Grand Slam-winning wheelchair tennis player and Season Ticket Holder Andy Lapthorne is our newest columnist...
Tonight, we play our first home game of the 2025/26 Premier League season under the lights at London Stadium in a massive derby against Chelsea. It’s a game I always look forward to as my Mum’s side of the family mainly support Chelsea, so bragging rights are at stake!
I travelled up to Sunderland to watch us in our first Premier League game of the season and came away disappointed with how the game ended up going after a fairly strong start in the first half. I’m sure the players share the fans’ disappointment in the result and will be looking to put it right tonight.
With the football season now underway the football banter is back.
The National Tennis Centre is no different where many of Great Britain’s top players gather to train and prepare for events, and football bragging rights between the players are huge!
Andy Murray is now retired but up there as one of the worst culprits for dishing out some stick, especially if he’d had a good fantasy football weekend. Andy follows Arsenal and Hibernian, so we’ve been giving each other stick since the Declan Rice transfer.
Andy’s brother Jamie Murray is another big fantasy football player and supports Manchester United, so he has been avoiding me since we did the double over them last season.
Another good friend of mine is current British No1 and World No4 Jack Draper, who is also a huge Manchester United fan, although I’m currently trying to convince him to come and watch a proper team at the London Stadium.
With the new season beginning, fantasy football leagues have kicked off again and Gordon Reid, the British No2 wheelchair tennis player, unfortunately finished last in our league last season. He had to do a 24-hour stint in McDonald's as a punishment, with time being reduced on calorie intake. He managed a 7am start with a 6pm finish and a lesson learnt in not to come last in fantasy football!
Gordon is a huge Glasgow Rangers fan but has attended games at the London Stadium and adopted West Ham as the English team he follows.
As a sportsman, I know how hard it can be to take losses and setbacks, but I also know how things can change very quickly in a positive direction.
Our job as supporters tonight is to lift the boys, get behind them and make it as difficult as possible for the Chelsea players.
Being at Sunderland on Saturday, it’s amazing how much the atmosphere can lift a home player and I’m hoping we can do that tonight.
Our home form is going to be key in us having a successful season so let’s get right behind the team under the lights and push them on to a positive result.
Up the Hammers!
Lappo
*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of West Ham United.
