'Breakdown in dialogue led to Saturday's outbursts'

The Independent Supporters' Association's vice chairmain Paul Turner has stated to 'SkySports News' that he feels fan protests were the result of a breakdown in communication between the club hierarchy and the fans.

He went on to say that ''unfortunately we seem to be in a situation now where a number of people feel their opinion hasn't been listened to or their opinions haven't been heard by the current ownership. A number of things have manifested themselves, which unfortunately domestically and internationally everyone saw on Saturday." Turner confirmed that the Group will not tolerate any form of criminal behaviour, including pitch invasions, but outlined his perceived reasons for the ugly displays observed at Saturday's match.

Fans feel that the club hierarchy needs major restructuring and this frustration manifested itself in demonstrations and protests underneath the directors's box. Several pitch invaders were able to surpass security, where players became involved including West Ham captain Mark Noble who tackled a pitch invader to the ground. The FA are thought to awaiting a report from the club before deciding if they will charge West Ham for the incidents that occurred. 

 

March 10, 2018

Turner imagines that player spending may be another contributing factor to supporter anger. For West Ham, both income and spending on players have increased two-fold in the last five years, but Turner was quick to question whether the club has been making enough ''real investments'' for their team. This year's transfer window saw the likes of Preston North End's Jordan Hugill, Inter Milan's Joao Mario (on loan) and free agent Patrice Evra join the squad.

Turner says that ''there seems to be a real disconnect between announcements of the 17th highest revenue-earning football team, the 10th highest wage in the Premier League. But actually where is the real investment in the football team?'' When it gets to the point that ''where there seems to be a lack of quality at times in the squad'', the manager is unable to select players from the talent pool that can go out and win the matches. Turner ended with saying that ''the way we're being run at the moment, it doesn't seem like they can recruit appropriately and properly to give the manager the best options on the pitch on a Saturday."