Former West Ham academy chief Tony Carr admits he now pays to watch the team play.
Carr was shown the door in 2016 when vice-president Karren Brady removed him as academy manager and changed his job description. Financial officer Andy Mollett was then tasked with sorting out redundancy.
"I asked Mollett what the package was and he told me three months' notice and minimal payment. That was it," writes Carr in his book, 'Tony Carr A Lifetime in Football at West Ham United'. "I was upset and, after 43 years unbroken service, I thought it could have been handled better."
Nowadays, Carr supports West Ham as a paying customer at the London Stadium. He's heard there is a picture of him in a lounge but he's never been invited in to see it for himself. He gets a better welcome at youth games – their manager Kevin Keen is one of his old boys.
"I still get excited when West Ham win," says Carr. "I know a few of the players. I remember (defender) Ben Johnson coming to the academy from around the age of eight.
"I am proud of him. I am proud of them all.:
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