From the Boardroom - David Gold



There has been a lot of excitement around the fixtures being announced for the new Premier League season and of course we are all looking at what the final ever home game will be at the Boleyn Ground.


We play Swansea City and I am sure we will give our wonderful stadium a great send-off.


This promises to be a special season for the Club and I am sure the supporters will have plenty of emotions as we approach the final game.


The memories will of course come flooding back for generations of supporters with their favourite ever moments.


In footballing terms I'm sure this will be one of the most emotional days for West Ham fans. There will be a lot of tears shed because the Boleyn Ground has played such a big part in our lives.


Generations of fans have come through the turnstiles and young kids growing up are already wearing West Ham kits. This will be a sad experience.


But I am sure that the sadness will quickly turn to excitement next summer as we prepare to move into our magnificent new stadium.


The fixture list could have been a bit kinder to us as we have an away game against the FA Cup holders to open the season.


Arsenal are a team we have struggled against in recent seasons, but just maybe we can go there and give them a real scare. We will certainly be up for the fight.


Our lads will be up for it and it is time we changed that record against Arsenal.


Having been in meetings with Slaven Bilic and listening to him, I think he will relish the challenge to face Arsene Wenger in his first game.


I'm sure he will be aware of our poor record against Arsenal in recent seasons and will want to break that duck.


We then have home games against Leicester and Bournemouth to follow. I know people will expect us to get something from these matches, but I can assure people they will be just as difficult.


Teams always have a point to prove at the start of the season and if history is anything to go the newly promoted teams in particular perform very well at the start of the season.


Bournemouth will certainly be relishing the prospect of coming to the Boleyn Ground and will have the adrenalin of a new Premier League Club. They will be really up for it. We will certainly have to be at our best.


We then end the opening month with a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool. Our record there has also been very disappointing.


But I think we are closing the gap on teams like Liverpool and our time is coming. We want the big teams to start looking over their shoulders.


Slaven certainly has the passion and will to win and I hope this is going to be a very exciting season for the Club.


We know we have still got work to do, but we are building and getting stronger every year. We are a better team than we were four-years ago.


The process of trying to strengthen the squad continues on a daily basis. We must be patient and I know fans will want us to get in players quickly, but these things take time and it is for us and the manager to make those decisions.


There is no question that more players will be arriving over the coming weeks and there will be serious additions who will be joining the football club to strengthen our squad.