Since they took over the club, Messers Sullivan and Gold have never been off the media. Every day there is another newspaper report about the disastrous state of the club’s finances. Every day, one of them gives an interview to 5 Live or TalkSport. Don’t get me wrong, I think in many ways they have made a good start. But you know what? I think a period of silence would be welcome. Clearly this is something Gianfranco Zola would agree with. Today in the Daily Mail, David Sullivan talks about the need for salary cuts in the summer. He may be right. But why air this dirty linen in public? Zola has issued a quick riposte…
The article [by Sullivan] should have been done at a different time instead of just before a match like tomorrow’s. “It would have been better to say what was said at another time and, maybe, talk to us [the players and staff] before the newspapers.” He added: “I am not happy about it, I don’t think it does any good for the team.
Quite so. Careless talk costs points. And possibly managers.
Hear, hear, Iain… couldn't agree more.
They are becoming RentaGob for the 24/7 media with slots to fill. Their spoutings are serving no purpose.
I posted on the last thread that it is important for footballers to realise the real trouble that the country is going through and that they might feel that they should take a lead and offer modest wage reductions themselves.
I also suggested that maybe a lot had already been aired behind closed doors.
While I still believe the first sentiment is correct, foorballers should be more connected to the fans, it's quite clear that Sullivan is just shooting his mouth and that he hasn't spoken to the players or management about this.
Bloody fool. Blown it already. It seems quite clear that they don't believe that Zola is the future of the club or why would they undermine him this way.
There may be trouble ahead….
Did Carlton Cole say they didn't want to sit with the owners over dinner … speak volumes to me … not all is well they are just making GFZ's position unteniable
Completely agree……….Their words are gonna bury us this season. Isn't there an old saying…Words are cheap, well not their words, they're gonna cost us millions in EPL Revenue.
no.. Zola's inept selections and tactics and the appalling player attitudes will bury us, the damage is already done with the team our position proves that, the gobby hobbit albeit stupid timing and poorly chosen statements wont bury us..our failure to hit a cows arris with a banjo and not being able to defend for toffee will.
I agree with you Digger2. The state of the club is not Zola's fault. What happens in between the goals is. And as our record and position indicate it has not been positive.
This is what I posted as a reply on the previous thread.
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?
Yes, but the Glazers don't really do or say anything, and they certainly don't appear to conduct their running of the club (since they employ others for that) through the media.
This is of a piece with the way they approached the takeover, and, to me at least, it doesn't bode well.
And Zola spoke to the media as part of the standard pre match press conference… not because he just felt like it..
Totally agree Davie … ever worked your sox off for someone to be told by half the village that your jobs on the line instead of a simple closed door number first … it is why we lost at Burnly and why we'll be relegated
zola`s making his excuses early before another beating tomorrow
I heard him travelling back from a meeting in the car and I couldn't believe my ears.
What the hell is he playing at? How not to motivate your players and management – tell them they will have their pay cut next season even IF they stay up.
The initial slack that I gave them is starting to wear thin. Celtic will have a field day!
Devo I commented on it in the last thread but to save you sifting through it here it is again
Let me start with the Keiron Dyer issue. I agreed with Sullivan when he said that Dyer should prove his fitness or retire, that the club can not be expected to continue pay his wages while he sits in a treatment room. A period of a month was mooted as a timeframe for him to get fit or hang his boots up. This seemed fair, after all its only a hamstring injury and he has already had a few weeks off. So why not leave it there? You've made your point, its a good one so let it be.
Nope, not the little tabloid thugs way. You run to your mates in The Mail and trott out a story about how Dyer is costing the club £30M, see apart from the tastleness of putting that story out there you have the reappearance of David Sullivan mathematics 101, its a simple formula, you take the actual number (in this case £6M signing fee and £3.5M a year for 4years coming to £20M) then you add whatever you need to make it sound truely scarey, chuck on another 20% for comic effect then take anyone of the words "massive, crippling, insane, disaster, meltdown and crap hat" and add it before and after the new number you just came up with. There you go you now have a group of Hammers fans ready to chase Dyer out of town with pitchforks and burning torches.
The annoying thing is that he had a legitimate gripe and a sympathetic position. Now he has paved the way for a victimisation case for Dyer and told the rest of the squad that if they get injured he will have a go at them in the tabloids and force them to call time on their career. How are the likes of Scotty Parker going to react now that the know the owner thinks they are paid too much and if he gets injured he might not get paid at all.
Now Sullivans manipulation of the clubs debt figues has been crass and ham fisted, he has corrected himself time and again and then simply made them up. He has taken things that are not debts and rolled them in as well and promised to slash and burn his way through the club. Just what you need to hear when you are fighting releagtion. The hilarity continues when he tells us that after 4 years of reusing the tea bags and hanging the toliet paper out to dry he is happy to chuck £40M at the club to get us Champions League football. Who wants Champions League football when the team are going to have to hitch hike to the away games as doubtless the team coach will be rented out for weddings and stag dos.
He has also attempted to take credit for the developent of the new training facility which got underway well before the new owners came in.
He also expects players and staff to take a 25% paycut for no other reason than he says so. This is what all the scare mongering about the debt was for, get the fans on side and against the players. Why the hell should they take a pay cut? They have contracts with the club and the club should honour them. Is he going to fight each contract case by case through the courts (or in his case the tabloids) or simply sell anyone who wont accept it and tell the fans that he had no choice but to sell the player as he expected to be paid for playing for the club.
How the hell does he think all of this is affecting the players? The day before a do or die home game against a team that want nothing more but to ram it down his throat after 16years of being run like a bake sale (the words of a Golivan hating Brummie fan I met on a weekend knees up recently) he basically knocks the stuffing out of any attempt to get the players up for this.
He talksa bout how relegation would be a disaster yet he is doing his best to insure it. Would relegation be that bad from his point of view? We would get a parachute payment he could trouser, he could sell the best players and replace them with cheaper Championship players, he could probably expect that Zola (being the man of integrity that he is) would walk away having failed to keep us up and save him paying to sack him, he could bring Curbs back and work out his compo with a wage deal and most importantly of all he would have devalued the other half of the club and could buy it on the cheap.
For those who think he wouldnt want this to happen as it would also devalue his and Golds half, that doesnt actually matter as he isnt going to sell the club when its in the Championship, he is going to do what he did at Brum, force the club to pay its own debts off, then flog it for a tasty profit. The problem with that is he bought Birmingham for £1 so he had a better starting point, paying £50M for WestHam means the level of spending cuts required to start getting that money back are truely frightening to even contemplate.
Now I am not saying that Gold and Sullivan want us to go down, in fact I dont actually think they do as they dont have the luxury of the 16years they had at Birmingham to wait to sell. I think its a case of a short sharp shock to make the club look attractive to a new buyer but they are gambling massively on us staying up. If we do it will be inspite of them and not because of them.
I wonder how many of the saviour brigade are happy now
You like what you said so much the first time you thought it was worth repeating? Good grief, give your self a good slap on the back. If you was chocolate you'd eat yourself.
Fill your boots!
I actually appreciated CH reposting this, johnny, as I haven't read the other thread.
I still don't agree with all of CH's points within it but it is his opinion and much of it is valid, I believe.
Wage cuts i totally agree with, and for the long-term future of this club it is probably a necessity. But surely that is an internal matter not e to blast around the papers. Priority number 1 should be to stay in the premiership then over the summer they can discuss the need to reduce wages and change the squad. Horrible feeling that in someways the Davids would like to rid themselves of the majority of playing staff and management and create their own club from scratch. At this time especially effort should be made to get behind the players and staff!
big game tomorrow COYI
i am so glad to have the chance to vent my absoloute fury at big mouth sullivan.when they took over i had an open mind .i understood when they gave us the information of how bad a state the club was in transparancy has never been a west hams boards best work.but now after todays reports of players having to take a big pay cut the day before our most important game for a long time beggars belief.morale boosting i think not,zola has already questioned the timing so how do you think the players feel.i am totally fed up with their negative bleating.if they are so shocked and worried about the state of the club they shouldnt have bought it.it takes a lot to upset zola but im right behind him here.also to suggest dyer should do the decent thing and retire is disgustibg.ok hes been injury prone we all know but we bought him.i am fuming at this little man over this,i am wondering if he bought our club just to hear the sound of his own voice.so here is my tuppence worth,shut your gob and get on with the job.if we do lose tomorrow i will land the blame firmly at his door.phew thanks for the chance to get this off of my chest but i havnt been this angry for a long time
Mr Sullivan behaves like a child. He is devaluing the club with his depressing
remarks , he should be turning us on not off !!! He needs a good lesson in public relations or should that be pubic relations !!!
It does make me wonder if they are trying to de value the club so they can get the remaining 50 % on the cheap?!
I knew this was going to happen look at the public spectacle they meade of themselves when they were at Brimingham and they were relegated.
I think things are not as happy between owners and manager, Zola really should have thought about saying what he did publicly, if they loose to the blue noses then I think we might be saying good bye to Zola and Clarke, not really an idea to have a pop at an old skool director like big gob!
I posted this earlier today.
I can see anther constructive dismissal case coming our way!
Like the majority of contributors on this site I was not over excited by G&S taking over, but was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. However, after hearing the interview with Sullivan on Radio5 today I am starting to wonder how he has become a successful businessman. Sure we all know that football is a financial accident waiting to happen, but to go on air and parade all of our dirty linen in public is surely not the way to bring harmony to our troubled club.
If cost cutting and redundancies are required, then so be it, but can't these be done in the background and without the fall media glare?
Sullivan suggested that some of the players do not want to be at the club, well I guess there will be a few more now.
I sincerely hope we go out and put on a performance tomorrow night, but my optimism is waning.
I thought they where trying to make this an attractive team to play for? Well I predict an Exodus if this continues…..
I have just read Zola's interview on Sky, i wonder what tyhe bookies have Zola on now to be next Prem manager sacked, I love Zola and wish he hadn taken the bait!
3/1 2nd fav with Paddy Power behind Grant, dunno what he was before though.
As Roshi posted…another Constructive Dismassal enroute. These guys are a right pair of planks.
Would like to see Zola given a little more time with the new strikers but do agree that he needs to play at least one natural lefty on the left.
For tomorrow would go with the following;
Green
Spector – Upson – Tomkins – Ilunga
Faubert – Behrami – Parker – Stanislas
Cole – Ilan
Although I like Diamanti (unlike quite a few) I do not trust him to cover the left flank if Ilunga goes forward so have had to go with Stan even though he's a righty.
Went for Ilan over Mido because he scored and deserves the nod.
Would also ensure that Daprella was on bench because although I haven't seen a lot of him from what I have seen he is rather nifty going forward with the ball and has great pace for getting back.
Reckon that team, if they come out like the preverbial sh1tstorm, will cause the brum plenty of problems,
I like your thoughts mate … balance the side and get out there and go for them straight off … no jousting just f**king hammer em ..
i agree with your formation. its the best 11 we can start with at the moment.
I think the overriding point that is coming out of this talking to the media is "flipping 'eck, what the hell have we done".
Its beyond words. I thought it couldn't get worse for us after Gold's gloating that he'd love to put one over Birmingham. If Alex McLeish didn't need a half time team talk before he definitely doesn't need one now. I feel they are trying to push Zola out which will lead to Clarke following and what about the players that have benefited under Zola? If D&S think their loyalites lie with anyone other than Gianfranco they are in for a rude awakening. Cole, Collison, Tomkins??? Do me a favor.
Agreed vanhammer, if ever there was a time to put a few bob on the next manager to leave a club, now would be it…
Crikey, Mido will only be on 750 quid a week. On a good month (which are rare these days) I earn more than that
I bet 3/4 of our squad are already thinking how to word their transfer requests.
I doubt it, transfer requests negate players entitlement to some of the transfer fee… so why bother, they'll be sold anyway…
For GFZ to come out and comment on the issue says to me that their is definitely an air of unrest within the camp … lets be honest here the big four of Cole, Green, Parker and Upson will be gone in the summer regardless … their wages are obviously too much to sustain … so why would Berahmi and the others bother ..
Parker's and Upson's maybe, but Green and Cole are not on big money by Premier League standards.
I have got to say the implied criticism of everything that is in place is complete rubbish. About £25m of the debt (the liability to Sheffield United) arises from actions before the Icelandic takeover. The players on the higher wages who should be of most concern are those who for whatever reason have hardly appeared since being signed by Alan Curbishley two to three years ago (Boa Morte, Quashie, Dyer and our stabbed centre half). Zola is not culpable for inheriting those four on his wage bill or having the unfortunate Gabbidon injured since he arrived or having to pay Dean Ashtons wage on an ongoing basis. What was the wage bill at the end of Alan Curbishleys last season when we had to pay Lundburg, Zamorra, Pantsil, Ferdinand, McCarthy, Bowyer, Etherington, Belamey, Neil, Collins and Mullins? What is the subsequent wage reduction and what is the net transfer income since the end of the season finished by Curbishley?
In other words the Zola's financial balance sheet is fairly positive.
Exactly no one signed under Zola was brought in on a big contract. Livorno's president said that Diamanti signed for 1Million euro a season which is less than 20 grand a week sterling.
Just watched Zola's interveiw on SSN the guy looks totally hacked off and i can't say i blame him.Sure he's got some things wrong tatically and has made mistakes,but the guy has had a lot of bad luck since he's been with us what with injuries and the financial restrictions imposed on him.I think he was very forthright about what he thought of the comments and has got to be on a collision course with the chairman,i reckon his days could be numbered not many managers survive critising their chairman in public.And surely if there is to be pay cuts the chairman should have spoken to the manager before going to the press,the timing is terrible time for G&S to shut up and let the team get on with it.
There may be trouble ahead………
I cannot understand how 2 wealthy, succesful businessmen cannot get their tiny brains around the fact that having won the battle to take over the club, they now need to shut up, put up and let the team get on with the job.
These 2 idiots are so fame hungry that not a single day has passed since they took over without an interview or a soundbite being fed to the press. And none of it positive. "Relegation would be armageddon", "debt is beyond control", "The Icelanders are to blame", "We'll pay £100k a week for a striker", "Everyone must take a 25% paycut"…..everyday, day in , day out, the same old same old…….
Be honest, if you were were in that dressing room tomorrow night, would you be focused on the job in hand?
Jolly i've got a feeling Zola won't be our manager for are next game,he made his feelings very clear in his interview and i can't see how he will be able to carry on without some sort of public retraction from sullivan or some serious bridge building.
Nope…
And interesting they've gone from "We'll pay a player 100k a week", to "we're cutting all the wages by 25%" (which they probably can't do anyway) in less than 8 days…
Sullivan is clearly working to a plan. He isn't just spouting off he clearly is trying to remove people from the club. The obvious candidates on the administration side are Zola , Clarke , Nani, the doctors and fitness teams. On the playing side Dyer , Upson , Parker and Green. As previous writers have said if Zola goes , so do a number of the players. So having had this massive clearout what is he going to do next? Can we look forward to a team full of £2m transfer fee , £15k maximum a week unknown journeymen to supplement the academy players?. Is the next four years about trying to be 17th?. If so , I predict that the current stadium is more than ample for our needs. There is no point in spending money on examining the Olympic stadium. I was surprised when we went to Birmingham a couple of seasons back that they couldn't fill a small stadium for the first home game back in the EPL. Now I can see why! Happy days!
Aye, this is beginning to reek of a classic asset-stripping exercise. Celtic, where are you when we need you?
Celtic posted at length on the previous thread
I missed it, Lofty, caught the repeat showing above, though
Iain, i think you're last 3 words sum up what this is all about… "and possibly managers"… I think Zolas days are numbered and his retorts today will signal the start of the exit…
Some will be happy with this, but there are better ways to do it…
They both seem to want the spotlight, I wish they would shut the **** up and get on with it. I don't think there's a day gone by where one of them hasn't been shouting there mouths off.
And as for the timming what a pair of ******!
And now Zola has come out and critisized them, is this the end of Zola?
I hope not but6 wouldn't be supprised……
I have to be honest, as much as they have saved us financially they have also just cost us another match … I will be there tomorrow night and I doubt very much if we'll nick the three points … those of you slating Zola need to have a look in the mirror and wake up … the squad has been stripped to the bone and then blighted by injuries, that why were where we at at, nothing to do with Zola … yep he's made his mistakes … but in the last three games we have looked awaful playing 4-4-2 with what we have got … did the Gollivans speak to Nani ? where were the list of players he was looking at ? and yes we needed forwards but most on here wanted a RB when Faubert has been more than good enough .. we needed left sided players and we haven't got them … you can all snipe at Zola but smell the coffee and the bigger picture is very different … if we survive it'll be no higher than 16th
Zola now 2/1 Fav with Powers to be next casualty…….. Reckon the Daves' have a few mill on at a better price, will more than cover the cost of our new strikers, including wages………. Oh crap.
All they've done since they took over is go on about how terrible things are. This has clearly been to portray themselves as West Ham's saviours who can drag the poor club out of the mire. A telling comment by Sullivan last week was that what he really wanted was " to be known as the person who saved West Ham United". I get the feeling that success for West Ham is secondary. Let's face it, the worse we think things are, the more readily we'll put up with mediocrity.
If relegation really would mean armageddon then surely keeping the players and manager motivated would be essential. rather than give stability, they seem to be rocking the boat intentionally. I don't trust them at all and am not sure I'm totally convinced that the club's financial state is quite as dire as Sullivan loves to portray.
Maybe it's some masterstroke of motivation I've missed, but yesterday I thought we'd be safe – now I don't.
Horatio:
He waxes desperate with imagination.
Marcellus:
Let's follow. 'Tis not fit thus to obey him.
Horatio:
Have after. To what issue will this come?
Marcellus:
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Lofty:
Nay, let's NOT follow him (apologies Master S)
Speech for Z tomorrow:
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
and you will be Men my boys.
A Plague on both their Houses
They have probably got several houses each so a plague on all their property.
To be honest, I find the DD's straight-talking refreshing. The idea that players on multi-million contracts might find such comments to be upsetting is risible.
Zola would be better advised to invest his energies in resurrecting the performances of his ailing team than responding to such firebrand oratory.
I find Zola's comments about his own salary more worrying – he's on 1.9 million a year but didn't know this when he signed? Just how out of touch with reality are these people?
I could not agree more.
Here, Here.
Like everybody reading reports in the media, there appears to be a plan forming with the two davids. First get Zola and Clarke out and anybody they feel were part of the last mangament team. I don't agree about the way they are going about it.
I hope they don't get Alan Curbs back because it was his signing of players who have a long history being on the treatment table.
He would know what is a good player!!. I hope they stick with Zola and clarke, but I feel they are hoping that he resigns first.
Not sure who would replace Zola? . I think stay with him until end of may.
Firewall, I think Zola and Clarke are gone.. probably sooner rather than later. Only questions remain are:
1) When
2) What will it cost
3) Who we getting in to replace them…
And relegation has just become much more of a reality now as well…
How about a chorus of shut uppa you face on Wednesday night.lol
Works for me…
Sullivan and Gold's pronouncements strike me as being very odd. I have to agree on Zola that this latest outburst on Sullivan's behalf should have been done in private, and at another time. Seems to me that the policy is to plead abject poverty so that the new owners can twist the ears of those who have any say in the matter as to whether or not West Ham will be able to use the new Olympic Stadium. The real cash cow, and where the real money, and short term money too, can be made for S&G, is in the sale of Upton Park, and these two, already in their sixties and seventies, will undoubtedly be looking for a decent return on their investment some time soon. I have a hunch that the real reason why they bought into the club was to develop the Boleyn Ground area at a huge profit.
I have never read a statement by any chairman that causes so much damage to so many people at the club.
From going into the game with Birmingham all confident of a upcoming win, this has really closed the gap. Tomorrow now could be anyone's games. The complete fools.
It is also a respect issue. It is just absolutely unfathomable to think that the Sullivan thought it would be a good idea to let the West Ham staff, which not only includes the Manager, coach and players, but also much of the admin staff, from catering staff to parking attendants, that they may lose their jobs and if keeping them will get a 25% wage cut.
It is bordering on the grotesque. There will be plenty of men and women with children to support, who have been affiliated with the club for years, who earn nothing a very meager wage indeed, who will now be in fear of their jobs.
The coach drivers, the kit cleaners, the cooks will all be coming into work on Wednesday feeling decidedly upset – the atmosphere around the club will have hit a new low.
I remember when a company boss got top billing on the news because he laid off his employees by text message. Isn't this even more vulgar? He didn't go to the press first and let them find out that way?
The victimization of Dyer is also rather obscene. Why should the lad retire if he loves the game and feels he stands a chance of getting his game back together. From all reports he is trying his best to get fit and is mortified with the situation.
Both of these men surely can't be pea-brains. They surely would have known that this would cause severe concern and consternation amongst the playing staff and management. It is so obvious that my only conclusion would be that they are hoping the players and manager would be suitably upset enough to resign, and so get them off the wage bill.
I have to say, if Sullivan and Gold think that through this only the big earners such as Upson, Parker, Cole and Green will leave, they should think again. If I was the likes of Noble, Collison, Tomkins, Stanislas and Nouble, I really wouldn't want my wages aired in public by my employers. If any employer did such a thing you look elsewhere immediately.
So Gold and Sullivan, you may get your wish and see the back of Upson, Green, Cole and Parker but you will also get more than you bargained for- but with nobody to manage them.
This will not be a firesale as such but the rush of resignations that will ensue will mean it might as well be.
Being a West Ham fan really isn't much fun is it? I thought a few weeks ago we had put the nasty headlines to bed.
Andy, just to pick up on Kieron Dyers situation, cos I'm amazed they've been so public about it. I think in any other organisation in the world, right now, that employee would be suing their employer (I know for sure I would)…
Ignoring what he has and hasn't done for the club, he's now virtually unemployable. Even if another club would have considered trying to get him, no club in their right mind would go anywhere near him after a comment like that. He's virtually told the world "this guy should retire, he's gone, put him out to pasture"… so considering what they've done to his potential future earnings (either at WH or otherwise), I'll be amazed if it doesn't go further…
And don't get me started on the rest of their nonsense…
I know that's exactly what I think. He IS now unemployable. Quite astonishing really that they would do this. If he had a great run in to the end of the season then you could imagine that one or two clubs might be willing to take him on
not now
….add Behrami to the mix to. He will want out after hearing his transfer details aired in public. I'm sure his agent is furious too.
How thoroughly depressing these two men are.
I hope our fans give it to them with both barrels on wednesday night and I hope Zola gets full support. We should sing his name all evening long.
It also wouldn't surprise me to see banners unfurled on wednesday night showing their disgust at the owners.
In one day what have they achieved?
We will have a walk out by Green, Upson, Parker, Cole and Behrami..possibly Collison will go to Arsenal and who can blame him? Zola and Clarke will leave the club because no man can work under these conditions.
Basically no good players left, no manager and coach. No hope.
The absurd thing is that Sullivan is saying it would be a disaster for relegation to become a reality as we will have to sell our star players – well THEY ARE GOING ANYWAY NOW AREN'T THEY thanks to you!
Also, Nobody in their right mind is going to invest the extra money when these two are at the helm. Imagine you put millions into the club and these two come out with statements like that? Astonishing.
It is true that footballers and managers are overpaid. I personally think that 10,000 pounds a week is more than sufficient, but that wouldn't get much these days unfortunately. I even agree with Sullivan's musings on a wage cap, but it is not going to happen, or be effective, until all of Europe's football leagues agree to it. However, no matter the rights and wrongs of the wages of the modern day sportsman I think that it would have been wise to have brought up this subject at a different time, and not when the club is mid-way through a season with a relegation battle on its hands.
dont you also think they deserved to know man to man, instead of through the press. Utterly vulgar and uncaring of them
Yes, I would prefer to hear from the owners directly and not through the press.
The only comparable business related remark that I can think of is Gerald Ratner denigrating his own company by saying his products were all cr*p.
It brought down the business
I see this as no different
"Since I have been here it has been a repetition of speculation and problems. To be honest, I'm fed up with that" That about sums up Zola's thoughts on this latest kiss and tell.
My only reading on this is that Sullivan wants Zola to walk and knows he has the overwhelming support of the players so he trying to cause unrest or trying to force Zola and Clarke to walk.
Whatever the reason there can be only one outcome a further undermining morale at the club. I would love to hear from anyone who thinks that demotivating the management and players is a good thing!
totally agree little man sullivan has burnt his bridges with me
David Brent could not have done better
i agree i think this is a new project. i also think that relegation is thier aim to cash in on the assets reduce the value of the remaining 50% and rely on a wealth of talent coming through. think of the line up possible .I thought the clear out would come but not under these circumstances relegation under zola would maybe kept players like cole parker berahmi and others who respect him. If he goes we will only have the kids unless the davids can get a price for them.
They are very obvious about thier intentions or is just me
Like so many I wanted TF to take over but when G and S came in I gave them my full support because this is my club and I can never change that. Initially they said the right things but, as many have commented, they don't know when to stop. I posted before that we all needed to pull together if we are going to avoid the drop. I meant the fans needed to get behind the team as never before. Never did I expect the new owners to be undermining team spirit with badly timed statements. Tomorrow was always going to be hard – now its almost impossible!
Absolutely Iain,
I said on the last thread, some of these comments are bordering on constructive dismissal.
Munky if Curbs could win a constructive dismissal case after chucking away £50M on injured players, selling the likes of Zamora, Konch and Pantsil for little money while turning down very good money for Anton and Linda then I reckon absolutely anyone at the club could take the current owners to the cleaners!
I'm sure they could Celtic. What I was getting at though was more deliberate constructive dismissal.
ie, "Here Dave, how can we get rid of Zola & Clark and sell off a few of our prized assets without the fans turning on us?"
"Easy Dave, we put em down publicly and wait for the resignations/transfer requests"
They are praying on the fact that Zola is a man of integrity who would walk on a point of principle and save them the need to pay to get rid of him.
I only hope that he stands up to them as I shudder to think what damage they could do to the club if they installed a yes man of a manager.
Of course, we have not got the alleged solicitor, the mighty, the fihter of good and all is true, Mr Scott Duxbury to fight West Hams corner. Ohps we might actually win a hearing then!
Celtic, I have a question,
G&S only own 50% of the club, how will the owners of the other 50 react to this blatant trouble-mongering, and what if anything could they do about it? surely if G&S are deliberately devaluing the club they have some recourse?
Just curious
Its a very grey area to be honest. I would imagine they could look to have them removed as co chairmen as they could be judged to not be acting in the best interests of the club.
Without knowing the terms of the sale agreement or subsequent shareholders agreement so I dont know if it could be argued that they are acting ultra vires. As shown with Hicks and Gillett two parties can not wish to be in the same room together and still be stuck with each other in the ownership of of a club
I have a question for all. Why does it seem that every other team that has distractions. And let's face it they all do to some extent to another. Just get's on with the task at hand. Or at least it seems that they do. Why is it WHU just goes from one crisis to another and the performance on the pitch is identical to the performance on the pitch. Did WHU at some point in it's long history piss off the football gods and now we are doomed.
who will take the west ham job?
they seen our next few games?
I suspect Mark Hughes is already brushing up on his Cockenese.
I fully expect the Welsh windbag to be on our doorsteps any day soon.
I'd imagine there'd be many more willing to take it too… its still the EPL, its still the bigget league in the world, its still West Ham…
And considering the run of home games we have, we have more than a 50-50 chance of staying up… so long as this media frenzy dies down soon (which i doubt)…
The media frenzy will cease once G&S belt up.
chrischris you tell us cos you cant wait for zola to be sacked ,i thought to you he is the enemy so please tell us who will take over
I'm not a Zola fan correct,and I'm beginning to dislike G and S, but you never kick a man when hes down.
Thats the rules.
I'm not a Zola fan correct,and I'm beginning to dislike G and S, but you never kick a man when hes down.
Thats the rules.
Well they set the elephant trap and GFZ walked straight into it. I have tried to remain open minded about our new owners but they seem hell bent on alienating the players, staff and supporters. I can only assume that this is an acceptable consequence of delivering their plan.
I understand other people’s comments on the highly paid footballers of today and their ignorance of what living on a working wage is like. Yes it would be great to get their feet closer to the fire but that can only be done if the whole of the football world acted in unison and said enough is enough. Until then market forces will dictate players’ wages and if we don’t pay the going rate for a player he will move elsewhere. That is the nature of the modern player; the loyalty of an alley cat. The players who think they can earn better elsewhere will go; relegated or not.
The people I feel for are the ordinary staff at West Ham. Typically these are local people who have a long and happy association with the club and they are also fans. This is where the loyalty is and I am disgusted at this latest outburst from Sullivan. The Co-Chairmen claim to be fans: they have a strange way of showing it.
Clearly what we can expect is the manager leaves because he can’t operate in the environment they have deliberately created. Next will be relegation and the sale of “high” earning players. Life in the championship will be reliance on our academy for our first team squad supplemented by a few experienced players at the end of their careers. The stars of the academy will move on once they have gained recognition; we will be back to a feeder club. Then be prepared for the sale of the Boleyn Ground and the move to the Olympic stadium. In the intervening period buy the remaining 50% of the club, pocket the cash from the sale or redevelop and pocket more cash. Sell the club for a profit and retire into the sunset. What are the supporters left with?
Just heard Gold on radio 2 trying to defuse the situation,he said he spoke to franco regarding saving money,not sure Zola would agree with that, it seems like it was the first he'd heard of it in the papers.I don't know if this is how they work but it seems Sulli shoots his mouth and then Gold tries to smooth things over,perhaps we need some Brummie imput here?
Maybe to diffuse the situation they could get some internal club bimbo to come out with some nonsense like a change of club name or something… hang on…
Surely everyone knows what salary they earn Zola,surely?but if this is reverse Psychology used to either fire them up or fire them tomorrow we will see!
All of the West Ham playing and management on the books have got us in this predicament and it is evident with the lack of fighting spirit is the reason we are in the bottom 3.Kick em up the arse or kick em out we want players who will actually stand up and be counted not strut around like pretty peacocks so let us see if they want this.
The goalkeeper we should go after if Green departs is the next Aussie number 1 Adam Federici of Reading the boy can keep goal.
I can't believe how one little fella spouting off has transformed my hopes and aspirations for West Ham.
I watched the match at Burnley and despite the defeat, came away with huge amounts of confidence and expectation for the final run in and the Birmingham match in particular.
I saw enough in the new signings to believe we were on the march and were about to give Brum a dusting.
Now, after the crass, amateur-like interviews given by Sullivan, I fear we are about to descend into free-fall.
Zola is clearly on his way out and I fully expect the players to close ranks, sulk and blame the chaos around the club as we crash and burn. And who can b lame them.
We will need a turnstyle on the dressing room door in the summer as first Behrami, then Cole, Parker, Upson and Green head for the exit.
Collison is not good enough for Arsenal but he and Tomkins will be targets for second tier clubs who will be picking over our bones.
I wasn't a fan of G&S before they arrived but was prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt.
But it has taken them just 18 days – yes 18 days – to show their hand.
They are clearly trying to force Zola to walk to save them paying him off. To me that's cheap, sharp practice and shoddy.
To quote my old grandad…they have just pissed on their chips as far as I'm concerned.
Your Grandad must have been quite a character LP!
Stratford…he could spot a wrong 'un from 50 paces. He would have had no problems working out the diminutive Shyster.
"pissed on their chips" brilliant!
Well said Lofty. You have taken the words out of my mouth
They really have shown their hands now haven't they! It really is something when you would prefer to be stuck with the bankrupt banks.
What a thoroughly depressing saga this is. I totally agree that they are trying to get Zola to walk out. But what possible good can it do when the likes of Carlton Cole will be doing one when Zola finally does give in.
The squeeze has clearly began on Zola and Clarke
Lofty, only thing I disagree with is the 18 days… they were well on their way to showing their hand after 5 or 6… and to think we all hoped all the off field distractions were a thing of the past when these muppets took over…
pissed on their chips – classic
What a way to put it Lofty, but I'm gutted to say I think you've nailed it.
And they call themselves fans??? Fans my arse!
would love to know the details of the details of the takeover reckon the mail might publish them tomorrow?
sorry about repeating i needed a drink
Has this all been done to get shot of Zola quick,so they can get Hughs in before he signs for some one else IE; Turkey.
Make a stand fans, boycott the next home game on Saturday week ,show the David's what we think of them and their tack tic's!they might have messed around with Birmingham, but not with us!and before anyone Say's it? l have already got my tickets for the next home game, but l will be willing to sacrifice them, if every one else follows!