This is our time. Or so I am being told by the co-Chairman of my wonderful football club. And I have to go along with such a bold statement, and agree, it really does feel as though something special is about to explode across the east of London.



The Boleyn's greatest game? West Ham vs Eintracht Frankfurt, 1976



The new West Stand being erected in 2001 behind the space vacated by its predecessor



Supporter celebrate the play-off semi final win over Ipswich Town in 2004



February 1997, one of the greatest London derbies at the Boleyn

My top 10 Boleyn memories: what would be on your list?





However I am tempted to stay on the cautious side of letting myself get carried away with where we are going as a club. I remember being unbelievably excited the day I heard West Ham were being bought out by a team led by football agent Kia Joorabchian and that two Argentine superstars in the shape of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were on their way to join us.That was almost ten years ago now and I vividly recall emailing my friend in New Zealand explaining how we were on the verge of becoming one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Nine months later we had just beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford in the final match to stay in the League - things did not go according to plan that season.So here we are in 2015 with a Board that I personally think have been incredible for this club and a manager who epitomises everything we as West Ham fans want from the main man. Passion, desire, tactical awareness, ambition, excitement and more than all of tha,t he just simply looks like a bloke you'd love to go down the pub and share a pint or two with.Super Slav enjoys his rock music and the occasional ciggy (or at least he did in his playing days) and well, he just gets it doesn't he? He gets what West Ham means. He gets what this part of London is about. He gets that we've never been in this to see our team churn out trophy after trophy but above all else we just want to see hard work, a bit of flair and some excitement injected into our lives on a Saturday afternoon.Bilic wasn't with us long in the mid-nineties but his relationship with the club and the fans took off straight away and let's be honest, it feels like he's never been away. Seeing him prowl along the touchline with those steely eyes and exercising the vocal chords, you can tell he's almost gearing himself up for another leap above a centre-forward to head clear a cross into our box. He lives and breathes football and so do we.It is early days of course but it does feel like a match made in heaven. As always though, managers are judged on results and a glance at the fixture list in the summer threw up some tough away games to start with which were compromised by some promising looking home matches. Let's not forget though - this is West Ham.Seriously, how many other clubs can you think of that would beat Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea but would fail to overcome Leicester, Bournemouth, Norwich, Sunderland and more recently, Watford? However, I'm sure he will get the formula right sooner rather than later and he really seems to be enjoying it. We certainly are as fans.I have had my season ticket for 25 years now - a quarter of a century dedicating most of my Saturday's to visiting The Boleyn Ground - and I love it. I mean, I truly love it. I am an away fan too and try to get to around ten matches per season, which is a totally different experience to a home match. The days out are brilliant fun and it's almost a sense of "we're all in this together". The atmosphere is awesome and when you do see a win, be it famous or not, it makes for a fun journey home that's for sure!However, the bread and butter - and the reason I became a fan - is the Boleyn Ground.My Dad is from West Ham and attended Pretoria School but his parents moved out to Dagenham which is where he met my Mum. Dad has been going since the early 1960s and has far more memories of The Boleyn than I do and I am extremely jealous of some of the things he has experienced first-hand.The atmosphere against Eintracht Frankfurt was quite something; witnessing what many say was the best performance by an opposition team when Dinamo Tblisi turned us over in 1981 (I appreciate good football, too), but more than anything just being in the North or South Bank and watching the many, many great players wear the claret and blue must have been something to behold.I would love to have been around to see Bobby Moore lead our team out, watch 'Budgie' Byrne torment many defences and Geoff Hurst smash in six against Sunderland. We are known for being a family club and I think most West Ham fans can relate to that. The majority of us would have been taken to our first match by a family member and that sticks with you.It's something that is handed down through generations - almost as though our elders are saying "we've had to endure this down the years, over to you kiddo!" And all of those early memories involve trips to the Boleyn. No matter how good or bad the football has been down the years, we've always looked forward to getting down there on match day to sample that unique atmosphere. It's a special place and I guess if you're not one of us, you just won't get it.I grew up in Dagenham and watched the Daggers a few times before Dad took me to The Boleyn for my first match in 1988 - a 1-3 defeat to Charlton. I can't confess to say I was hooked that night because I simply don't remember it that well. In fact the first game I do remember is a 5-0 victory over Sunderland the following season and thinking I wanted to be Eamon Dolan when I grew up.I started going regularly with Dad and we had our first season tickets together in that 1989-1990 season which ended in relegation. We won at times and lost more, but I just loved going down to Upton Park.I recall the old Portacabin shop outside the old West Stand, the school playground which adjoined the forecourt area (and thinking that those school kids are the luckiest in the world getting to play a game of footy in the shadows of the stadium) and the endless queues to the ticket office as we started buying tickets for the occasional away game.All happy memories as a kid growing up but then in the early to mid-nineties this stadium that I had started to love was beginning to change. First, the old South Bank was knocked down and replaced with the Bobby Moore Stand, which is where I've had my season ticket for the past 22 years.I remember being at school and the PE class were tasked with doing a project on anything we wanted to do which related to sports, which would contribute towards our GSCE grading. I chose the redevelopment of the South Bank at the Boleyn and recall my Dad and me driving to the deserted ground on many occasions to take photographs and making pages of notes for my school project.I absolutely loved working on that project and achieved 61 marks out of a possible 63 and was told it was rolled out by the teachers as an example for future students. I wish I had made a point of asking for it when I left school, but hopefully it helped the kids of Dagenham gain a decent grade in their exams in the years that followed! The fact I threw everything into my work demonstrated how much passion I had for my club from an early age and I got a lot of satisfaction out of expressing a little bit of my creative side whilst trying to reflect what was happening in E13.The erection of the Sir Trevor Brooking stand followed, which stands on the famous old North Bank site. And then the West Stand had an upgrade in 2001 which I believe is the biggest single stand in London and one of the best in the country. It's imposing but due to the way it was built (the shell was built around the old stand meaning our crowds didn't slip too much during construction) the famous tight ground was no more. The distance between the front row of seats and the edge of the pitch had now become vast to the extent ball boys were needed!This wasn't what the Boleyn was famed for but it did suddenly become one the best stadiums in London. And to be honest, this is the Boleyn that I and many fans of a similar age have considered the "famous old Boleyn". Granted the atmosphere isn't always what we had heard from years gone by - that Frankfurt match in 1976 takes some beating by all accounts according to my Dad - but there have still been many, many memorable occasions. The modern-day "Frankfurt" being the Ipswich play-off match in 2004.What a night, oh my goodness! I've never heard or experienced a night quite like that. The atmosphere around the ground prior to kick off was at fever pitch and when Matty Etherington smashed in the first goal of the night to draw us level on aggregate, well I reckon the vibrations from the stadium that night must have been felt right across London.Christian Dailly nudged in the winner with his curly hairs and we had won. The moment that struck me that night was at full time when every single person inside the stadium rose to their feet, put their arms in the air and belted out the most ferocious version of 'Bubbles' I have ever heard. It was truly remarkable and memorable and those fans that were lucky enough to be there that night will never forget it. I certainly won't. Truly hairs on the back of the neck stuff. We lost the Final, of course!There is something special about attending a West Ham home match under the floodlights. I don't know what it is but the atmosphere is like no other and if you're lucky enough to witness a famous win then the evening will stay with you forever. Who will ever forget beating Manchester United 4-0 in the League Cup in the snow? The noise levels increase as the cold air filters its way through the east London skyline and I wish we could bottle that up and take it along with the Champions Statue when we move to Stratford next summer.The history inside those four stands is unique and you can feel it whenever you enter through the turnstiles. The face of the stadium has changed down the years but the tradition never did and is woven into the fabric of the name, the Boleyn Ground. I challenge you to say those words and then imagine West Ham not being associated to them any more. Horrible isn't it? It leaves emptiness inside and a gaping hole the size of an Olympic Stadium. But alas we move forwards and hope and pray for many new memories.A big highlight for me was when I got to play on the hallowed turf back in 2013. Most kids in my school wanted to play for West Ham and whilst it wasn't actually for the Hammers, I did manage to play in a match which was organised by a friend of mine. We used the home dressing room and even came out to Bubbles over the PA system.Our team drew 4-4 and I managed to "live the dream" and get on the scoresheet that day, which will live with me forever. It was the most deadly strike you'll ever see from six yards! To cap it off it was right in front of the Bobby Moore Stand and I'll be a liar if I said I didn't look down on that area of the pitch and relive that memory every other week when I take my seat for a home match.There have been plenty more memories down the years, some highs and plenty of lows, but it's a place of worship no matter what. Even if things aren't going great personally, it's okay "cos I'm at West Ham on Saturday". The place just fixes things for you. Even if you come away cursing the team's performance you know you'll be back next week because it's just what we do.We're a passionate, loyal and honest bunch and I can never imagine growing up to support another club as a kid. It's who I am and I'm sure if you cut me there would be a little bit of sky blue that is mixed in with the claret.I will never tire of going to watch West Ham but we are about to embark on a new journey from next season and as we prepare to leave the Boleyn Ground, I also understand things will never be the same. The journey to a game will be better I am sure due to impressive transport links, but come on, we all love joining the queue at Upton Park tube stretching round the back of Queens Market don't we? Especially if it's raining!After all these years it still fascinates me that no one has ever thought about cutting down the tree that sticks out on the bend where it's branches continue to flick the endless queue of people around the side of the head. Walking towards the entrance, past all the hundreds making their way to the back of the queue, is interesting depending on the result; it just feels like a proper football tube station doesn't it? The dimly-lit road, the cobbled pathway, the crowds all jostling along together - it's great and I will miss it.The final game against Swansea on 7th May is going to be awful. There won't be a dry eye in the house and I'm dreading it. I still can't comprehend that soon I will make my last ever trip to Upton Park tube station, I probably won't walk along Green Street again and I won't ever walk through the turnstiles at The Boleyn Ground following the match against the Swans.It's one thing walking away for the final time but I think it will really hit home when the bulldozers come in and knock the entire place down. That will kill us fans and everything we have all grown up and immersed ourselves in will be gone.But things must change. We want to become bigger and better and compete at the highest level. I firmly believe this club can become the best and sit at the top of the tree with what has been presented to us now. I have attended almost 1,000 matches following the Hammers (600 at home) and I have never before even contemplated saying the above. But with this new stadium it scares the life out of me how big we can now become.I think we're going to surprise a few people along the way in terms of the support we're going to be bringing to matches. This club is bigger than most people think and I probably include some of our own fans in that statement. We have a huge fan base, massive. Everywhere you go you'll meet a Hammer. This really will propel us into the light and out of the shadows of our more so-called illustrious neighbours and with that, people WILL stand up and take notice of this sleeping giant.We have a wider support than Chelsea - I mean support - not people that claim to like the Blues and are willing to part with a tenner to a stall on Oxford Street to buy a shirt that barely resembles the word "official". One question I've been asked plenty of times is "do you think you will you fill it?" Of course we will. I have never had any doubt whatsoever that we will fill it.Before the new West Stand was built we sold out every game and got 26,000 through the turnstiles. All of a sudden we had 9,000 more seats to fill and people were worried then! Don't forget, this club averaged above 30,000 in the Championship not so long ago too. Even David Dein, the former Arsenal Vice-Chairman, apparently once told former Chairman Terry Brown it "frightens him to death" how big West Ham could become if we moved into a bigger stadium. Well David, that time is coming.Of course, people will doubt the move and feel a little apprehensive but I am looking forward to it immensely. I strongly believe that there are plenty of other clubs' fans and Chairmen that are looking over their shoulders and towards the claret and blue corner of east London now and I love that.I've watched some dross down the years but kept going back for more. I wouldn't mind seeing a bit of success now to be honest. I wouldn't mind seeing us competing with the best in Europe. But I don't want that to be totally compromised by the injection of huge amounts of cash meaning the ethic of this wonderful club is sacrificed. We should never lose that and I don't think this set of fans would stand for it.Money will obviously play a part somewhere along the line, but if players aren't pulling their weight in a 54,000 capacity stadium, wow they're going to know about it. But if they're willing to put the hard yards in and win us a few games, I honestly believe the appreciation they'll feel won't be rivalled anywhere else.It's going to be an extremely emotional day on 7th May, but come the following August I feel a new kid may have just arrived on the block. And I cannot wait.Is this our time...?Too damn right it is.COYI!1) Yossi scoring an 85th minute winner to deny Spurs a place in the Champions League - lasagne has always been my favourite dish!2) 4-3 victory over Spurs when our new signings Kitson and Hartson showed what they're capable of on a windy and rainy February evening. A proper football match.3) This season's 2-1 win over Chelsea. What a great atmosphere and Roy of Rovers stuff seeing big Andy nod in the late winner - scenes.4) Ipswich in the 2004 Play-off semi-final 2nd leg. I've never experienced an atmosphere like that or seen it replicated anywhere else. Incredible night.5) Seeing Paolo come off the bench in our ill-fated 2002-03 season to score the winner against Chelsea in what would be his last ever match at The Boleyn. Tears were aplenty from the Italian magician.6) A true "I was there moment" as I witnessed the best goal ever scored by a professional footballer. Di Canio's volley against Wimbledon. I don't need to say anymore.7) During the influx of the foreign legion down West Ham way in the Redknapp era, we had this little gem of a player who produced what I still say is the best individual performance I've ever seen live. Hugo Porfirio destroyed Nottingham Forest in the League Cup as we ran out 4-1 winners. Even more remarkable was Dowie notched two that night but Hugo was a class apart from anything I've seen over a 90 minute period. Class.8) Paolo twisting Martin Keown inside and out with a delicious little flick before curling the ball into the top corner in front of the Bobby Moore - chaos in the stands, absolute chaos.9) Not a win, but the most satisfying draw a West Ham fan has probably ever experienced as Ludo had the game of his life and we held Manchester United 1-1 to deny them the title - again. Obscene...10) A Youth Cup match. The 2nd leg in the Final followed a 3-0 victory at Coventry and a capacity crowd of 26,000 crammed in to witness one hell of a show. We won 6-0 (9-0 on aggregate) and the talent was amazing, including a certain Joe Cole that looked like he was having the time of his life. However it was another player that grabbed my attention that went under the radar big time that night - Michael Carrick was absolutely astonishing.To finish up, I asked family and friends for their chosen words which encapsulates their feelings towards what it means to be a West Ham fan and how The Boleyn Ground has had an impact on their lives. I believe the following reflects our collective thoughts and feelings....