One step forward and two steps back? Darron Kirkby wonders where West Ham are going next
West Ham’s promotion killed off supporters’ hopes that somebody would buy chairman Terence Brown’s 38 per cent share in the club. Despite his low profile, Brown has become one of the least popular chairmen in football during his 12 years in charge. The atmosphere at the Boleyn Ground has been poisonous since relegation two years ago with the crowd all too eager to barrack either Brown or manager Alan Pardew when things go wrong. The latter’s insistence on playing people out of position and his questionable tactics have even led to the crowd singing “We are the West Ham claret and blue army”, omitting his name.