West Ham legend Frank McAvennie blasts club’s thugs creating ‘atmosphere of hatred’
After trouble at Chelsea cup tie, Big Mac insists: 'If my children were still young, I certainly wouldn’t take them there'
FRANK McAVENNIE says if he still had young children he would NOT take them to the London Stadium.
The West Ham legend was appalled by the sickening scenes he saw last Wednesday night.
Rival supporters clashed towards the end of the Hammers’ 2-1 EFL Cup win over Chelsea.
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And after learning an eight-year-old girl had been hit by coins seven times during the game, Macca said: “If my children were still young, I certainly wouldn’t take them there.
“West Ham have always prided themselves on being a family club, but the violence we’re seeing is badly tarnishing their reputation.
“If this trouble doesn’t stop, people aren’t going to take their kids any more.
“The new stadium is undermined by an atmosphere of hatred and if the air is filled with that, most people will stop going.”
The former Scotland striker — who scored 49 goals in 153 league appearances during two spells for the club — blames stadium owners E20, but also thinks the club need to put their foot down firmly as well.
West Ham announced they had identified 200 potential trouble-makers from Wednesday and banning orders are about to be issued.
But McAvennie, 56, says the stadium stewards are out of their depth.
He added: “I shudder to think what sort of carnage would happen if West Ham draw Millwall in the FA Cup.
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“Anyone who causes trouble should get banned. But you’ve got to have proper segregation and it’s clear that at the moment it’s not good enough.
“West Ham owners David Gold and David Sullivan — and the stadium owners — must sit down seriously and say, ‘How are we going to stop this?’
“For me, the first thing they need to do is get stewards who actually understand a football crowd and, more importantly, have a feel for West Ham.
“At Upton Park, most of the stewards were West Ham fans — they understood the passion of the supporters. This current lot haven’t got a clue about that or how to handle a football crowd.”
Macca also thinks the stewards are “killing” the atmosphere created by fans by being too heavy-handed when they stand during exciting moments.
He said: “When people stand, stewards are trying to stop them.
“I’m a football fan and want to get up on my feet when something is happening. When Dimitri Payet gets the ball, everyone is going to want to stand up because he’s a magician.”
West Ham have struggled to adapt to their new home, winning two of their opening five Premier League games.
McAvennie added: “The problem is that visiting teams aren’t scared of going there because it’s like playing a cup final at Wembley.
“But no one liked going to Upton Park, trust me. It was incredible.”