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West Ham United, Corporate Behemoth: The Premier League Review

In the final part of this week’s Premier League review, we explore the possibility that West Ham are the latest victims of extremely good branding.
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In our Premier League Review, we discuss the main talking points from the weekend's top-flight encounters. Here, we explore the possibility that West Ham have been entirely consumed by their marketing department.

With West Ham's first ever home game at the 'London Stadium' (otherwise known as the Olympic Stadium, Legacy Park or the Forcibly Subsidised Taxpayers' Arena), there came the inevitable debate about whether or not the atmosphere could match that of Upton Park. Though it's hard to judge the ambience on a single game, there seems to be considerable cause for concern. Where Upton Park was a boiling cauldron with fans almost bubbling over onto the pitch, the London Stadium has a running track that seems to dissipate much of the anger and noise visiting teams have come to expect in East London. West Ham still managed to kick off with a win against Bournemouth on Sunday, but grumbles about the matchday atmosphere look set to go on.

Naturally, the London Stadium will take West Ham fans some time to get used to. After 112 years at Upton Park, there'll be a bedding-in period before the new ground begins to feel like home. The process would be considerably easier if the club weren't quite so officious about supporters standing, browbeating fans over the tannoy as the Bournemouth game wore on. Similarly, it might be easier if the London Stadium move wasn't made to feel like a giant marketing exercise. For the majority of football fans, there are few things less exciting than extremely good branding.

First off, the 'London Stadium' is now second only to 'The Emirates' in terms of its generic character. The sooner it gets a nickname and a distinctive, fan-determined identity, the sooner things will start to shape up in the stands. Unfortunately, West Ham's summer rebrand seems to prize genericism above all else. Take their new badge, for instance, with its simplified shape and design so transparently intended to be social media friendly. It even has 'London' emblazoned across the bottom, presumably on the advice of a market research team who think Pro Evo should be the blueprint for actual clubs.

If West Ham's owners are going to continue down their current route, they may as well be done with it and rename the club 'London FC'. They can jettison the football altogether, and engage in a battle with Arsenal to see which club can sell the most expensive corporate box to Goldman Sachs. Either that, or they can listen to fans' concerns and work on preserving their raw, distinctive and unique identity. Growing a club's revenues is all well and good, but not when the entire thing is subsumed into an all-encompassing sales strategy.

You can read this week's full Premier League Review here.