I don’t trust David Sullivan or David Gold. I’m fearful for the future of my club. I’m not convinced by what they’ve said so far. I’m worried that the club is going to go backwards under their stewardship.
I’m happy that the club has been bought, and that there is some sense of security for the future. A takeover absolutely needed to happen, I don’t dispute that, because sooner or later the finances would have come to a head. Either in terms of relegation or administration or something similar.
It worries me that the only way these two can find to impress us is by mocking those who came before. It seems cheap. Yes, Magnusson was wild with his player contracts, but also was doing so on behalf of a billionaire owner at the time. Without his crazy contracts we might never have had Upson and Parker – presumably Sullivan and Gold won’t be selling those two to right Eggy’s wrongs? No, thought not. A bit more decency from our owners please, a few less cheap shots.
It remains to be seen where Sullivan and Gold really stand on the ‘crazy wages’ they are criticising. Today we are linked with Van Nistelrooy, Benni McCarthy, Benjani. I bet you that none of those are on less than £50k a week. Wouldn’t it be ironic for them to criticise Eggy’s contracts, and then hand one out a few days later. And if they hand out a long contract to any of these aging stars I suggest we grab our pitchforks and march on Upton Park.
The more I study Sullivan’s comments on the financials, the less I am happy with them. He wants us to be convinced that West Ham are in a desperate financial state, and few of us need convincing of that, but this figure of £110m debt is misleading – it makes no distinction between the long-term and the short-term, According to many reports half of Sullivan’s initial payment has already been transferred to financing debt, a fact which few media outlets seem to have cottoned on to. I think 95% of West Ham fans think that £105m is going to be disappearing into an Icelandic pocket before this debt is even tackled, but the reality is far more complex than that. I am pretty sure that if you dip into the balance sheet for any Premiership club, you can make it sound as good or as bad as suits you on any given day.
Sullivan is also very keen to mention money that had to be raised in January had he not come along as our saviour. But we just don’t know what would have happened. He wants us to think that one of our star players would be sold, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Presumably he intends to let Upson’s contract run down and allow him to leave on a free transfer instead – that’s a £12-15 million loss (plus a few million in wages) that he has just decided upon in a press conference, and before he even spoke a word to the manager. I’m not saying we should sell Upson, I just think the new owners are being dreadfully simplistic about the situation.
Then you have the sleights on the other bidders, which has already prompted clear responses from them in the media. Sullivan wants us to think he was the only viable bidder, which is clearly completely untrue. Both Cellini and Fernandes are absolutely clear that they had the money to buy the club, and Fernandes is particular seems by all accounts (except Sullivan’s) to have been extremely close to the purchase on Monday night.
Sullivan wants us to think that West Ham is a purchase made for non-commercial reasons. Absolute bollocks I’m afraid. And if it were true I suggest Sullivan would have been much better advised to buy a hospital wing or an orphanage, much greater for the public good and lacking any future debts. West Ham is a business that seems to have at least doubled in value since Gudmundsson bought it 4 years ago, despite the financial climate, in the richest league in the World, and West Ham are almost uniquely positioned to be the best bet outside the top echelons of the league to make progress. If you believe that Sullivan bought the club for any other reason than the fact it’s a highly lucrative prospect I’m afraid you are incredibly gullible.
I also consider the comments about the Olympic stadium to be total speculation to very cheaply boost his popularity. I’m sure we’d all love to rent the stadium after the Olympics, but this is hardly a new idea – what is he going to achieve that the previous owners haven’t? When questioned on the theory that the Olympic stadium is not built in a way that would support football he rather casually brushed off the issue. I wonder if a single phone call has been made to attempt to promote his theory that our chances of getting the Olympic stadium are “50/50”.
I take total exception to Sullivan’s comments about the playing staff – the idea of a 58-year-old property developer telling the manager (and the media) that we have too many midfielders and not enough strikers is both counter-productive and totally disingenuous. We can argue over whether Diamanti or Jimenez are midfielders or strikers (they are probably both), but revealing your hand in the transfer market before you’ve even spoken to the manager is idiotic at best. Presumably clubs and players will be driving a nice hard bargain as Sullivan attempts to prise away the striker he thinks we so desperately need to stave off relegation.
I’m also not sure of the logic of begging for further investment during your press conference after taking over a football club. Particularly after you have tried to make out that the club is in the worst state humanly possible. The pitch seems to be that they want other investors to throw money at them in an act of charity. Like a form of national service for any Hammers fan who has made money. I presume anyone with a few million and any sense was guffawing at their TV screens hearing this little gem.
Meanwhile, not a word in the entire press conference or accompanying interviews about the training facilities, arguably the most important issue for the long-term improvement of the club, and particularly the West Ham academy..A glaring omission.
And these are just my concerns about the press conference. Since then, the rumours suggest that they tried to shift Scott Duxbury, realised (shock horror) that it costs money to pay off a Premier League CEO, and have since reconsidered the decision. What a mess. No solid news yet on Nani, though the prevailing rumour is that he will be gone sooner or later.
I don’t think the club will be run this shambolically in practice. I’m happy to accept that these are shrewd businessmen with good experience, well-placed to help reduce our debts and provide stability. But I’m just not impressed by them. I’m not.
