fry after Tottenham put one foot in the Europa League final with a 3-1 win over Bodo-Glimt.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
After the pathetic collapse from 2-1 up with six minutes to go to lose 3-2 at Brighton, the Hammers need to give their supporters something to shout about.
Leapfrogging Tottenham in the race to avoid being the worst team in the Premier League outside the bottom three would be a good way to start.
Well now the owners have certainly given the Hammers faithful something to shout about.
Because the West Ham board face fan fury over a Spurs ticket farce that could see swathes of empty seats at the London Stadium.
The Stratford ground is already like a library right now. Which is hardly surprising given West Ham have won a dismal 13 of their last 53 league games since January 2024.
Just like at Tottenham, resentment from fans towards the owners has bubbled back to the surface this season.
Broken pledge could see empty seats at London Stadium
And it threatens to reach new levels for what is one of the most important games of the season in terms of rivalry.
Hammers insider Sean Whetstone has revealed that the board have failed to honour a pledge over ticketing.
It says everything about the apathy surrounding West Ham at the moment that tickets are still available for the game.
But the reason why has enraged some of the club’s most loyal fans.
Whetstone has revealed that company P1 Travel are once again selling tickets for the clash against Tottenham for cheaper than West Ham supporters or Claret Members can buy them.
Providing screenshot of his discovery, Whetstone reveals that P1 Travel are selling London Stadium Band 4 tickets for £59 plus a booking fee.
Meanwhile West Ham Claret Members must pay £65 plus a booking fee while general sale price is £70 plus booking fee.
“The club previously said they wouldn’t allow this to happen again!” Whetstone said.
His post was flooded with angry reactions from West Ham fans.
It should perhaps come as no surprise then that Whetstone went on to reveal there are still over 1,500 tickets unsold for a derby which usually sells out comfortably weeks in advance.
Over 1,500 seats empty for West Ham vs Spurs derby
“As of 10pm on Thursday night there are are still 1,575 tickets for sale West Ham’s website for Spurs game this Sunday,” Whetstone added.
The owners are risking losing any goodwill gained by West Ham performing a major U-turn over concessions and ticket prices just over two months ago.
Just when the team really needs the fans behind them for a big grudge match, the board have further antagonised a fanbase they desperately need to be purchasing season tickets before the deadline next month.
Tottenham fans will relish seeing empty seats and rolling out the ‘your ground’s too big for you’ chant.
But even the most hardcore Spurs fan will surely side with the Hammers over this particular issue. And that’s saying something.