Usually international weekends are as boring as a rainy day in Ipswich, especially if you rarely watch international games like me. But the last few days surely have packed quite an emotional punch, not just because of what DIDN’T happen for us on Transfer Deadline Day, but because of the resulting spin and backlash, with both Sporting and David Sullivan trying to get their own version of events in and claim the morale high ground while telling us exactly what happened…or not.
I will admit that I was genuinely excited about seeing Carvalho in claret and blue after I had done my research on the player while writing an article in preparation of his imminent arrival, or so I thought. When I wrote that article several ITKs had provided positive indications a deal was close. Now of course there is a very real possibility that the deal was nothing more really than yet another pie in the sky above cloud-cuckoo-land wannabe scenario, playing out in Sullivan’s head. Did a genuine offer ever reach the Sporting hierarchy or was it all lost in translation or in the spam folder of the player’s agent only ?
Or was the offer so embarrassingly low that Sporting never really took it seriously ?
A section of our fanbase never really trusted the owners from the very moment they took over West Ham. A growing number of fans then grew disillusioned too along the way what with various lies and half-truths being spouted about the Olympic Stadium, the signing of players, getting to the next level, the reason for not signing players and so forth. This recent transfer window now could well see the tide turning past the point of no return in terms of the majority of our fans ever trusting our board again. There are only so many times you can lie (or be economical with the truth) to the fans of the club you own and still expect them to believe you the next time you’re opening your mouth.
Anyone remember their ten point pledge when they arrived ? Appoint the right manager. Sign new players. More investment in the Academy. Continue to clear the debt. Freeze season ticket prices for renewals. Build the status and image of the club. Make it enjoyable to come and watch. Get closer to the community. Go for the Olympic Stadium. Listen to supporters.
Well, to put it mildly it’s a mixed bag of results there, innit ? We all have different views on the job our board are doing of course, so fans are also likely to differ when they are evaluating the above mentioned ten point pledge and the likelihood those pledges will ever be fulfilled in their entirety.
After seeing them run this club for several years now, my mind is finally at this point set on what they are at the club for, what we can realistically expect from them in future and what not.
Gold may be a genuine fan, I won’t dispute that, but he is now pretty much a wingman figure only what with the limited number of shares he owns. So he hasn’t really got much practical say anymore. The show or rather circus is being run by Sullivan and Brady in the main and in my humble opinion they are in it purely for the money, their personal profit and the media attention.
They will do anything to eventually sell the club at a massive profit, preferably without sharing any of it with the LLDC (which is why they may be at the helm for another few years, no matter how vocal or nasty protests from the fans may get over the course of the season. There have been numerous examples of owners who were absolutely hated by their fans, yet it took years before new owners arrived).
The latest news is that our club have apparently mortgaged the OS lease plus all the club’s real estate (Rush Green, Chadwell Heath, Little Heath, all club shops etc.), presumably to secure another loan (with the previous overseas payday loans no longer being an option) to help our cash flow. The owners don’t seem to be able or willing to significantly pay down the debt of our club (to themselves), our cash flow must be appalling. Our net spend is pathetic for a Premier League club trying to grow its global brand and we also now have a manager waiting for the dreaded final talk with the board at any given moment to hear his services are no longer required.
As a club we are a shambles at this point, on and off the pitch, and if it eventually turns out that indeed Sullivan has told us all big fat porkies about the Carvalho bid(s) and the reasons why it didn’t happen, I would expect the air to get a lot thinner for the board in the coming weeks and months.
I’m not sure though if protest banners, “Sullivan Out!“ chants or even a half empty stadium would actually bother our board too much. I expect them to simply hang in there, sit any issues out, let the wave of discontent wash over them and sell only when they’re ready for it and a takeover offer suits them financially.
Like it or not, for the time being West Ham is their favourite family plaything, but thank God there is still a football team on the pitch, playing in claret and blue and that is where our undivided support and energy as fans should go, yet without ignoring or forgetting the way the board are running this once proud club (into the ground we no longer own).
I have read through some blogs and forums in the past few days and seen fans arguing with each other (again), some accusing others of too much negativity, of saying bad things about the club they support and about the board too and that as fans we should all just focus on supporting the team – and nothing else.
In my view you can very much support the team and manager during the games while being rightfully critical about the owners at the same time.
Supporting West Ham is no longer the same as it was 20, 10 or even 5 years ago, The Boleyn has been flattened, the matchday experience has totally changed, watching West Ham play feels completely different, more distant, less homely and intimate. And less passionate too (at least in terms of the home games).
I still get a buzz of pre-match excitement before every game, be that watching from my armchair or in person and I am still as desperate for the lads to win as back in 1996 when Dowie was leading the charge for us. That desire of mine to see us win is never going to change. But the way our club is being run and the way our club is now seen by the public, the media and fans from other clubs worries and saddens me.
I would be very disappointed to see Bilic leave, he is a good and honest man, and I would love to see him as our manager for a few seasons at least, but there is no room for sentimentality in the Premier League anymore. He could well be replaced by Terry Westley as interim manager, keeping the dugout seat warm until the Benitez situation at Newcastle has been sorted out. The Spaniard seems destined to be our next manager, yet I can’t see this working out well at West Ham when it didn’t work for him at Newcastle with Ashley at the helm.
Ideally I would love to see Bilic now win a bunch of games like five in a row, if only to spit into the owners’ Bovril for a bit of payback. Bilic doesn’t really deserve to be treated like this from the board. Just recently I listened to some Billy Bragg while driving in my car and the song Goalhanger came on. Listen to it. I instantly thought the lyrics were based on David Sullivan’s life, have a listen and judge for yourself.
As for local football I missed Concordia’s much needed 3:1 away win on Friday evening against BU and I also didn’t go to the Altona-Huddersfield friendly (Huddersfield won 3:0) on Sunday, but instead watched the Cordi U23s win their away fixture at SC Europa 5:1 to take top spot in their division for the first time this season. Who cares if only 60 people were watching and the game was being played on a disgustingly dry pitch made of clay, with clouds of sand dust drifting towards us whenever there was a tackle or the ball bounced near our vantage point on the sidelines ?
I loved it. Honest grassroots (or rather dustroots) football, full of intensity and genuine passion for the game – and no off-field bullcrap. I’m grateful that this kind of football still exists as an alternative to the Bundesliga and Premier League.
As for the Hammers it’s another long week to wait for one of our most important games in recent history, Huddersfield at home. Our first home game of the season and it is September already. A must win game for us and especially for Bilic.
I expect the atmosphere to be highly strung, tense, potentially toxic.
Which can hopefully be avoided by scoring an early goal and I couldn’t care less who puts it over the line for us in what fashion. I hope for all our sakes that the boys give us a reason to smile again for all the right reasons. The owners, just like the manager and players, are merely temporary features of West Ham, custodians on borrowed time. Our fans will still be there, long after Gold, Sullivan and Brady have packed it in, sold up and moved on to pastures new.
We are West Ham Till I Die and the claret and blue rollercoaster will continue to shake us all about with some thrills, some spills and the odd upset tummy. Bring it on! COYI!