West Ham respond to major issue blamed for killing London Stadium atmosphere

Debate has raged about the sterile atmosphere at the London Stadium and it was on show again during West Ham’s dull clash with Newcastle.

Hammers News exclusive

The drab action on the pitch was matched by the atmosphere in the crowd when West Ham played Newcastle on Monday night.

That can of course, in part, be attributed to a lack of jeopardy left in the Hammers’ season.

But West Ham away for an evening game under the lights used to be one of the most daunting prospects in English football.

Hammers fans came into their own on those occasions.

There have been too many to mention down the years, especially at Upton Park.

But there have been some unforgettable nights at the London Stadium too.

Nights which have proved West Ham fans can drum up a proper atmosphere at the bowl-shaped athletics ground.

They have become very few and far between in recent times, though.

Many West Ham fans remain deeply unhappy with the London Stadium since the big move to Stratford in 2016.

The major bone of contention has always been the distance from the stands to the pitch and indeed between the upper and lower tiers in places.

Supporters feel those issues and the bowl-shaped nature of the layout are not conducive to fostering a typical Hammers atmosphere.

It would certainly also help if supporters were excited by what they were seeing on the pitch.

Others would counter that argument by saying fans are responsible for creating the atmosphere regardless of where they are and what is going on.

Debate continues to rage over West Ham’s sterile atmosphere

One example frequently cited is a match between Colombia and Spain at West Ham’s home ground.

That was probably the loudest the stadium has been since Andriy Yarmolenko steered the ball home to give West Ham a 2-1 aggregate comeback win over Sevilla in the Europa League last.