West Ham United anthem ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ has been voted the second most-popular terrace chant in the Premier League.
The ‘Game Changing Fans’ report, commissioned by the Premier League’s official banking partner Barclays and undertaken by pollsters YouGov, interviewed more than 4,000 top-flight supporters to find out what different fans make to their teams.
The report, whose findings were also based on interviews with former players, managers and journalists, asked the question ‘Is there such a thing as the 12th player in football?’ and examined the influence fans have on the beautiful game.
One aspect focused on fans’ love of singing in support of their teams and asked those taking part to name their favourite football song, not including their own club’s anthem. While 39 per cent of respondents named Liverpool’s ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ as their favourite, eleven per cent picked ‘Bubbles’, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
Among those who contributed to Game Changing Fans was Jim Dolan, co-chair of West Ham’s LGBT+ supporters’ club Pride of Irons, who not only endorsed football songs as a source of inspiration, but also praised the Hammers for their overall work in making London Stadium an inclusive environment for all supporters.
Whatever the chant is, if it’s sustained and it’s loud, it gives you that tingle down the spine
Pride of Irons' Jim Dolan
“The fans are the club,” said Dolan. “Big people and owners will come and go, but the real spirit of the club is its fan base. At the heart of it is the people who go every week. Without these people in the stands where would the atmosphere be? There’d be no spectacle.
“Whatever the chant is, if it’s sustained and it’s loud, it gives you that tingle down the spine.
“We’re now starting to see diversity [in Premier League crowds]. The growth of women’s football has really helped and I think societal and gender norms are changing. Dads don’t just go, ‘I’m going to take my son to football,’ they’ll take their daughters.”
Dolan also cites the annual LGBT ‘Rainbow Laces’ campaign, run by charity Stonewall, as a positive example of diversity and inclusion in football, adding: “It’s a small thing for them to pull off for one day, but it’s had a massive impact on the fan base.”