Just when you think things can’t get any worse for West Ham fans, a star player from the London rivals who have just beaten you sticks the boot in too.
Crystal Palace were always going to be difficult opposition for West Ham to face at the weekend in light of the situation surrounding the club.
Oliver Glasner, who led Eintracht Frankfurt to the Europa League after beating West Ham in a feisty semi-final encounter, has done a superb job with the Eagles.
That’s despite Crystal Palace selling many of their star players too.
West Ham were forced to offload Mohammed Kudus in the summer, with the club’s owners citing PSR concerns.
Palace star Henderson pokes fun at protesting West Ham fans
That, along with the fact a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace was the fifth reverse from six games this season, is one of many reasons West Ham fans were protesting against their owners ahead of the game.
Palace came to the London Stadium on the back of a 16-game unbeaten run.
In truth that was pretty easily extended to 17 by the visitors with West Ham showing an alarming lack of fight and determination once again.
What is going on off the pitch is just as significant when it comes to West Ham right now, though.
Hammers supporters lined the streets of the director’s entrance to protest against David Sullivan, Karren Brady and the rest of the West Ham board as they arrived for the game.
Generally speaking, the Crystal Palace fanbase have always had a reputation for standing up for football supporters and highlighting injustice with their chants, actions and tifos.
Ahead of the match at the London Stadium, Crystal Palace superfan Dan Cook of HLTCO, showed he “gets it” about West Ham as he justified the reasons why rival fans should be backing Hammers supporters in their activism against the owners.
Palace supporters came through yet again during the match too.
Crystal Palace fans taunted Sullivan and Brady and West Ham erupted as the game was going on in east London.
Hammers fans keen to ‘support the team, not the regime’
Some have tried to paint Hammers fans as fickle and entitled over their protests against the owners.
Around 4,000 supporters gathered for what promises to be the first in a season-long campaign of action until the owners listen and take action on their demands.
But Crystal Palace star Dean Henderson has poked fun at protesting West Ham fans over what they did.
Despite the seriousness of the situation the Hammers find themselves in, it is hard not to find the England goalkeeper’s jibe funny.
Ahead of the match, the fan group behind the West Ham protest published an open letter to the team making it clear their beef was with the owners and that they would still behind them.
For the avoidance of doubt, the 4,000-strong gathering of Hammers supporters made a point of cheering the team bus when players arrived.
Videos of that moment have been widely shared on social media.
But Hammers fans made a bit of a gaffe and Henderson couldn’t resist a cheeky dig about it.
Because it seems West Ham fans actually gave a rapturous applause to the Crystal Palace team coach as it made its way into the London Stadium.
West Ham fan account Babbling Irons posted a video of protesting Hammers fans cheering the arrival of the team bus, saying: “Support the team, not the regime.”
Henderson thanks Hammers fans for warm welcome blunder
The problem is, it was the wrong team, as Crystal Palace star Henderson was only too happy to point out in the comments.
“Thanks for the warm welcome,” Henderson said to West Ham fans underneath the video.
Now it makes sense why Palace played like it was a home game!
On a serious note, though, it’s all a bit of harmless banter from Henderson and one of those ‘if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry’ moments.
West Ham fans are famed for their sharp wit. So they will see the funny side of this, gallows humour and all that.
What’s more of a concern is the warm welcome afforded to Palace’s players on the pitch by West Ham’s defence.
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