West Ham United are confident the increased security measures they have put in place will ensure their Premier League match against Chelsea at the London Stadium on Monday night will be free of the hooliganism that marred the previous meeting between the clubs.
West Ham will not do anything new or extraordinary for the visit of the league leaders, in light of the trouble that flared during the EFL Cup tie on 26 October – which West Ham won 2-1. The stadium’s first potentially troublesome game will be remembered, largely, for the ugly scenes in the stands, with fans from both clubs throwing missiles at each other, including coins, bottles and ripped-up seats.
West Ham promptly announced a five‑point plan to address the problems and they believe it has served its purpose. In the nine games that have followed at the London Stadium, there have been no more flashpoints. West Ham were particularly pleased that the 2 January visit of Manchester United passed off peacefully – given that the United team bus had been pelted with missiles when the club came to Upton Park at the end of last season.
The five-point plan has included the widening of the segregation line on both sides of the away end; strengthening and widening the segregation on the walkway that services it; segregating fans as they leave the ground and arming a group of stewards with handheld video cameras, which is considered to act as a more visible deterrent. West Ham have made it clear they will ban any supporters who commit offences under a zero-tolerance policy.
The club have introduced match‑day supporter liaison officers since the start of the year to help fans with any queries and passing reports of any serious concerns on to the relevant people.
There were 10 such officers at the FA Cup tie against Manchester City on 6 January but the numbers have risen. There were 30 for the last home game against West Bromwich Albion on 11 February and there will be 40 for Chelsea’s visit. The club plan to have 50 by the end of the season.
The manager, Slaven Bilic, has said he has spent a lot of time with the vice-chair, Karren Brady, discussing how to solve the problems that came to a head at the game against Chelsea and he mentioned some of the solutions, which have included moving a number of West Ham fans further away from the visiting enclosure.
“What were the specific things we discussed? First of all, that gap,” Bilic said, referring to the space into which some West Ham fans rushed to confront their Chelsea counterparts, as the latter group made for the exit at the back of the lower tier of the Sir Trevor Brooking stand. “I know a lot about it because we were talking for hours about it. That gap was too big and there was movement between their fans and our fans. Then, we discussed the way that the fans are going out [of the stadium] and we also changed the seats of some supporters.”
There will be fewer Chelsea supporters in attendance on Monday night. At the cup tie there were 5,182 because clubs can claim up to 10% of the stadium’s capacity to sell to their own fans in that competition. West Ham offered Chelsea slightly less than the maximum because of infrastructure issues – which Chelsea were not happy about. The regulations in the league are tighter and there will be 3,000 supporters in the away end on this occasion.
West Ham feel they are growing into their new stadium and Bilic does not anticipate any further trouble against Chelsea. “It is not that I think – it is definitely the truth,” he said. “I have monthly meetings with Baroness Brady and I know how much effort – through her, of course – has been put into solving these problems. She, or we, have done it, so I am not expecting a repeat.”
Chelsea have been reassured by West Ham that all appropriate measures have been taken. The clubs’ respective security staff have liaised regularly in the buildup to try to prevent further problems.
“Last time wasn’t good, not good at all,” said Chelsea’s manager, Antonio Conte, when asked about the crowd trouble. “I hope in this game our fans, the West Ham fans, enjoy totally the game and find the right atmosphere. In England, it’s very strange for me to talk about this: usually in every game you find the right atmosphere … I think the players, the club, the country deserves this.”
Conte has set his Chelsea players the challenge to re-establish themselves in the Champions League and revealed one of the principal objectives set by Roman Abramovich upon the Italian’s appointment as manager was to restore the team to Europe’s elite club competition.
Chelsea’s return to the Champions League looks a formality. The team finished 10th last season, failing to qualify for European competition for the first time in the Abramovich era, with Conte admitting he is missing involvement at that level.
“For me and my players, yes, the Champions League must be an appointment for us every year,” Conte said. “It must be our home, the Champions League. For this reason, we are putting our strength into playing in the Champions League next season. It’s a great competition for every single player, every single club and manager, and we want to reach it, stay in it and try to fight to win it. But to win the title and also find a place to play the Champions League is not easy.
“We started our season aiming to fight until the end to win the title and to fight until the end to be in the right position to go into next season’s Champions League. This was our target.”
Conte has been a regular spectator at Champions League games this season, most recently attending Manchester City’s 5-3 first-leg victory over Monaco in the competition’s last 16. “Because I wanted to breathe it in, the right atmosphere and feel this type of game,” he explained.
Chelsea retain an interest in the Monaco midfielder Tiemoué Bakayoko but would face competition from Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain for the 22-year-old.
The leaders expect a “very physical” game at West Ham and have been preparing to repel Andy Carroll.
