West Ham make changes to improve London Stadium crowd control ahead of Accrington Stanley match after spate of fan violence

The London Stadium, Stratford
Alex Broadway/Getty Images
Ken Dyer21 September 2016

West Ham co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold have promised improved segregation and stewarding at the London Stadium, starting tonight with their EFL Cup match against Accrington Stanley.

There have been crowd problems in recent matches at their new home, with an inadequate buffer zone between rival fans leading to clashes, complaints about stewarding and even fighting among home supporters.

Following trouble at the last game there, the 4-2 defeat by Watford, the club met the stadium’s owners, E20 and operators, LS185, to try to resolve the issue. Writing in the programme for tonight’s League Cup tie against Accrington Stanley the club’s co‑owners have promised better and more experienced stewarding and improved segregation.

“It is clear there are three key areas of frustration off the pitch — the quality of the stewarding, the segregation between home and away supporters and the need for likeminded supporters to be more appropriately grouped,” wrote Sullivan and Gold.

“However, finding the perfect place for 57,000 supporters first time is not easy and the board accept there has been a need to relocate some supporters to the areas where they can have the best experience for the good of everyone in the ground.

“We want all stewarding to be of the highest standard and have assurances from E20 and LS185, who control the safety and security at London Stadium, that they will significantly improve stewarding. That will be by providing better training, contracting additional stewarding companies with more relevant football experience and by deploying stewards to man the same areas for every game to help build some familiarity between the Stadium staff and our fans.

“LS185 have agreed to implement an improved and increased segregation line between home and away supporters. This will be implemented from tonight and you should be able to clearly see a difference.”

The third-round tie against League Two Accrington gives West Ham a chance to regroup following a poor run in the League. Back-to-back 4-2 defeats have left the club third from bottom of the Premier League.

Manager Slaven Bilic said: “We can’t lose our confidence, though, because if you do that, you’ve got no chance.”

Bilic has promised to make changes tonight, with Darren Randolph replacing Adrian in goal, while new signings Alvaro Arbeloa and Edimilson Fernandes are in line to play.

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