prabhuFootball is massive in the United Kingdom, it’s pretty much a religion to British people. week after week people flock to stadiums around the country to watch their beloved teams play for 90 minutes in the hope of coming away with all three points. Each club has its own distinctive culture and history, but I would especially say this rings true for clubs in London. Currently, London boasts 17 professional football teams and seven of those are currently playing at the top level in the Barclays Premier League.
Keeping this information in mind Prolific London has decided to do some digging and will be taking a look at the cultures of two of the capital’s biggest football clubs. This even includes a certain team that some top-rated online bookmakers have predicted to win the league.
Arsenal
Historically Arsenal are London’s biggest and most successful club, people may argue that in recent years this position has come under fire from Chelsea (more on them in a bit), but Arsenal’s arsenal still leads the way with major trophies sitting at a total of 48 at the time of writing. It’s fair to argue that Arsenal isn’t a powerhouse in Europe having never lifted the Europa League or the Champions League, but The Gunner’s Domestic prowess can’t be understated. A point their loyal fans will happily remind you of, especially if you support their local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal are now a club that is known for playing attractive football, but this wasn’t always the case. They used to be a solid defensive outfit that would shut up shop after taking the lead and see games out by locking the door on their opponents. The famous song “One Nil to the Arsenal” used to ring around the halls of Highbury under George Graham’s tenure and this approach did lead them to a League title under his stewardship.
It was in 1996 when The Gunner’s style of play changed with the introduction of Frenchman Arsene Wenger. His style of management changed the way Arsenal played football, and also how football was played in England. The free-flowing style we now see from lots of clubs in the U.K. can be attributed to Wenger who had great success for a long time at Arsenal before departing the club in 2018. Arsenal fan culture is pretty diverse and they have a lot of fans from all over the globe due to their successes. The Emirates is known to be the loudest stadium though and has been referred to by rival clubs as “The Library” a phrase first coined while they were at their old ground Highbury.
West Ham United
West Ham or The Hammers have had different fortunes as a football club compared to their North London counterpart Arsenal. The Hammers have always been seen as a working man’s team, this is primarily due to their location in the East End of London. They have now moved away from Their old home in the East End and have relocated to the Olympic stadium. This decision was made as it would help the club earn more revenue and allow them to compete with the bigger clubs in the country.
Hammers fans pride themselves and their club as being the academy of English football. This is due to a large part of the England team that won the World Cup in 1966 coming out of the West Ham academy. England Captain Bobby Moore and Hat trick her Geoff Hurst both featured in the final in 1966 and since then the West Ham faithful have made a point of telling everyone (jokingly) that West Ham won the World Cup.
Currently, most of West Ham fans fury is focused on Tottenham Hostpur, but historically their fiercest rivals are Millwall. These two fixtures have had some unsavoury scenes over the years, but thankfully these days seem to be largely in the past with the rivalry now taking place on the pitch.
Of course, there are many more teams to cover in London, and we will revisit this topic sooner rather than later, so if we haven’t mentioned your beloved football club today, don’t worry. We will be doing so in the near future.
