West Ham have had a start to the season which can easily be described as disastrous with 4 losses out of the first 5 games, not to mention being dumped out of the Europa League by Romanian side Astra Giurgiu

The 4-2 defeat at West Brom had many Hammers fans stumped as the team put out by Slaven Bilic was strong and players such as Dmtri Payet, Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio were all included.

The problem for Bilic’s side wasn’t in in attack but in defence as West Ham conceded 4 goals for the 2nd consecutive match. The defending on display was nothing short of comical especially for the 4th goal which was quite unbelievably bad.

I am not one of those supporters who would even dare call for the head of Slaven Bilic at this stage as I have upmost faith in a manager who last season led West Ham to their highest ever points total since the Premiership was formed, highest amount of goals in a Premiership season and just 4 points off a Champions League place. I believe that ensures he deserves time to turn things around which I am confident he will do.

This isn’t to say supporters cannot be angry at the current form and the start West Ham have made to the season is unlikely to be met with apathy from a group of fans who have always been quite vocal about the goings on within the club.

The criticism at the club has been mixed in with the dissatisfaction with the new stadium which some supporters seem to have attributed to the poor start to the season. There may be a degree to which the team need to get used to the new surroundings but the defeats by Watford and away at West Brom to me had no bearing on the new stadium.

Whilst I loved the Boleyn Ground and would have loved to have found some way to stay in the stadium I feel the time to protest against the move has long past. Some supporters throw distasteful comments at Karren Brady and David Gold on social media and accuse them of ripping the soul out of the club but to me West Ham United is not just a football stadium. It is a club I have loved for many years and wherever the club would be playing I would support them.

The soul of a club is within it’s supporters. Just ask the fans of AFC Wimbledon if a football stadium defines them as a club. I am sure they will tell you how much the spirit of the fans is what drives the club and I believe this is the same with West Ham.

Football fans are fickle and I do believe that if West Ham had started the season well there would have been little critcisim regarding the new stadium. We live in an era of football where the results mean everything and a few good results will see fans soon forget their reservations about the new stadium.