Since the Gold-Sullivan takeover, the new owners have been reported frequently in the media making comments about the sheer scale of problems at the club. These comments range from the size of the club’s debt, the wage costs of the playing staff and management team, the duplication of expenditure on the club’s medical and back room staff and the mooted possible retirement of Kieron Dyer! Now, on the eve of Wednesday’s vital match against Birmingham City further statements have been reported about the need to drastically cut club expenditure, including more staff redundancies and an alleged 20-25% pay cut across the board in the summer!
Moreover, it has been stated, in no uncertain terms, that relegation this season would spell ‘armageddon’ for the club, the consequences far exceeding those arising from Newcastle Utd’s loss of PL status. This ’armageddon” would inevitably necessitate in the sale of a number of the current first team squad. These dire warnings are also accompanied, however, by the confident assertion that the new owners have faith in Zola and Clarke’s management and that they do not believe that the club will be relegated come May!
Whatever way you look at it, the club is probably going to go through a possible three year period of financial ‘belt tightening. ’ The degree of the austerity will be determined by whether we stay up this season and then subsequently continue to retain our PL status. The new owners are quoted as speculating that after three years or so of stabilising the finances, they may well decide that they are then in a position to spend in the region of £30-40m to push the club onwards and upwards.
The problem with this approach is that PL clubs require ongoing, year on year investment in the playing staff to merely stand still. If you fail to invest in players then you are likely to lose ground to those PL clubs that do spend. Ironically, this point is perhaps best demonstrated by the experience of Birmingham City over the last decade or so. Brum have managed to get out of the Championship on a number of occasions, but failed to invest enough to assemble a squad strong enough to consolidate their place in the PL. The result: a yo yo club bouncing between the Championship and the PL.
However, I guess there is one major difference between Birmingham City and ourselves. Apart from being a bigger, more famous club, we can also realistically expect to continue to benefit from the production line of exciting young talent graduating from the Hammers famous Academy. The availability of that quality of young player was never an option at Brum during Gold and Sullivan’s period in control!
Arguably there are indications that Gold & Sullivan are going to rely quite heavily on that supply of talent. Talking about the possible sale of Upson in the summer, Sullivan was quoted as saying that older, establshed players would be sold and be replaced by younger, less costly, ones. He also expressed the conviction that if we retain our promising youngsters then in 5 years or so West Ham could have a great team.
The club’s financial situation may well need ‘iron surgery’ to put things on a more solvent footing. As part of this, the club budgets, including pay rates may well need a 20-25% reduction. Similarly, I think we are all well aware of the dire consequences for the club’s of relegation. The question, however, is do we really need to air these issues, in such a public way, at this crucial juncture in the season?
Commentators on this blog have made this point previously and it is a substantive one. Are we best served by having an ongoing public discourse which is both potentially de-stablising and demoralising? Should not all of the club’s effort be focused at this time on raising morale, fortifying team spirit and retaining our PL status? Could not the financial re-structuring plans, including efficiency and budgetary savings, be drawn up and initial implementation begun without it distracting from PL survival? Surely, the public airing of the detail of those plans can wait until the summer?
Moreover, how are our players likely to respond to news stories circulating about 20-25% wage reductions? It’s not exactly designed to build solidarity and a strong sense of purpose is it?
SJ. Chandos.
Can't for the life of me see what Dyer has done wrong to deserve this public flogging.
Medical staff pointed out their concerns during his medical, but WHU decided to push the deal through. So in other words, WHU have screwed up offering a very long and lucrative contract to a player with questionable fitness, and have then tried to lay blame at his door.
How many people reading this blog would have turned WHU’s offer down..
As far as the “Mouth from the East” is concerned, what he is saying is so destructive, I can only assume he is using it all as ammunition to sack Zola and Clarke, maybe after the Birmingham game if a win is not achieved.
After 4 years of being in the press for all the wrong reasons, I do wish he would shut up !
Whitehp…agree 100 per cent. What is Dyer supposed to do, put a gun to his own head? I feel for the guy, as I did for Ashton.
Our medical team got it completely wrong. I blame them, not Dyer.
LoftyPerch. Glad to hear someone agrees, except I'm afraid I don't agree with your suggestion the medical staff were to blame.
They voiced their concerns and doubts but the management pushed the deal through anyway.
Zola has been talking to SSN. He can't believe Sullivan has chosen this time to speak out. He says it does not help on the eve of a massive game.
He would also have preferred the management to talk to him first before blabbing to newspapers. He says money is not his motivation but he is clearly severely peed off that this has come out before such a big match.
As I said earlier, it is all about timing. Sullivan's timing is amateur and poor.
Just an added thought…could this all be designed to force Zola and Clarke into quitting? This is a massive blow to their plans and hopes. They may feel the future is too bleak at Upton Park and walk with a small pay-off.
That would suit G&S down to the ground. They could bring in Mark Hughes on a single wage compared to the near £3m a year for Zola and Clarke combined.
I am so angry right now I can't contain it. Backstabbers.
West Ham is not their club, they don't support it. No supporter of West Ham would ever do this.
Never thought I would be made to look positively moderate!
I think football has been in danger of imploding from the time Sky and the PL took over. I've supported West ham for nearly 35 years and I feel that this time is coming to an end, not because I've fallen out of love with West Ham but because my love of the game has dissapeared. I'd love to be able to say G & S are talking nonsense but they aren't if the club don't get their books in order than there will be no club to support and that has to start with the players.
I was disgusted to see the other week that Sol Campbell was going to sue Pompey! Like he needs the bloody money! You'd think that a guy that's had a super stars life style from the game might show a bit of compassion rather than trying to push an already stricken club to the wall but no. That's where the problem lyes not just at West Ham but in the PL in general, the players don't care about the clubs they play for or the fans they're in it for themselves and themselves only. This has become increasingly apparent with displays by the likes of Green & Upson to name but a few. The only thing I don't like about what G & S have done is that they've washed West Hams increasingly dirty linen in public again.
i agree with you djd, i'm not saying they shouldnt cut the wages (although 25% isnt realistic) and i do believe we should flog an awful lot of the team, they are crap but dont say all this now and dont say it when we are staring relegation in the face, i dont want spin doctors but i do want our linen washed in our own washing machine and not in the medias laundarette
I have been supporting West Ham for 35 years as well, 18 years as a season ticket holder. I have to say I am feeling excactly the same as you. I am falling out of love with the game for much the same reasons as you.
The days when you had true gentleman who you could say was Mr West Ham like Brooking, Bonds and co have long gone and just maybe this might be my last season as a ticket holder.
does anyone think sullivan is trying to push zola to a resignation so he doesnt have to pay him off soon ???? dont know just strange he would do this the day before a massive game. on one hand you have zola trying to mould and get the team to make beleive they can beat there opponents and then you have sullivan bashing it out of them the day before a game . YOU COULD NOT MAKE IT UP THIS CLUB IS OFFICALLY FOR ME MICKEY MOUSE ! but i will still rock up every week to support the boys i must be crazy .
Lee I think your right,sullivan might be pushing him into a corner.
I’ve liked the way Sullivan has been open about stuff so far, but this is so irritating. he’s already said things will get bad before they get better, so to cone out with this nonsense on the eve of a game that could possibly determine our entire season?
deeply, deeply annoying. this will only have made preparations for tomorrow’s game a lot harder.
so, Sullivan, thanks for buying a controlling stake in our club, thanks for trying to sort it out: but shut the he’ll up you idiot!!!
I have to say leehammer…Zola couldnt mould a jelly
Digger2: lol.thats a good one ….listen on here ive posted before my thoughts on zola i think he's to inexperianced to deal with a job like west ham even when the club is or was stable. but i seem to have people slate me for saying we need a different manager . I said mark hughes would be a good appointment but a lot of fans ive spoken to seem to think iam mad wanting him but before the shake man sur city debarcle he did ok his teams were strong at the back they liked to get the ball down and play and he did it on really not that much money some people would think i wanted fat sam in charge. just thinking sullivan wants to push zola so he can use the severence pay to lure mark hughes before he jets off to take the turkey job on .
We're in trouble im afraid. Maybe we do need to start fresh. I just don't know
Talk sport radio this afternoon should be a good listen i think adrian duhram is gunna rip sullivan apart !
i cant believe we are in a fight to stay up and they are telling the players they can expect a pay cut!!!
I wish G&S would take a step back from the media. I was hoping that the new owners would impliment stability and keep the club out of the papers…they seem to have an obsession with being in the press. You own half of the club….you arent the club…….get a grip!!!!
They are saying at the moment that any of the birmingham fans that boo them are stupid….who cares what they think…its in the past….SHUT UP AND GET ON WITH THE JOB!!!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Iain Dale, West Ham United FC. West Ham United FC said: West Ham Till I Die >> Are Gold & Sullivan Pinning Their Hopes on the Academy http://bit.ly/awxvRH [...]
SSN reporter says he has spoken to Zola this afternoon and Zola is "Very annoyed at the comments made by Sullivan, particularly the timing of it on the eve of a big match and he wishes the clubs owner would have spoke to him first"…
Now isn't that a shock…
I take your point above that there is a time and a place, but my point is Gold and Sullivan bought the right to make that time now.
Not next week,next month but now.
I don't subscribe to the view that comments made "on the eve of a big match" are damaging. It's only a big match because Zola has made it a big match with his inept team selection/tactics/motivational techniques in the last 20 games.
I can't see Ferguson letting anything the Glazers do or say bother him. He would be protecting his squad, not bleating to SSN and getting his excuses in first.
"We lost but it was the Chairman's fault with what he said yesterday. I was unable to motivate the players enough" is not a line that any manager worth his salt would be trotting out. Zola might not say it either but I imagine that he would imply it. Why talk to the media anyway?
i posted a similar thing earlier Bubble, the pair's comments will be made to be an excuse for a poor performance like the other 20 we've had… dont get me wrong i think they are poor to do it publically and when we are on the brink of rele but lets not distract from the fact we are in the bottom 3 for a reason….we're toilet.
Sillivan had his chance to save the club from relegation but cheaped out in the window (not shock there) so he now needs to shut the hell up and let Zola get on with guiding this team to safety.
All Golivans penny pinching, blame laying and tabloid hogging antics wont save us now. Its up to Zola and he should have had more class than to discuss his salary in the press.
He didnt step up and buy the players we needed so now he is trying to focus attention elsewhere to avoid getting JUSTIFIED blame from the fans.
Took me 15 mins to type a reply, then I hit the wrong button on the PC and I lost it all… ah well…
I don't think Benni will be available tomorrow.
overweight
thats being generous….. i've seen chairs move quicker…
Ok,, despite the varying comments, I think we are all pretty much agreed on one thing….Gold and Sullivan…keep it in your pants and SHUT UP.
Yes, they now run the club and are entitled to their say. They make some valid points and I'm sure they have a lot more information than we have in order to back up these comments but the bottom line is that NOW IS NOT THE TIME.
I'm sure (or at least I hope) they have a Strategic Plan in place and I'm sure a lot of what they have planned for the short term will take place during the summer when the football is finished, so why the hell do they feel the need to continue to speak so frequently in a negative light about the very men whose confidence and desire are key to keeping us where we belong.
It is nice to have people who let you know what is going on in the club but what price too much information at the wrong time?
How about a petition to politiely ask them to stop and think before they put the final nail in this season's coffin?.
Nenagh, their strategic plan took 17 years at Birmingham, now we're beginning to see why…
Zola's hit back,this is not looking good.
read between the lines,this is a clear message to Zola win tomorrow.
Personally, I think it's a clear message to all staff, we're here to cut costs and to hell with this season and you lot.
That may not have been the intention, that's the way it'll be taken…..
It's a clear message to Zola and Clarke to walk.
Blues fan on here in peace.
You will need this number soon to tell Sullivan what you think of him.
Direct line to Theydon Bois mansion 01992 815151.
These guys will drag your club down.
It seems from these constant comments in the media of doom and gloom that they are now going about covering their own arses and softening us up for some heavy dismantling of assets.
Actually what they are doing I would suggest is bordering on constructive dismissall. Misleading the fans that it was not their original intention to offload Zola, Clark, Upson, Berhami, Parker, etc.
And whos to say that the youngters SJ is talking about will not be sold off in a year or two when their value hits a certain level.
As I said in the run up to the takeover, G&S is simply a return to Terry Brown.
YEP double D a right pair of tits.
Just wanted to add this.
Karren Brady is noted for becoming an MD at a football club at the age of 23.
AND….earning that football club their first ever proffit in 120 years odd. 1996 we made £1.2 mill credit.
HOW…you all ask I bet.
She closed down our Academy. "Why spend a fortune growing your own when you can buy them cheaper at the supermarket?"
One thing I've always respected at West Ham is the conveyor belt, the Academy before it was called that.
Just be careful. We were without an Academy for 8-10 years until Francis insisted on rebuilding it. Spending money like that earned him Brady's total hatred.
If your Academy absorbs a lot of dosh – be very careful. It's not the mobile phones Karren will go for, but the big expenditure.
Good Luck mates – AFTER Wednesday. (You only need 16-18 points, don't sweat it.