Claret and Blue are in my blood — they always have been. My sister, Jacqueline, and I grew up with West Ham United woven into the very fibre of our childhood. I still vividly remember our first visit to a home game — my Dad, DG, holding our hands, walking us through the gates at Upton Park, the roar of the crowd and the edge-of-your-seat excitement of the game. That was it for me. The love affair began that day, and has grown stronger with every match, the good and the bad. To be a Gold is to be a Hammer.
West Ham were always our team, our great love, but to become joint-chair of the club? Well, that wasn’t a position I ever expected to be talking to you about today. That was my Dad’s role, the one both my sister and I watched him do with pride. I loved seeing the happiness it brought him, the endless hours he’d spend on the terraces, in the changing rooms, and on the pitch if they’d have him. Family first for my Dad, always, but West Ham a very close second.
