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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Tom Doyle

West Hams fans gather outside London Stadium to protest against club owners

Hundreds of West Ham fans were involved in a protest against the club's owners David Sullivan and David Sullivan outside London Stadium on Saturday.

West Ham hosted Everton on Saturday - one day before the 10-year anniversary of Gold and Sullivan's takeover of the east London club.

Ahead of the Premier League clash against Carlo Ancelotti's Toffees, West Ham fans gathered to voice their frustration at the progress the club has made in that time.

The number of protesters was in the hundreds, not thousands, but the group of supporters made their feelings clear with chants of: "Ten years of failure."

(AFP via Getty Images)

The Hammers' move from Upton Park to the London Stadium has left a portion of the club's supporters frustrated, while performances on the pitch have also failed to live up to expectations.

(Getty Images)

West Ham currently sit 16th in the Premier League table, though David Moyes' return as manager has stabilised results after Manuel Pellegrini was sacked on December 28.

A statement released by Sullivan and Gold on West Ham's website on Saturday read: "It is ten years this weekend since we achieved the long-held dream of taking ownership of West Ham United, both as lifelong supporters of this magnificent football club.

(Getty Images)

"A lot has happened in that time. Some of it good, some of it not so good. But there is one thing that remains exactly the same as the day we walked into Upton Park… and that is our determination and desire to bring success to this football club.

"We would love nothing more than to be talking in these pages about all that we have achieved on the pitch but despite our best efforts we have not made the progress, in a football sense, that we all hoped for and expected following the move to London Stadium almost four years ago.”

Gold and Sullian “… accept that mistakes have been made and that there are some things we might have done differently… [but] believe the Club is in a far better position than it was ten years ago.

(AFP via Getty Images)

“Not everyone will agree with all of our decisions and we have some regrets, including the appointments of some managers, but we feel we have the right one now in David Moyes, and we are confident he will do well for us.

"What we truly believe is that we now have the platform to be successful in the long-term. We’ve spent £210.4million net on the playing squad since moving to London Stadium - only the move has allowed us to do that.”

The duo added: "Nobody in life gets it right all the time, but we want to get it right more often in the future and we’re always grateful for the constructive feedback we receive. This Club is in a much better place than it was when we took over and our only wish is that the next ten years bring West Ham United supporters the success and glory that you deserve.

"On behalf of the Board, we want to thank you all for your unwavering support, whether home or away. We’ve shared some great moments over the last decade and our only wish is that the future is full of special moments.

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