Finger of blame points squarely at Sullivan as lid lifted on West Ham’s crisis

David Sullivan’s shortcomings – no pun intended- are being exposed to the wider world now that the high profile resignation of Karren Brady has illuminated to one and all the full-on crisis at London Stadium.

Outside observers have spent most of the season wondering what all the red cards and black balloon protests have been about, but the sight of the vice Chair running for the hills as fast as her legs can carry her has been like a huge flashing ‘alert’ sign attracting media interest from further afield.

Brady’s ‘quit and run’ has alerted the wider world to the impending crisis at West Ham United

The brutal exposé written by Jacob Steinberg in the Guardian.co.uk points out the cold hard truth that a club the size of West Ham has failed abjectly to use its huge fan base, sixty thousand plus attendances and nine figure legacy (thanks to the sale of Declan Rice) and is staring relegation in the face thanks to decisions laid squarely at the Chairmans’ door:

..The conclusion is that this is an owner whose desire to win is cancelled out by his listlessness” runs Steinberg’s takedown.

“West Ham should feel ashamed when they gaze up the table and see Brentford, Bournemouth and Brighton challenging for Champions League qualification. Those are clubs with proper structures and clear identities, allowing them to punch above their weight.

What they lack in size is made up for in expertise. They play in smaller grounds than West Ham, whose stadium holds 62,500, but they are more organised, more intelligent and more adept at squad-building.”

What will it take for Sullivan to wake up and smell the coffee? Relegation probably won’t do it. If anything, having his shares halve in value may just cause the 78 year old Chairman to hunker down in siege mode – hoping for a promotion miracle whilst fans endure another year of dreadful appointments, awful recruitment and every player of worth being flogged off to pay the massive debt Sullivan has run up.

Nothing says ‘failed’ more than flogging off the last of the club’s prized assets. The ground has long gone: The talent is next. As fans we are powerless to stop it but must just watch, horrified, from the sidelines as this car crash in slow motion plays out.

However, there’s still a note of defiant optimism in  the post script to Steinberg’s take down of West Ham’s board:

“Mikel Arteta’s side are closing in on a first league title since 2004 after Manchester City’s stumble at Everton last Monday. This is a banana skin, though. West Ham have form when it comes to disrupting title challengers. They derailed Manchester United in 1992 and 1995 and have taken crucial points off Arsenal three times in the past three years.

It would be classic West Ham to rise to the occasion again.”