Dubbin and Brylcreem have gone and it’s a new era for Hammers, too

 
An aerial view of Upton Park home of West Ham United Football Club
Getty Images
Ken Dyer20 September 2012

Like Sir Geoff Hurst, I have come to the conclusion that a move three miles down the road would, indeed, be beneficial for West Ham, the London Legacy Development Corporation and the community.

Unlike him, however, I will feel some sadness if and when the club depart the Boleyn Ground for good.

Born into a family in Stratford, long before it became the centre of the world for a few joyous weeks in an otherwise sodden summer, I visited Upton Park when the stars plastered their boots with dubbin and their hair with Brylcreem.

When I grew older I took the Green Line bus every other week to Forest Gate — and then walked the rest. Later still, as a journalist, I regularly covered West Ham as well as the other London clubs, for local newspapers and then the Evening Standard.

The Boleyn Ground has been part of my life and yes, I will be sad if the club move on. As Sir Geoff puts it so persuasively, though, it is the right time to grasp the nettle, to make the step up to a different level.

The search for a lasting legacy for what has become a landmark to the best of British sport has been messy, to say the least.

Yes, West Ham are, by the distance of a Mo Farah race, the only option that will help keep this iconic venue, together with the locality, a consistently vibrant place.

Of course the fans fret about sight lines and distance from seats to the pitch but there are solutions to that problem and it is inconceivable the club are not considering them.

As a player, Sir Geoff never stood still, he was always making runs, striving to improve.

It’s time for West Ham to follow his example.

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