Co-owner David Sullivan says that West Ham are the subject of “negative campaigning” against the London Stadium.

The club’s move from the Boleyn Ground, their home of 112 years, to Stratford during the summer has been defined by struggles on the pitch – Slaven Bilic’s side are 18th in the table and out of the Europa League – and discontent among fans in the stands.

Though the London Stadium provides the club with the financial muscle to compete with rivals in the capital and the rest of the Premier League supporters are yet to embrace the ground, with a section of supporters chanting “we should have stayed at the Boleyn” during the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough before the international break.

Five fans were arrested in clashes outside the ground following the match. West Ham have said that any supporters found to have engaged in violence will receive lifetime bans.

“I have to say I am getting increasingly fed up with the negative campaigning against the stadium by some sections of the media,” Sullivan wrote on the club website. “I find it particularly galling when the journalists who are writing these skewed opinions have not even been to the stadium!

“Reading some write ups they give a very different impression of the Stadium to that which is being reported by people who have actually been there.

“To put it into perspective at the Middlesbrough game there were five arrests - ALL outside the stadium in the public park. It has not yet been confirmed which of these supporters are West Ham United fans.

Five reasons why West Ham have struggled this season 6 show all Five reasons why West Ham have struggled this season 1/6 What's gone wrong Out of the Europa League and in the top flight relegation zone. It was not the start to life at the London Stadium West Ham fans envisaged.



But what is going wrong? Andy Sims examines five key reasons. Ian Walton/Getty Images 2/6 New stadium There is a lot of misty-eyed nonsense surrounding West Ham's move from Upton Park to the vast former Olympic Stadium and the so-called lack of atmosphere. In fact, the Boleyn Ground could resemble a library at times, just like any other ground in the country. And, believe it or not, they did lose games there as well. That said, many teams have taken time to adjust to their new surroundings after switching grounds and West Ham are certainly making heavy weather of things. Getty Images 3/6 New signings West Ham brought in 11 new players over the summer and yet only one of them, Andre Ayew, could be considered a starter in Slaven Bilic's first-choice line-up - and he was injured half an hour into his debut. Of the rest, Ashley Fletcher has shown potential but Simone Zaza is struggling to make an impact up front while Gokhan Tore, Sofiane Feghouli and Arthur Masuaku frankly look out of their depth. Their exit from the Europa League has left the Hammers with a bloated squad full of average players. West Ham United via Getty Images 4/6 Injuries New stadium, same old story. Yet while Andy Carroll being injured comes as little surprise, the loss of Ayew and Aaron Cresswell - as well as Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini earlier in the season - has taken its toll. Diafra Sakho's move to West Brom fell through due to concerns over his fitness so he remains at the club, but he too is still injured. Getty Images 5/6 Defending The Hammers have conceded 14 goals in their last four Premier League matches and at times have looked a shambles at the back. Time seems to be catching up with James Collins while Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna have become error-prone and Bilic does not seem to trust talented teenager Reece Oxford. All of which makes the sale of James Tomkins to rivals Crystal Palace utterly baffling. Thankfully the experiment of playing Michail Antonio at right-back seems to be over, but on the other flank Masuaku looks like a disaster waiting to happen. West Ham United via Getty Images 6/6 Maybe they're not actually that good Yes, West Ham were challenging for a top-four finish last term, but Leicester won the league, remember? At the end of last season the Hammers lost 4-1 at home to Swansea and slumped 2-1 at Stoke on the final day to drop to seventh. The memorable win over Manchester United in the last game at Upton Park may just have papered over the cracks appearing in a team already on the slide. Payet took the Premier League by storm last season but even he can't win every game on his own. Perhaps teams are finding out that if you keep him quiet, there is not too much else to worry about. PA 1/6 What's gone wrong Out of the Europa League and in the top flight relegation zone. It was not the start to life at the London Stadium West Ham fans envisaged.



But what is going wrong? Andy Sims examines five key reasons. Ian Walton/Getty Images 2/6 New stadium There is a lot of misty-eyed nonsense surrounding West Ham's move from Upton Park to the vast former Olympic Stadium and the so-called lack of atmosphere. In fact, the Boleyn Ground could resemble a library at times, just like any other ground in the country. And, believe it or not, they did lose games there as well. That said, many teams have taken time to adjust to their new surroundings after switching grounds and West Ham are certainly making heavy weather of things. Getty Images 3/6 New signings West Ham brought in 11 new players over the summer and yet only one of them, Andre Ayew, could be considered a starter in Slaven Bilic's first-choice line-up - and he was injured half an hour into his debut. Of the rest, Ashley Fletcher has shown potential but Simone Zaza is struggling to make an impact up front while Gokhan Tore, Sofiane Feghouli and Arthur Masuaku frankly look out of their depth. Their exit from the Europa League has left the Hammers with a bloated squad full of average players. West Ham United via Getty Images 4/6 Injuries New stadium, same old story. Yet while Andy Carroll being injured comes as little surprise, the loss of Ayew and Aaron Cresswell - as well as Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini earlier in the season - has taken its toll. Diafra Sakho's move to West Brom fell through due to concerns over his fitness so he remains at the club, but he too is still injured. Getty Images 5/6 Defending The Hammers have conceded 14 goals in their last four Premier League matches and at times have looked a shambles at the back. Time seems to be catching up with James Collins while Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna have become error-prone and Bilic does not seem to trust talented teenager Reece Oxford. All of which makes the sale of James Tomkins to rivals Crystal Palace utterly baffling. Thankfully the experiment of playing Michail Antonio at right-back seems to be over, but on the other flank Masuaku looks like a disaster waiting to happen. West Ham United via Getty Images 6/6 Maybe they're not actually that good Yes, West Ham were challenging for a top-four finish last term, but Leicester won the league, remember? At the end of last season the Hammers lost 4-1 at home to Swansea and slumped 2-1 at Stoke on the final day to drop to seventh. The memorable win over Manchester United in the last game at Upton Park may just have papered over the cracks appearing in a team already on the slide. Payet took the Premier League by storm last season but even he can't win every game on his own. Perhaps teams are finding out that if you keep him quiet, there is not too much else to worry about. PA

“However, I fully accept that’s too many and we are in the process of identifying and banning these supporters in line with our zero tolerance policy.

“I prefer to listen to the hundreds and hundreds of emails I am getting from supporters who love the new stadium, love that we have made football affordable, and I am very proud that we have 25,000 families inside the stadium, many new to football – this is the future of West Ham’s support and this is the reason we made the move in the first place.

“Things will calm down shortly and it will all be helped when we start to win a few games.”

West Ham host their first London derby at their new home on October 26, welcoming Chelsea in the EFL Cup four days after a Premier League game with Sunderland at the London Stadium.

Sullivan confirmed that tickets would only be available to those who had attended a match in the last five years. Chelsea have also been told they may not receive their full allocation, 5,700, for the match as there remain logistical issues in the London Stadium’s away end.