1
[cheering]
[Mark Noble] This is a family,
this ain't a football club.
When you come to this football
club, you get embraced.
You've given something back
tonight
that we'll never forget
and we're proud of that.
[cheering]
[man 1] Upton Park has been
my home, it's been my escape.
This is where it all started,
this is where it all happens,
and I don't really want
to leave this.
[man 2] This is not going
to be the same, not coming here
and not coming to this area
we're in...
Just really like,
a gut-wrenching feeling.
It's like you're splitting up
two brothers,
one's going away
over here somewhere
and then this one is
going to be, you know...
He's going to be
distraught there.
[Mark] My dad
always said to me,
"Mark, you're West Ham captain.
West Ham goes back
hundreds of years
and there's so much history
around it."
[crowd gasps]
[man 3] Brilliant ground,
and it's one of
the traditional grounds.
It's, like, pure football
ground.
[man 4] You've got characters
all around you.
Everywhere is a character.
[woman]
Well, it's meant everything.
It's part of our life.
[man 5]
The Boleyn is what it is.
It's so historical,
Bit gutted, really.
[man 6] This is it,
one more game
and that's it for Upton Park.
[commentator] Tonight,
we're at the Boleyn ground,
which has hosted so many famous
cup games in its 112 years.
Tonight, West Ham face
Manchester United
in the FA Cup
quarterfinal replay.
The pub's gone. Hello, mate,
alright? Where's the pub gone?
Two years?
That's a liberty.
There's a fucking Tesco's!
The pub! Unbelievable.
What was it called,
the Green Gate, that was called?
Nothing's sacred any more.
In the players' bit here,
Joe, we kid our way in.
We ain't supposed to come
in here.
We just fanny our way in
all the time.
Cheers, Jeff.
- Where do you want?
- Up the end.
Why don't you put it there
so the Man United coach
can't come in?
[laughter]
We've got to go see Kim first.
[whistles]
Alright. Come on, boys.
Good evening.
- How are you?
- I'm very well, thank you.
Good girl.
Alright?
You OK?
[clears throat]
Hello. You alright?
- How are you, Kim?
- Fine, thank you.
Here you are, my darling.
- You alright?
- Yeah. You?
- Yeah.
- What you been up to?
- Busy day.
- Yeah, I bet it is.
Fancy us tonight?
You fancy us tonight?
You're going
to let them get a goal?
Don't let them score.
Alright, babe,
I'll see you later.
Over Land and Sea, today's
issue, Over Land and Sea.
Only last few left today.
Last few left.
[jeering]
[man] It's the last
FA Cup game at Upton Park,
the Boleyn ground,
under lights.
We're playing well.
If we play as well as we played
against Arsenal,
there's no reason
why we can't win this game,
and even if it goes
to penalties, I fancy us.
So, you know, I just think
that there's something special
about this squad of players.
7-1, 11-5. Rooney's playing
tonight, ain't he?
I'm gonna have a little Marky
Noble to score. 5-1, Mark Noble.
- Hello, Mr. Chairman.
- Hi.
- How are you?
- I'm good. How are you?
- Two-nil, Mr. Chairman.
- Is that what you fancy?
- I fancy that.
- Let's hope you're right.
When I was a kid, the old south
end, nine times out of ten,
I'd sit over in the corner.
All the lunatics
would be up this end,
all the proper big boys.
A little firm would sit there
or stand most of the game
and give it
to the away supporters.
Going to miss it,
going to miss this immensely.
So, I'm bringing all the kids.
I'm bringing my grandchild
who'll be probably about 12
weeks old. He's got be blooded.
He's got to be here for the last
game ever at the Boleyn ground.
Wife, kids, we're all West Ham
and they're going to be here.
Ain't just about the football
that day, you know?
It's about this,
about where I'm from,
this is our manor,
where we're from.
[David] My earliest
memories was at Green Street,
growing up in Green Street.
When you look over there,
there is where we used
to play cards in the house.
By the bus stop.
Yeah, and you can see
the bus stop.
And that's right by there, yeah.
And that's 442 Green Street,
where I was brought up.
When you look at that,
that's the past.
That's the past,
or the beginning,
whatever way you look at it.
Here we are standing here now...
is the present
and then we look over there
at the Olympic Stadium
and there's the future.
That's very good, I like that.
- I knew you'd like that.
- I do like that.
Yeah, the past, the present
and the future.
Brilliant.
[chanting]
[commentator] West Ham haven't
lost a game here since August.
They may be leaving Upton Park,
but not until they've turned it
into a fortress.
[David] I am emotional,
I am desperate to win the game
because the last FA Cup game
at Upton Park,
it would be fantastic
if we would go out as winners.
[Ray] I feel we have a chance,
a really good fighting chance.
It might be that night
we just pull it off, you know.
You're going to win.
[Ray] And don't fear anyone.
As long as they go out
and do their business,
they should beat them.
[singing
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"]
West Ham United.
In goal, number one,
Darren Randolph.
I think this is the biggest game
so far this season.
No.27, we've got Dimitri Payet!
Come on, you Irons!
[whistle]
[singing
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"]
Oh, unlucky, son.
[cheering]
I'd like to see that again.
He jumped to him.
Oh, no, no.
[Ray groans]
Oh, leave me alone.
Leave me alone.
They're getting torn apart.
Absolutely torn apart.
[wild cheering]
[wild cheering]
Oh, no!
When are they ever gonna
give us anything?
All the fucking people
in the boxes... don't do that.
[sighs] That's it, I think.
[final whistle]
Shit.
[indistinct]
Probably. The problem is,
it's no good to us.
And they probably do.
And like our dreams,
they fade and die.
- Oh, Ray. Don't say that.
- It's that song, mate.
- That's what it is.
- I know.
[reporter] Is the fear now
that the season
could fizzle out a little bit
and players
might not be as motivated?
[Slaven] We are still big time
in the competition for Europe,
and we want to finish
as high as possible.
Of course, this is going to...
It's a huge disappointment
tonight.
It's going to affect us,
but we have to come together
and stick and bounce back.
And make no mistake,
we're going to do it.
5 today, scarves.
[Slaven] The biggest positive
thing around and about West Ham
is that it is a club
like one big family.
- Good morning.
- How are you?
Good, good. Is Steve back?
Oh, you're there!
Oh, you're back.
How are you?
How are you doing? Morning.
[Slaven] Every morning to shake
hands with every player
and the person
who is with the club.
It helps in creating that bond.
[Mark] And it's a bit
of communication
without actually having
to speak to someone,
shake the managers',
the coaches' hands.
It takes me 20 minutes,
I shake the chefs' hands and...
Just a little bit of respect
and, "Morning, how are you?"
And just, it's a good way
to get the morning going.
[Slaven] OK.
If you're warming up...
And then, after we play
five-a-side,
like four against four,
with four players,
with eight players on a side,
and then we do it, like,
four, three times,
for three minutes,
depending on the intensity,
and then after that, we go
for a little bit bigger pitch
and we finish it
with eight against eight.
- Seven against seven.
- Yeah, or seven-seven.
We have Mikey.
We have Antonio.
- We have...
- Payet.
Payet... He's kind of through.
So we've got two or three
goalkeepers today.
[shouts]
[shouting]
- How long have you been there?
- [Will] Coming up ten years now.
- Long time, innit?
- [Will] Yeah.
- You've seen me get old.
- [Will] Yeah.
The Olympic Stadium, yeah.
I can't believe
how big the place is.
I've never seen
it with people in either.
I didn't go to the Olympics.
I didn't go to the rugby either.
So, I've never seen...
I've only ever seen it empty.
It needs to be
a football stadium
instead of a theater,
if you know what I mean?
Obviously, you want people in
the door but you also want...
You don't want to lose the...
atmosphere
that you get at Upton Park.
[woman] We've made a unanimous
recommendation
to select West Ham United
in the London Borough of Newham
as the preferred long-term
tenant for the Olympic Stadium.
[Boris Johnson]
This fantastic stadium
will not only host athletics
and all sorts of other sports
where the ball is not
necessarily spherical.
This Olympic Stadium
will now be
the home of a great
London football club.
[reporter] The winning team
in front of West Ham's latest
trophy, the Olympic Stadium.
Capturing this
half-a-billion-pound-prize
was a moment to savor.
As a community, we involve
so much local schools,
all of East London
will be coming to it.
There'll be so many local events
and they will say,
it's wonderful what's happened.
So, I think they may see in time
it is a perfect solution.
Well, I'll show that basically
it's more West Ham.
I'll go down the stairs
rather than the lift,
rather than cramming the lift.
I've never been at the club
that's changed ground.
I have been relegated.
I've been promoting the playoff
final, been to a cup final.
But I've never ever been
to a club changing grounds.
It's a very unique thing.
All that is West Ham.
That's every West Ham team
since we've been there.
One day, hopefully,
it'll fill both sides.
That's when West Ham went up
there with the Wembley playoff.
And that's pieces of art,
the Krays and things, you know.
I'll just dim the lights.
I think it's the best thing.
It has to be done,
and this is my little office.
I don't say it's going to change
the club completely.
It gives us
another 10 or 12 million more,
which would buy
one reasonably good player,
but it's not going
to completely change
the whole finance of the club,
but what it does is it increases
the fan base,
increases the status.
We priced it bringing support
from everywhere
and we're attracting
a whole new breed of supporter
and we're bringing people
into football
who wouldn't be watching
a football game.
We're taking
the armchair supporters
and making them real supporters,
and I think we'll attract
more players.
If you show them Upton Park,
unless they are into history,
it's not the most grand
of grounds to play at.
Well, the new stadium
looks the part.
If you're a foreigner coming to
England, it'll have an impact.
When you take them
to the ground,
they think,
"We've come to a big club."
You take them to Upton Park,
they think they're coming to a
middle type of club, you know,
not a top six club, you know,
but the new stadium
will make us look
like a top six club.
Carlie, where's your car keys?
Have you seen her car keys?
[woman speaks indistinctly]
[woman speaks indistinctly]
Found them.
So, what's it going to be like
leaving the Boleyn ground?
Do you know what?
It's going to be...
Obviously, it's the right thing
to do for the club,
but it's going to be strange
because, obviously,
I've played there like, every
two weeks for the last 12 years,
you know what I mean?
You just get routine of walking
in the same doors and sitting
in the same place.
So, it's going to be strange,
but I'm looking forward to it.
Is that a full-size pitch?
Is that a full-size pitch?
- Yeah.
- Looks massive from here.
Hello again.
Hello, mate.
Nice to see you, bruv.
- Are you well?
- Hello, darling.
How are you? Nice to see you.
How are you?
Good, good, good.
You can take your helmets off
and glasses.
I'd rather keep them on.
Because you've got
helmet hair now.
- Too late.
- Don't say that.
[they laugh]
Premier League Football here
next season.
West Ham fans and players
can't wait, I guess.
I just... My one concern is
last-ever season at the Boleyn,
and I did say at the beginning
of the season,
it's probably the most important
in the club's history,
moving into somewhere like this,
and we just need the fans
to stick with us,
stick behind us,
like they have done this year
fantastically
and let's move on together.
[man 1] What you'll miss most
is the atmosphere.
[man 2] The atmosphere,
the singing.
[man 1] Will we replicate that
in the Olympic Stadium?
Don't know. [echoes]
[man 2] You're going to have
20,000-plus new people
in the ground.
[man 1]
We could have this influx
of so-called football tourists.
[man 2] New fans
who don't understand us.
[man 1] There's nothing worse
than people turning up
to watch your team and they
don't know half the players.
Are we going to be close
to the pitch?
Is it going to be as bad as
what people have said about it?
There is the running track and
you'll never see everything.
[man 3] Every other match
is probably
going to be like
an away game, really.
[man 2] It's a bit like
moving outer space
because it's so vast there,
it's so vast,
it's a big, big stadium.
[man 4] What I'll miss
most is Upton Park itself
because there's going back.
Once that's gone,
it's gone. That's it.
[reporter] How do you feel
about moving home
from the Boleyn ground?
[Slaven] It's like
I am having two heads for that
and I have two opinions and
both of them are very strong.
The first one, OK, it's
amazing and it's like shivering
to even think about going there.
It's going to be brilliant.
On the other hand, if I am
talking as a football manager,
if we are talking about
a bit of positive hostile
old-fashioned atmosphere,
it's Upton Park.
There's no way
that we're going to get that,
no matter you're going to have
more than 20,000 extra fans.
You won't get that atmosphere
at the Olympic Stadium.
You hear the same story like
it's not only football game.
The whole family can
spend the whole day there.
You have restaurants,
you have a shopping center,
you have there
the kids can play,
but what about the home,
what about the football game?
The football game for me
is still,
if you want
a proper football game,
then it's Boleyn ground, yeah.
For our supporters,
this is a church.
It's a holy place.
It's a place of religion.
West Ham is that religion
that they support.
They love it here
and it's a huge responsibility
to take that away from them.
People don't like change,
they don't like change
in any way,
shape or form in their lives,
and I do understand
that to change something
and change it for the better
are two different things.
But we are going to change it
for the better
and, actually,
it's not that far.
You can see it from here.
It's really starting
to take shape
and my job is to make it
look and feel
like the home of West Ham.
This is the home of West Ham,
but that's the new home of West
Ham and we're going to bring
all our traditions from here and
we're going to implement them
right into the future
of that stadium over there.
I don't know any one here
anymore, you know?
And that's my one there. 82.
Where is it?
84. 82.
And we moved into this house
when I was born, I guess.
Everyone who was around here
was a West Ham supporter
and we kind of grew up that way.
We used to walk to school
down there.
When I was a kid, it was
all bombed houses along there.
We used to... It was
our playground, in a way.
This is 1.2 miles from Upton
Park, from the Boleyn ground.
So it was hard
not to be a West Ham fan.
I'm claret and blue
through and through.
Everyone else was kind of
a posh club. Tottenham.
I don't know why Tottenham
thought they were posh.
But they are.
They think they are.
Chelsea were
a little bit hip, you know.
Man United were always,
you know,
everyone kind of liked Man
United because of George Best.
I've never really had
a dislike of any other team.
I just liked West Ham so much.
I've never really had
a second team, never.
We had probably the best
diplomat for British football
and for this area.
He was captain for West Ham,
Bobby Moore.
When everyone talks
about this part of East London,
they talk about
thieves and gangsters.
But he kind of changed that,
he kind of brought... an honor
of being from this manor.
We basically grow up
with football here
being the national sport
and as I say, you know,
one of the first things you do
to anybody, you know,
when they're little babies
is if you just roll them a ball,
they'll try
to kick it back to you.
[Ray] It seems quite appropriate
that a team
that won the World Cup in '66
with the help
of a few Man United players,
Nobby Styles, Charlton,
great players...
I was there. Roger Hunt.
I was at that game.
I was sitting and watching
as he stuck his chest out
and raised the World Cup
on English soil
for England and for West Ham.
It seems quite appropriate
that the Olympic Stadium
is claret and blue.
And the way I feel at the moment
is we've got a team that will
play beautiful football there
and have some heart
and some passion.
And when we do sing
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles,
I've got a feeling it might
just echo around there
like it did at Wembley...
when they sang England in 1966.
Go on, you Irons.
Got me little radio,
got me headphones.
See you tonight.
I'll get back about 9:00.
- Yeah. Yeah, no worries.
- Take care.
- See you later.
- Bye.
I've been going over to
Upton Park now about 28 years.
I always call Upton Park
my second home.
[man] How you doing?
- [Matt] Alright, thank you. You?
- Yeah, not bad.
- I'm on the 08:30, yeah.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Hello.
- It's one of those two.
One's a return and one's to go.
[guard] Yeah, the top one there.
Lovely job. Thank you.
Love Upton Park to bits
and it's part of my routine
every other Saturday.
Suddenly stopped doing that.
It is going to be
quite a sad occasion.
It hasn't really sunk in.
I don't think it will until I
leave there on Tuesday night.
My mum actually took me
to my first game.
It was in the late '70s.
I think I was around
eight or nine years old.
I've been lucky enough
to have partial vision
when I was a lot younger,
so I've got a picture of that
and I've got memory of that.
I went with a mate
who lived over the road, Steve.
Both our mums took milk crates
for me and Steve to stand on.
I just remember there being
really massive police horses,
and being a small boy,
a horse then was like, gigantic.
Programs.
Get your fanzine!
Last but one ever issue of OLAS.
The fanzine is called Over Land
and Sea, and that goes back
to a time when West Ham fans
used to sing a song,
"We all follow West Ham
over land and sea,
we all follow West Ham
on to victory."
Total load of bollocks.
We used to follow West Ham
over land and sea,
and it won nothing
over land and sea,
but the song was a great song.
Over Land and Sea
has come out of the song.
Over Land and Sea,
brand-new now.
Only last few left today.
Last few left.
I've been a landmark, ain't I?
People wait by the ladder.
"Where are you?"
By that geezer with the ladder.
Even if they don't know
my name. It's a meeting point.
"Where are you?" "By the geezer
with the ladder."
Penultimate issue, Over Land
and Sea, one more to go.
27 years
and we're off into the sunset.
I decided probably two years ago
that when we move,
that was it for the fanzine.
Over Land and Sea
could be no more.
I had a chat with a few people
and they said,
"No way you'll be able to sell
it at the Olympic stadium."
I can't do that.
"We won't let you sell it,"
blah, blah, blah.
West Ham will throw everything
away when they move there.
It will throw away everything
West Ham has ever stood for.
I think
they're going to destroy
every minute of our history
that we've had,
and I'm struggling with it.
People say it's only a football
match. It's not a fucking match.
It's a life, isn't it?
It's 20, you know, it's fucking
40 years of my life.
"It's only a game of football."
It ain't a game of football.
- Alright, mate? How many?
- One.
I am packing in...
everything, you know.
Packing in going.
Packing in the fanzine.
The hole it's going to leave in
my world, is massive, massive.
It is what it is.
Penultimate issue to the clever,
but the last but one
to everyone else.
I'll be here from 10:30,
sitting at my little table.
A few beers, pie and mash.
Proper day out.
How is it is going to affect
the businesses around here?
I mean, the ones like
the pie and mash, the Ribman.
The pub, you know?
What's the pubs going to do?
Hello, mate, thanks very much.
- Cheers, mate. No problem.
- What's happening when you go?
We were hoping to go.
I'm trying to be positive.
But it ain't looking that way.
A lot of people in the area
aren't too happy
about the move,
and it's going to be
a game changer,
but West Ham supporters
like pie and mash.
That's the important bit.
You'll never find another
pie-and-mash shop like this one.
[man] If the Olympic Stadium
will be the prestigious stadium
and the new generation
of the Premier League,
then these stallholders
aren't going to get a look-in.
Hello, David.
How are you, mate?
- I'm good.
- Yeah, basically, I am a trader.
I've been a trader here
for the last 16 years.
You know, you come from the same
background as what I did.
I mean, that's how
I get my living.
I had a stall outside of 442
Green Street just like you.
Really? You understand
where I'm coming from.
- No, no, I do.
- I've got a mortgage,
two kids to look after
and all I want, David, is no
more than what I've got now,
the opportunity to work.
We are aware of those situations
and are looking to do everything
we can to help you guys.
OK.
Well, appreciate your time.
- No problem, my friend.
- Thank you. Good luck.
[David]
It's a very delicate situation
where there are going to be
winners and losers.
We're coming
to the Olympic Stadium
and people there
with their businesses
are going to benefit
because, you know,
there'll be 60,000 fans
coming to a match.
By the same token,
when we leave,
there are going to be
people here
that will sadly lose
35,000 fans.
[man] Five or seven?
Spicy or barbecue?
Yeah, small and spicy.
Cheers, my man.
My name is Mark Gevaux.
I am known as the Ribman.
I've been selling
my rib sandwiches, rib rolls,
to West Ham fans here at the
Boleyn for about five years.
Can you wrap it up?
Wrap it up.
We are literally 200 meters
from the ground,
so as soon as you sell out,
that's it, we pack up
and I go and see the game.
Leaving the Boleyn,
leaving all of this behind is,
you know, very nerve-racking.
I lost my leg
after a car crash.
20 years ago, the car crash,
ten years ago,
they cut the leg off.
The prosthetist at the hospital
very kindly made me a leg
from a West Ham shirt.
I had signed by Julian Dicks
and Slaven Bilic.
And, yeah, it's a pride-and-joy.
I believe it's the only one
in the world.
It may be not but I think is.
See you later.
I used to work as a butcher
after the crash.
After about four months,
they told me they couldn't
insure me anymore.
That was the end of my career.
I had to look
for something else to do.
I mean, I could have sat at home
depressed, get fat, whatever,
but I thought, "I still want...
I need to get out and work."
And the only thing
I could think of doing was ribs.
This is my converted
shipping container.
This is where we keep
all the ribs and all the sauces.
It's where we make all the
sauce. Got extraction, water.
Pride and joy, actually.
I love my shipping container.
I've got two loves.
Cooking ribs and hot sauce,
and West Ham.
It's going to be sad to leave,
without a doubt, but...
You know what? We need to.
We do, if you want to be a club
in the top
or whether you want to be a club
that fades into obscurity.
There's so much money
coming into football now
that it's going to be hard
to keep up with it, you know?
Really, really hard.
As much as I'd love to be
in a kiosk outside the stadium,
from what I hear, the rent
is just astronomical.
It's not something
I could ever pay.
It's a nightmare, you know,
it really is.
It's going to be really hard
to actually get in there,
but I'm never going to give up.
How many we got? About 40?
Whether it be on a milk
float outside the park
or whether it be on a canal
boat on the canal next to it,
I will be there
one way or another.
Without a doubt, I'm going to
be the Ribman of West Ham.
If I can put that on my tomb,
I'll die a happy man.
How are you doing?
It just sort of fell on a day
we were playing at home,
we've been looking forward to it
for months.
It's a special day, you know,
I think, when you're hundred.
No, no, everything is fine.
Everything's going fine.
You'll love it there.
[chanting]
- Alright? How have you been?
- I'm good, mate, I'm good.
Myself and Matt, my brother,
have been coming to West Ham
for about 26-27 years.
So, Reid and Ogbonna, Antonio
and Cresswell at the back.
Kouyat, Lanzini, Moses
and Noble.
Because he's in a routine
of Upton Park,
he's very nervous
about the Olympic Stadium
and the new stadium
where the pitch is in terms of
the dug-out and the goals
and sort of the stadium size,
and just appreciating
how big it is.
Cheers. Cheers.
- Hi, Jane, you're alright?
- I'm good.
Good, darling.
[Matt] My brother, James,
has been commentating
for 15 seasons
for visually impaired
supporters that go to the game.
Are there any lights?
There is no light?
Oh, it goes on, yeah, he's on.
[indistinct]
...smothers the ball.
[Matt] The atmosphere is
the most important thing.
Having the crowd
all around you...
- Pushes it in too far...
- [crowd gasps]
Terrible. Terrible.
[singing]
...hearing the players
shout on the pitch,
sometimes hearing
the crunching tackles go in...
If West Ham score now,
two to get.
[Matt] That's what
it's all about for me,
the atmosphere
and being part of that.
[singing
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"]
[Gary]
West Ham fans are unique.
There's no one like them.
They're the most pessimistic....
- He ain't gonna make it.
- What is going on?
Whole of my life, that's
the worst referee I've seen.
...slash optimistic.
[chanting]
They will take you through every
spectrum of emotion in a minute.
[cheering]
[jeering]
When the shit hits the fan,
it really doesn't matter.
Oh!
The West Ham fans have all been
together where they are.
When the club move,
that ain't gonna happen.
People are going to be moved
around all over the place.
It's a unique, special place,
Upton Park.
You know, for us, it's an end
of an era, end of a lifetime.
Disaster for West Ham.
Disaster for Slaven Bilic.
Swansea are gonna win this 4-1.
- [groaning]
- You gotta be kidding me.
- Oh, God!
- Bloody hell!
[man] That is bad, isn't it?
[man] We've just been beat 4-1
at home.
I just didn't see any fight
in the players, not at all.
I mean, you'd think
they would want to perform
in the last games at Upton Park
and I just didn't see that.
But I'll tell you what,
if we played like that
against Man United, 4-1?
It could be five, six...
They're going to come to ruin
our last game at Upton Park
at the Boleyn ground.
I don't want that.
I don't know anyone
who wants that.
[Mark] My real first memories
of playing football
was a couple of neighbors,
boys around the same age as me,
and we sat here all day every
day, straight from school,
over the field, playing
until Mum used to call me
for dinner
or sometimes I used to skip that
and go straight to bed.
This is Hermit Road
Recreation Ground.
This is where West Ham
used to play before the Boleyn
and we used to be over here
constantly,
smashing balls about
and just having fun, really.
You know, you learn your trade
in places like this.
Mate over the road,
he said to my dad,
"Mark, he's really good,
you should get him
into a little team,"
and my dad was like, "He's
a bit young, he's only six,"
and he said,
"No, just take him."
My dad said I went over
and absolutely took the mick
out of everyone
and the manager said, "Right,
he can deffo sign for us."
Look. Says it there.
"Thames Iron Works
played at Hermit
and joined to form West Ham
Football Club in 1900."
It's a nice bit of history,
really, isn't it?
Someone's obviously tried
to rob the sign, look.
And I moved to West Ham
and that's where
it really sort of kicked off.
Southend at home,
that was my debut.
I come out and I was so buzzing
to even be out on the pitch.
My dad said to me, he said,
Mark, he said,
"No one can ever take that
away from you now.
You've played at Upton Park.
You can make it the start
of something special,"
and it has been, obviously.
We used to play here and you
weren't allowed off the curb
and he wasn't allowed off
that curb,
and if you scored
and it bounced back to you
and you'd get another shot,
you know.
How are you doing?
Nice to see you.
- How are you?
- I am fine, thank you.
Well, I saw you from upstairs
and I though I recognize you
from somewhere.
You used to chase me,
that's why.
- [laughter]
- No, listen...
Here it comes.
That's the rum.
Two spoons of coffee,
one spoon of sugar.
[man] You thought about wearing
this tonight,
seeing it's the last game,
putting it over the top?
[Mabel] I'd like to do that,
actually.
It'd be nice and Louis van Gaal
might be confused
if you come on as a sub with
Mabel 100 on the back of it.
What do you reckon?
I brought that down.
Remember that one?
Oh, my goodness me.
[man] That was 1974 when you
appeared on Match Of The Day.
[Mable] Yeah, and I was shouting
at the referee.
Something special. It's the '64
semi-final against Man United.
You always rub that in because
that's the game I didn't go to.
You went to the zoo.
I had commitments as a sixer
in the cubs to go to London Zoo
- on a very wet day.
- I knew you were a sixer
but I didn't know that would
make you go to the zoo.
[man] So, how do you feel
about tonight?
I thought I was alright until
I had the dream two nights ago.
I was doing me nut over West Ham
and I woke up crying.
- We can't leave it behind.
- No, we can't.
No. We take the memories and
their spirits with us, don't we?
Oh, don't say that.
Yeah.
This is it, this is goodbye.
- Thanks for your custom.
- Alright.
Thank you very much.
- All the best, mate.
- See you later.
There's a lot of people here,
ain't there?
Three hours and 20 minutes.
No, I'm glad, I am glad.
No, I'm glad.
I thought Nathan's might be
doing a bit of business,
but not a queue like that.
You wouldn't think they
could cook it quick enough.
Ceremonial, Kerry.
It's a momentous day carrying
the steps out on the last day.
I know I've made a joke of it
but...
It's tough, it's tough.
I feel quite emotional,
actually, to be honest.
That's been
a ritual of mine for...
...not just, like, the 27 years
of doing my magazine...
...but all the years since 1980.
Every single home game,
not missed one.
Last-ever issue of OLAS.
A lot people early, ain't it?
Time's come now where maybe
a printed magazine
ain't a necessity
in people's eyes now.
Lovely. Ta, mate.
When I started
the magazine off,
people waited two weeks
or a month for it to come out,
but now they're on their phone,
they're tweeting, on Facebook.
During the game within
seconds, you can bet online
during the game.
So, my magazine is like...
the dinosaur news nowadays.
Two left now till we turn it in
after 27 years.
What am I going to do, take it
online like everyone else? No.
My glory is standing
on top of my ladder,
selling it to the people,
that's my glory.
That's what I enjoy the most,
that's why showman
coming out there.
Today's issue.
It's my show.
When I'm on top of my
stepladder outside Upton Park,
selling my magazine,
that's my show.
Alright.
- Give us a kiss.
- Take care, mate.
I've not fallen
out of love with West Ham.
I'll never fall out of love
with West Ham.
You can turn back many things,
but time ain't one of them.
We've sold out.
It's going to hit home now
because this, this is it.
A lot of memories and a lot of
history, it's going to be gone.
That's going to be tough.
112 years of history,
and it's going to be, you know,
we've got 90 more minutes.
You put that into context,
90 more minutes,
and that's it for Upton Park.
How do you think
we're gonna do tonight?
Against Manchester United?
[Mabel] Oh, lose. Man United.
Always a bug in my ear,
they are, get on my wick.
Do you think we're going to win?
[man] You know me,
I believe that we're going
to win every game.
I certainly don't...
Both do, don't we?
But doesn't work out like that.
That's the problem. We're too
wrapped up in the emotion of it.
Yeah, because we wanted them
to do so well.
That's what I'm thinking
about tonight.
We want them to do so well.
[shouting]
[David] It's very sad, but
equally, it's very exciting.
It'd be fantastic if we could
leave the Boleyn ground
by beating
the mighty Manchester United.
[indistinct]
Otherwise, we're blocking
the traffic as well.
No one can get in or out.
Good evening, fellas.
[commentator]
Welcome to Upton Park
and the famous Green Street.
The sights tonight
are unbelievable.
Over the last four
or five hours,
the streets have been filling
up with thousands of fans.
Many of them
don't have a ticket.
They just want to be part
of this historic evening.
They're singing, drinking,
lapping up
this incredible atmosphere.
They've not opened
the gates yet.
[Mabel] Well, I ain't
going through that lot.
[man] What on earth
are they doing?
[Slaven] Midweek game, night
kick-off, Manchester United,
we need a win
because it's the last game
ever to be played
at Upton Park.
Record 14, please.
Yeah, one, two, three, four,
five. Stand by.
Mark, just your
journey here by coach,
how much has it told you?
This is a very different night.
What was it like out there?
Yeah, I mean, crazy.
[Mark] It took us an hour,
probably, to get 200 yards.
We knew it was gonna be
like this
but you've got to concentrate
on the game.
[reporter]
Is it pressure, do you feel?
For sure, it will be
hard to put the emotion aside,
but we're going to try
and win a game, for sure.
- Mark, have a good night.
- Cheers, thank you.
- Mark, all the best.
- See you soon.
[commentator] There could
be a problem here.
The Manchester United
team coach has been delayed.
The team have been stranded
on Green Street.
It's complete chaos.
The roads are now almost
totally blocked with fans.
[chanting]
- Are Man U still on that bus?
- Yes.
[indistinct]
It's scary out there.
[whistling]
[chanting]
[shouting]
Sat here since 1968, ain't we?
You know, it's a long time.
It's still not comfortable,
but it's still our seat.
- They're a bit hard.
- It's rotten.
It's rotten.
There's no leg room.
- No, no leg rom.
- But it's our seat.
Good evening
and welcome to Upton Park.
We've got 90 minutes'
commentary
for the visually impaired
and blind supporters.
Definitely 8:30.
[commentator]
I have some breaking news.
The kickoff has been delayed
by 45 minutes.
West Ham
against Manchester United
in the final match here
will now kick off at 8:30.
[crowd] I'm Forever
Blowing Blues
Tonight's winners will secure
a European place next season.
It's a crucial game for both
teams and there is added drama
as 112 years
of football history
in this part of London
will end tonight.
Then like my dreams
they fade and die
Fortune's always hiding
I've looked everywhere
I'm forever blowing bubbles
Pretty bubbles in the air
United!
United!
He wants to stay with Daddy.
[chanting]
[cheering]
Go on! Go on!
...a good, strong challenge
from...
[commentary] Lanzini cuts it
back. Oh, it's in!
A wonderful goal by Sakho
under just five minutes.
West Ham take the lead 1-0
against Manchester United.
What an atmosphere!
What a start to this final game
at Upton Park.
[chanting]
Slaven Bilic controlling
the touch line.
West Ham manager, who was a
player here for two seasons.
So popular.
[indistinct commentary]
Could be two. Oh!
Denied by the keeper.
[whistle]
The first half comes to an end,
the very last halftime whistle
at this ground.
Tomorrow morning it will be
nothing but a memory,
a piece of football history.
With such vital European points
at stake though,
West Ham leading 1-0
and playing their part
in this historic goodbye.
Don't think it'll kick in until
they all start spilling out
and then we'll know that
that is the end and that is it.
Yes. It's going to happen.
[cheering]
It's a night that no one here
will ever forget.
They're witnessing
the end of an era.
I don't think the seats
in the bottom section
have been used all night.
Every man, woman, child
up on their feet singing,
shouting, to try and help
West Ham to a famous win here.
Manchester United
on the attack.
Good run, in the box,
goal for Manchester United.
Levels the score. 1-1.
Get them!
[crowd gasps]
Martial again.
They can't stop him.
What a goal
for Manchester United!
They now lead
by two goals to one.
[tolling bell]
[Ray] West Ham,
we kind of expect to be
messed up a little bit,
and not have a great season
because next season
is going to be great.
We say that every year.
"Next year."
[commentator] Just 15 minutes
of football left at Upton Park.
West Ham! West Ham!
West Ham on the attack.
Payet towards Antonio
all on his ownio!
Goal! Two-all!
Fantastic header from Antonio.
Delivered it by Payet.
West Ham are back in it, 2-2.
West Ham! West Ham!
[man 1]
This magnificent old stadium
has a power in me,
a passion that it generates.
[man 2] It's madness,
but it's like positive madness.
We're going to use this energy
from the fans.
Come on, you Irons!
[man 3] It's a dream team
that we see even more.
The team need to us
to be that 12th man.
It ain't the stadium,
it's the people are West Ham.
[commentator] 11 minutes left.
Come on!
West Ham have a free kick.
[no sound]
Payet places the ball.
The penalty box crowded.
Players, nudging, jostling,
Here he comes.
[wild cheering]
West Ham are in the lead!
The whole crowd erupts, the
whole of East London erupts!
Have we just seen the last goal
in this historic ground?
It's 3-2 to West Ham United.
[shouting]
Three minutes for Manchester
United to fight back.
Can West Ham hang on
for this famous victory?
[whistling]
[final whistle]
The whistle blows.
What a great finish!
So much drama for the fans,
for the players, of course,
for the manager.
The man of the match
is club captain Mark Noble,
who has seen so much
in this stadium
as both player and man.
What a night for him,
what a night for those fans,
what a night for football.
The cheers will fade,
the cheers will remain
in their memory
as the final curtain falls.
[singing
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"]
It's the fans that make
this place what it is.
The 12th man in your team,
through thick and thin,
your support
has never ever wavered.
Now, we want to salute
the supporters from our roots
in the Thames Iron Works,
the pals that went to
the Great War together,
those that brought us
to victory at Wembley,
those that never ever
miss a game,
those who've handed down
the cast-iron loyalty
from generation to generation.
And particularly,
we'd like to pick out
a very special young lady.
She came here for our first
game at the Boleyn in 1934.
There she is.
82 years on. She's celebrating
her 100th birthday
where else but at the Boleyn?
She's even danced with
the late, great Bobby Moore.
She is our centenarian,
the wonderful Mabel Arnold.
[cheering]
We're honored to have
you here this evening, Mabel.
We salute you.
Come and join me over here.
You just captained West Ham
to one of the most
memorable wins
in our last-ever game here.
- How are you feeling?
- Um... Emotional, blown away.
That is the best atmosphere I've
ever played in my life, by far.
[cheering]
This is a family,
this ain't a football club.
When you come
to this football club,
you get embraced
and every West Ham fan
out there
is my family, and thank you.
We'll see you next season.
[indistinct chatter]
- You're good?
- Oh, fantastic.
[indistinct]
Come on. Come on.
Well done.
[no sound]
Today, tonight, we're
saying goodbye to our home.
This has been a part of my life
and a part of the lives
of many, many fans,
but we've got to say goodbye
and let go.
It will now be the past,
it will remain in memories,
memories in our heart
for rest of our lives.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the ground will be shutting
from midnight,
which is 20 minutes.
[Mabel]
When I got up off my seat,
and moved out into that aisle,
and I looked around,
and I thought,
"Oh, God, it's all finished."
Oh, ain't it quiet out here?
You'll be alright.
- God bless.
- God bless. Take care.
[man] We'll go to a new ground.
This will always be our home,
our church.
Upton Park, the Boleyn,
that's our place.
[woman] Take care.
This is the back way in.
[indistinct chatter]
You too? You too?
- You too?
- Nah.
- You sure?
- Yeah.
Alright.
Good, mate, how are you?
You can have what
you want off me, mate.
This is the kit man.
Don't go shy, geezer. Come on.
- Alright, mate?
- Good, mate, how are you?
This is the only man in the club
with a bigger nose than me.
[laughter]
Yes, bruv.
How are you? Feeling good.
Incredible, innit?
[commentator] So, here it is,
a new era, a new start,
as West Ham welcomes fans
to their new home.
- Irons!
- Come on, you Irons!
You want hot sauce on that,
don't you?
How are you? Nice to meet you.
[Ribman] We are literally
three minutes from the stadium.
You can see it.
You walk across the canal
and you're in the gates,
and so it's amazing.
All I've ever wanted to be
is the Ribman of West Ham
and it feels like
I've actually made it.
I am the Ribman of West Ham.
You here for the game
or the roll?
[man] The roll is so good!
[commentator] At Upton Park, the
average attendance was 33,000.
Today, they're expecting
to double that,
almost 60,000 fans
settling into their new home.
And then to your right, again
a massive bank of seats, mate.
It's absolutely huge. That's
the Trevor Brooking stand.
In front of us is the tunnel
and it's just...
It does feel like... I sort of
sense the expanse of it.
It just feels just massive
compared to Upton Park.
Even the bits
we've walked around today,
just feels... It's just huge.
As it's the first game,
I'm just a little bit nervous.
In football, you get
some surprises sometimes.
Thank you.
Hold Grandpa's hand.
What's the score going to be
today, Scarlet?
Have you any idea?
- Who's going to win?
- No.
- Who's going to win?
- West Ham.
West Ham, yes.
Hello.
It's a mixture of excitement
and a mixture of nervousness.
Fondly, I'll always remember
the Boleyn ground.
Of course, it's where,
you know,
I snuck in as a kid,
seven years of age,
but this is just incredible.
I mean, just look around
and just listen to the fans
and, you know, we're still
20 minutes from kickoff.
[Slaven] We have to make this
fabulous ground our new home.
The pitch is the same,
like anywhere else.
When the game started,
it's all about winning.
First goal is for me, alright?
Every goal is for you.
Any one after that,
it's for all of us.
OK.
But the first one is for you.
- First one is for me.
- Deal.
It's my first time here.
Can you imagine?
It's quite incredible because
we come from a little stadium,
and if West Ham want to get
used to playing in big stadiums
in cup finals,
things like that,
then there is not
a better place to play first
to get used to that.
I think it's going to take time.
I'll tell you, once that
West Ham atmosphere starts,
once they get used to that,
and you make this a home...
This is quite
an incredible stadium.
[Mabel] When I get in
and I see all the people,
I think it's lovely,
like sitting at Wembley.
[woman] Seats are much bigger.
There's cushions on the seats.
It almost feels like you can
sit two people in the seats
rather than... At Upton Park,
we were like this.
[commentator] We're not far away
from kick-off.
The teams will emerge
in five to ten minutes.
[Mark] There's just a heritage
with being the Olympic Stadium.
Just like there was gold medals
being won at the Olympics,
I'm sure we're going
to lift trophies here.
[Ribman]
Great memories of the Boleyn.
There will always be
great memories.
But this is our future.
I think to attract top players
from now,
we need to be in a stadium
like this, we need to fill it,
and we need to play
good football.
Come on, you Irons.
[Ray] I like the past.
But sometimes I dwell in
the past too much, you know?
This is
for my kids and their kids.
Fortune's always hiding
I've looked everywhere
I'm forever blowing bubbles
Pretty bubbles in the air
[cheering]
At the final whistle,
West Ham have won
their first game
in the new ground.
West Ham won, one-nil.
Slaven Bilic on the pitch,
congratulating his players
in the first Premier League
game of this new campaign.
How hot you like your hot sauce?
Well, not too hot.
Oh, really?
You're not going to like this.
It's nice but...
- Wow.
- The flavor is banging, innit?
Yeah.
And the thing is,
you get used to it
and then you have to
have it all the time.
Anyone want
some super-hot sauce?