Inside a Football Blogger's West Ham Matchday at the London Stadium

Boxing Day week football does not get much bigger than this. On 29 December 2024, West Ham United welcomed Liverpool to the London Stadium for a 5:30 PM kick off, with the Reds deep in a title race and every point up for grabs.

No big group, no matchday crew this time. Danny made the trip solo, setting off from London to catch one of the standout fixtures of the festive period.

Getting there

The journey started on the London Underground to Stratford Station.

From Stratford it is about a 25 minute walk to the ground, and it is a walk worth taking your time over. The closer you get, the more the city seems to fall away and the matchday buzz takes over. Danny arrived roughly two hours before kick off, giving himself plenty of time to soak it all in before the teams even stepped out.

Westfield Stratford City sits right by the station and is one of London's biggest shopping centres, packed with shops, restaurants and bars. A great option if you have got time to kill and fancy grabbing food or browsing before the walk to the stadium.

The club shop is worth the detour on its own. The retro rail is the bit that pulls everyone in: mid nineties Pony and Bukta shirts, the Dagenham Motors sponsor, the Di Canio number 10, most of them around the 45 pound mark. Danny reckons it is the best souvenir you can take home from a London Stadium matchday, far better than a fridge magnet, and it is quieter before kick off than it is at full time.

Food and drink

Some matchdays start with a pub crawl, this one did not. Danny skipped the pre match pub stop and headed straight into the stadium to eat, keeping things simple and getting inside early to take in the atmosphere building around the ground.

Kick off

This was about as high stakes as a London Stadium matchday gets. Liverpool arrived mid title race, which meant nothing about this game was low key. From the first whistle both sets of fans were in full voice, trading chants and turning the stadium into a proper cauldron.

In the end it was Liverpool who left with the bragging rights, cruising to a 5-0 win that had their travelling fans in dreamland long before the final whistle.

Highlight of the day

For Danny the scoreline was not the moment that stuck. It was earlier than that. As the teams walked out of the tunnel, the London Stadium rose to sing I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles.

That is the moment that made the whole day. Result aside, hearing an entire stadium sing as one is the kind of thing that stays with you.

Danny's tip: learn the lyrics before you go. Bubbles is not a long song, and knowing the words means you can properly join in with the chants instead of watching everyone else sing it.

After the game

Danny's advice for anyone visiting the London Stadium for the first time: get there early and enjoy the atmosphere building outside the ground, it is part of the experience. Make time for the club shop too.

And once the final whistle goes, do not rush straight for the Tube. Stratford station gets seriously busy after the match, so hanging around the stadium a while and letting the crowds thin out first is the smarter move. The Carpenter's Arms is a good shout for a post match pint nearby while you wait for the queues to die down.