“If there was any other club in this situation, then we would not be buying it. We bought this as supporters, not from a business point of view.”
- David Sullivan, 19th Jan 2010

The comments from Gold and Sullivan as they faced the press after buying their 50% controlling stake in West Ham filled many of us with some optimism once more about the future of our club. OK, the debt was huge, but that’s what they were doing surely, helping to resolve the debt. To keep our bigger name players and maybe bring in some new faces. In fact, their exact comment was:

“We can reassure fans who were terrified that they were going to lose two or three of the best players that that is now not going to happen.”

This is fantastic isn’t it? We’ve got new owners who have a love of West Ham on their hearts, they’re West Ham fans after all…he was born just up the road at number 442 after all. If I remember, Terrence Brown was a West Ham fan too.

OK, maybe they’re not able to bring in star players but at the very least we have some stability. That’s all we as fans ever asked for. Direction and stability.

Sullivan’s trap didn’t stop there though. Since the ‘takeover’ he has continued to spout his mouth off about the debt we are in. Frankly David, we don’t need to hear it any more. It’s not that any of us are in denial about out perilous financial situation, we’re all very aware of that…hence our desire to wrap up new owners as quick as possible. The worst thing you can do it continue to chat to the press about how bad things are still. But continue he does and it’s not filling me with any confidence in the slightest…and it’s certainly not stabilising.

Stability – or complete lack of

This one, for example, about Zola published just today:

Of all the managers I’ve dealt with he [Zola] is the nicest. The question is ‘Is he too nice?’ Ossie Ardiles was the nicest guy you could meet but look what he did to Tottenham. Time will tell. Zola will prove himself over the next few games

Helpful.

Or this one

“It’s not awful” – in reference to selling Upson. In fact, he continues…like only he can.

“If we can get a substantial sum for him then we’ve got to take it. It’s business sense”

But why stop there?

“He’s in his prime as a centre-half, but he is probably in his last four or five years and it’s not awful that he has to be sold”

What possible remaining incentive is there for Upson now to give a toss about playing for us any more? Why should he bother?

He’s clearly not wanted here by the ‘owners’. But remember, they’re West Ham fans after all so what they’re saying must reflect that of West Ham fans across the globe. Just because their bit on the side once had some beef with Upson, there’s no reason so sacrifice him just to keep her happy. Because none of us want her here more than Upson.

In fact it’s nothing more than demoralising, foolish, unhelpful and utter stupiditiy. Maybe that is the case that Upson wants to move on…so be it. But to come out into the media and say something like that is quite simply a huge kick in the b**locks to everything we’ve fought for over the past few seasons…to keep hold of the bigger name players. To push places in the league. It was a mistake to sell Collins at the expense of keeping Upson maybe, but to now say that “Upson will be sold and we don’t really care much about it” makes us look like right royal mugs.

To say, however, that it makes business sense to sell him completely undermines one of the first things they ever said publicly about West Ham – that buying us “makes no business sense at all”

They said that buying West Ham from that point of view was a stupid thing to do, therefore if keeping Upson is a stupid thing to do too (from a business point of view), then they should do it. Because from a footballing point of view, it’s the right thing to do. And I’m here for the football.

It actually undermines what they said about us not losing our biggest players too – well actually maybe it doesn’t. At least we’re not “terrified” any more as we know it’s going to happen.

Personally I feel that Sullivan and Gold have done nothing more since they come in than rock the boat. They came in riding on their donkey’s, self-proclaiming themselves as the saviours of West Ham. Filling us with a confidence that what had been, is no longer…we can comfortably look forward to security and stability. Yet since that day they have done nothing more that take the megaphone by two hands, blurt their mouths of and frankly agitate the situation further.

They came in riding on their donkeys, self-proclaiming themselves as the saviours of West Ham

Buying West Ham makes perfect business sense

Here’s the thing. Buying West Ham does make perfect business sense…maybe less so if we go down however. OK, wage bills are through the roof and we’ve acquired some major crocks over the past few years. That, we all agree, needs to change.

Why are they so keen to to get us into the Olympic Stadium – so keen in fact that they’ve employed some tart on what is likely to be a huge amount of money who is solely responsible for getting us into that stadium. The reason they are so set on getting us there is because of the value that the Boleyn Ground holds.

They are set to make a huge amount of money if we end up at the Olympic Stadium.

We move to the Olympic Stadium, we rent it. We sell the Boleyn for a substantial sum – therefore easily reimbursing Gold & Sullivan for their investment in the club and then some. They are set to make a huge amount of money if we end up at the Olympic Stadium.

So yes, buying us at a fairly decent price make complete business sense.

Trouble is, sell the Boleyn and you all sell our soul. You lose the atmosphere and the passion that has resonated around the famous stadium for decades. I can’t help but think that they are only likely to drive our club down a division or two by making a grave misjudgement about this stadium move. It’s the wrong thing to do…but not for them, it will work out brilliantly.

UPDATE: In  fact, in response to Sullivan’s most recent remarks, Zola has been pushed to question their necessity. To get Zola cross takes a lot of work:

“I am not happy about it, I don’t think it does any good for the team.” — Zola

Summed up my post nicely Franco, cheers

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