Julen Lopetegui has a message for West Ham supporters after 47k fans boycott Celta Vigo friendly. West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui had a very simple message for the fans after our 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo.
Surely Julen Lopetegui would not have been happy to see the London Stadium not even a quarter full yesterday afternoon. Tens of thousands of West Ham fans boycotted the clash with the La Liga side due to inflated ticket prices that will unfairly penalise OAPs and the Under-21s.
Hammers fans are currently up in arms over the ticketing situation at the London Stadium. Supporters groups such as Hammers United have launched a petition after season ticket prices rose above the rate of inflation.
But tensions reached boiling point between West Ham fans and the board after it emerged new concessions are now restricted to bands five and six. That means children and OAP’s will now charged full adult price for a new season ticket because there are no more concessions seated together.
According to Hammers insider Sean Whetstone, around 15,000 West Ham fans were at the London Stadium for our pre-season friendly clash with Celta Vigo. That was no surprise at all, but Lopetegui offered somewhat of a surprise verdict on the low turnout…
Julen Lopetegui has message for West Ham fans
It was a decent performance on the pitch from the boys yesterday, but the fans generated next to no atmosphere, unsurprisingly so given the amount of empty seats. Lopetegui spoke to WHUFC.com after the 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo at the London Stadium.
The Hammers head coach might have been surprised to see only 15,000 fans in attendance for our final pre-season game of the summer.
However, he didn’t let it show if he was. Lopetegui said, “We have to say thank you to the fans for coming to the game today and supporting us – that’s very important for us.“
The Spaniard continued, “I’m sure we will have a fantastic atmosphere from them when we face Aston Villa next weekend. It will be a big challenge for us, and we have to be ready.“
Listen, I’m sure the London Stadium will be full to the rafters for our Premier League opener against Aston Villa next weekend. However, yesterday’s showing would surely have sent a message to the owners that something needs to change regarding the ticket pricing.
Julen Lopetegui needs the full backing of the West Ham fans, if he is to succeed at the London Stadium. And that won’t be possible if is side are playing in front of a half empty stadium every other week.
At the end of the day, the board have backed Lopetegui to the hilt with funds this summer, so it doesn’t feel right being overly harsh on them.However, the current ticket situation is definitely something that needs addressing as a matter of urgency.
