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West Ham’s official attendance of 62,429 for their 2-1 defeat by Nottingham Forest was almost twice as high as the number of fans who went through the turnstiles at the London Stadium on Tuesday night.
The club have an increasingly apathetic fanbase and were unable to convince a big crowd to turn out for a crucial clash in the battle against relegation from the Premier League. It is understood the real attendance was closer to 34,000 than the figure given by West Ham on their website.
A marketing push was not enough to convince supporters to fill the ground. West Ham sent out notifications on matchday about tickets being available, mostly via their ticket exchange, and held a limited-time sale over Christmas. Prices for seats in bands one to six in upper tiers were reduced by 30% until 11.59pm on Boxing Day.
It is not uncommon for clubs to use the number of tickets sold as a way to report attendances. It can give the impression that a full house was in place, even when empty seats are visible and people with tickets have stayed away. For instance, West Ham said the attendance for their game against Brentford in October was 62,452, even though fans staged a mass boycott as part of protests against the club’s board. The London Stadium, a multi-use arena, has a capacity of 62,500 for football.
West Ham have struggled to win some supporters over since leaving Upton Park in 2016. There have been complaints about the distance from the pitch, the atmosphere and fans of visiting sides sitting in home sections.
Discontent has flared with the side increasingly likely to go down. On the day of the Forest game there were huge numbers of seats available on West Ham’s ticket exchange, which allows supporters to relist seats if they do not plan to attend.
That was an indication that those with tickets, many probably season-ticket holders, did not want to be present. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side are 18th and victory would have lifted them a point behind Forest. Other factors that may have affected the attendance were inclement weather, it being a third home match in 11 days and the fact it was televised.
West Ham’s owners have faced several protests from supporters this season. Nuno’s position as manager is in increasing doubt after 10 games without a win but West Ham have been hesitant to act.
