London Stadium issue raised - West Ham fans can't let it happen | OneFootball

FLW's West Ham fan pundit has concerns about the atmosphere in E20 following the club's relegation

West Ham United are known for having some of the most loyal supporters in English football, and that particular aspect has certainly been tested to the maximum in the past eight months.

Indeed, after 14 unbroken years as a Premier League club, the Hammers will play their football in the Championship for the 2026/27 campaign following their final-day relegation despite a 3-0 win over Leeds United at the London Stadium.

The ground, which is best known for hosting the 2012 London Olympics has often received plenty of backlash from visiting supporters since the Irons moved in from the intimidating, old-school Upton Park at the beginning of the 2016/17 campaign, and those of a claret and blue persuasion are not lost on that fact either, having mainly tended to have agreed with those opinions.

Earlier in the decade, whilst supporters have continued to protest against the day-to-day running of the club, mainly by David Sullivan and the recently departed Karren Brady, the London Stadium still played a key role in two hugely successful runs deep into European competition, which peaked when Jarrod Bowen's last-gasp goal in Prague under David Moyes secured the 2022/23 UEFA Conference League trophy.

However, since then, the 62,500-capacity arena has been the scene of several protests, as well as occasions where multiple of the stands have been visibly half-empty at best.

Unsurprisingly, there are fears that this could continue into a Championship season where promotion is to be expected, although Nuno Espírito Santo and his players will hope for the exact opposite.

London Stadium atmosphere concerns raised ahead of West Ham's EFL Championship return

The London Stadium will be the largest ground to have hosted Championship football since the division was rebranded 22 years ago, even ahead of Newcastle United's St James' Park, which previously held the crown.

Since West Ham moved into the ground a decade ago, the lowest average attendance figure - aside from the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons impacted by COVID-19 restrictions - came in 2018/19 at a figure of 58,336, highlighting the strength of the club's local and global fanbase.

However, Football League World's West Ham fan pundit, Joe Davis, can only see those plummeting significantly, recently stating: “To be perfectly honest with you, I think it could end up working against us a little bit.

“We’ll probably average about 40k attendance, if I had to guess, maybe 30k but who knows? It’s been so long since we were down in the Championship.

“I think it will become a hard place for the players to play in, that’s the thing.

“Especially if it’s not full and there’s not much atmosphere, whereas I feel like the rest of the Championship, with the smaller stadiums, even if they’re not generating massive crowds, they can get on top of you a bit but we struggle doing that with a full sold out stadium, let alone half of one," Davis added.

West Ham United fans must back their side after relegation to the EFL Championship

There have been obvious questions about the atmosphere which can be generated inside the stadium, even though in 2025/26, despite relegation, West Ham averaged the second-highest attendance in the Premier League at 62,347 behind Manchester United, who finished third in the table.

It has been such a long time since the club were in the Championship, that the truth of the matter is, some supporters may welcome the change of scenery, especially if Nuno, who will be staying on as head coach, can mastermind a similar campaign to his previous spell at this level with Wolverhampton Wanderers eight years ago.

Not many players at Championship level will have played in a stadium of such overall grandeur for a league match too, meaning there is a prime chance for Irons fans to make it as hostile as possible, especially if they are to be encouraged by a strong start to the season.

However, if those circumstances do not occur, there is also every chance that, as Davis alluded to, the stadium and atmosphere having a completely undesirable effect on those in claret and blue.

Despite their obvious shortcomings in the top-flight, there were also five teams with worse home records than West Ham, who recorded 22 of their 39 points in E20, although much-improved form will still be required by next season for the vast majority of the crowd to be turned back onside.