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The shadows of perhaps the most controversial stadium in Premier League history and another still under construction loom large over Saturday’s London derby between West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur.
West Ham’s move to the London Stadium was supposed to propel the east London club to exactly where Tottenham are now, a member of the Premier League’s big-spending elite regularly competing for Champions League qualification, and ironically, the London Stadium is exactly where Tottenham apparently wanted to be eight years ago when they challenged the deal that would see their capital rivals become the outright owners of the 2012 Olympics’ centre-piece.
But Tottenham’s interest in taking the ground themselves actually laid as much in their desire to earn planning permission to rebuild White Hart Lane in north London as any to relocate the club in the heart of their bitter rivals. And the consequences of that underhanded, albeit incredibly savvy move, have been continuously disruptive and detrimental for the Hammers.
Because West Ham’s Jerusalem, thus far, has been much more of a Babylon, and many of the problems can be attributed to how Tottenham managed to disrupt the agreement that would have seen them become permanent outright owners.
Instead, West Ham were made the London Stadium’s new tenants on a 99-year lease in a deal that initially appeared to be the swoop of the century, settling for just £2.5million per year in rent without being required to pay for policing, stewarding, heating or even the corner flags.
The negative consequences though, have ranged from increasing disillusionment amongst supporters feeling alienated by being taken away from their spiritual home in Upton Park, to a borderline riot in the terraces that forced David Gold and David Sullivan to leave the directors’ box for their own safety.
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There have been plenty of other issues along the way too, including Chelsea fans throwing coins at West Ham supporters and how less football-friendly aspects of the stadium design, such as the running track, have created a subdued atmosphere, but they all share one source – the lack of control West Ham actually have over their own ground. Even the name, London Stadium, is decided by its official owners, E20, rather than the Hammers.
There is no question these problems have affected West Ham’s performances on the pitch, in some cases overtly and directly such as the 3-0 defeat to Burnley last season, and the club are still waiting for their first top half finish in the new stadium. Top seven, let alone matching the level Tottenham are currently at, still seems a long way off.
But heavy spending during the summer, coupled with the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini, seems to have at least put the Irons facing the right direction, thinking with a level of ambition that matches their new, grand surroundings. And as they head into their 45th meeting with Tottenham in the Premier League, it’s actually Spurs who are suddenly feeling the tectonic weight of their own arena.
This is actually Tottenham’s joint-strongest ever start to a Premier League season, with 18 points from eight games, but it really doesn’t feel like it. That’s partly because their overall performances haven’t been hugely convincing – even the 3-0 win at Old Trafford owed as much to a Manchester United collapse as anything of their own doing – but it’s also because of a negative perception created by inactivity over the summer and the continuously delayed return to White Hart Lane.
Tottenham’s rebuild was supposed to be ready for mid-September, crowning the return to White Hart Lane with a crunch clash against Liverpool. But the date was then pushed back by a further six weeks due to concerns over public safety, and it’s now anyone’s guess when Tottenham will actually end up hosting Premier League games there. The club are expected to announce in the next few days that top flight encounters with Chelsea and Southampton will also be relocated to Wembley.
Perhaps the delayed move hasn’t affected Tottenham’s results in quite the same way as what West Ham have suffered – even in spite of all the initial concerns over Wembley, they still won just seven less home points than Manchester City last season – but it has helped build a narrative of a club standing still, stuck in neutral after several seasons of relentless rise. The ultimate consequences of that are yet to be seen, but could prove to be severe if they influence the futures of key players like Harry Kane, Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen.
West Ham and Tottenham will take to the pitch again this Saturday, but it’s worth remembering the grass isn’t the only frontier this London derby has been fought on. And considering how long these new homes will be in their respective clubs’ lives for – indefinitely – they could go on to have a far greater impact than anything that happens in Saturday’s 3pm kickoff.