West Ham chairman David Sullivan has long believed he is the best man to oversee player recruitment at the club. It now seems we are about to find out whether that confidence is justified.
As the Hammers begin trawling the Brazilian market and lower leagues for anyone brave — or reckless — enough to join a club in visible decline, recruitment will be anything but straightforward.
West Ham look cut adrift in the Premier League, with the bottom three increasingly separated from the rest of the division. Any potential signing considering a move to the London Stadium is likely to glance at the recent form table and think twice. After all, who willingly boards a sinking ship?
A Club Drifting Without Direction
Sullivan has only himself to blame. The appointments of Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter have proved cataclysmic decisions, compounding the lack of direction and foresight in the transfer market. That instability has already seen two heads of recruitment and a director of football dismissed within the last 18 months.
The result is a club without continuity, credibility, or a clear plan — exactly the opposite of what is needed when fighting to retain Premier League status.
So here we are: David Sullivan in direct charge of finances and transfers. . . just how he likes things. It is hard not to see this as the ultimate case of be careful what you wish for.
Winker! Simple as that
After his track record, there is no way DS should be anywhere near transfers other than signing the cheque. I do think we are doomed as DS will due to his ego not see that he is at fault as he takes us down- can three successive managers all be wrong. I also think we would struggle with the intensity of the championship. Perhaps this is what it will take to get our club back?
Sorry to say this but I think we are doomed.
Mark I’ll bet you a pint of crappy West Ham beer – we aren’t…
God help us We are down then Been talking to a few friends and contacts from the cship They really fancy there chances of rolling us over next season
I’m waiting for a knee replacement at 69 years old and I’d fancy my chances agsinst Kilman
The protests seemed to have died down. Thought we were aiming to get these two out of the club? More pressure is needed to remove Sullivan and Brady, they have destroyed this club due to their outdated methods of management.
Expect us to go down this season as the clubs around us are pulling results out of the bag.
Let’s not kid ourselves, historical evidence shows he is not up to the task
He is an incredibly successful businessman, that does not qualify him as a DOF, statistician, or transfer negotiator.
For every one success he has had, how many have failed?
The answer is blindingly obvious, study the leagues most successful clubs, concentrate on the whole of club structure and see what WHU does the same, and what we do differently.
Find ways of measuring the metrics of what we do the same and what we do differently to the top 5-6 clubs
Somewhere in there you will see where WHUs processes fall down.
It’s not down to lack of investment in player purchases, WHU have spent plenty. But training facilities, 1st team pathways for academy graduates (or how to maximise ROI on those younger players who are not expected to make EPL standard).
Right down to club culture.
There should even be a standard for manager/coach, what/who aligns with the clubs approach now and tomorrow? Managers leave at the end of their contracts, continuity is important.
The club, from the outside looking in, appears to be run with little direction on a path to success.
It’s a decade long process, one that if started today, should include the very real possibility of being relegated.
The next 4 winable games will be over on the 6th January, who are we going to have in place by that time. 2 of these games are before the window opens . So really we need new players on 1st January by the time sullivan gets anything done it will be 1st February and we will be relegated by then . I honestly believe after 60 years a fan we are down . Do the decent thing b and s as your out of your depth and have struggled consistently., think of the real fans .we need a hartson and James collins on 1st January, no chance .
Take a glance at the league table and do the math . Even if Westham win the next 3 matches ( and they won’t ) , Leeds , Forest and Fulham will also get points leaving Westham still in a relegation spot . Every team above Westham is currently playing better and so to out perform one of them by 8 points in 21 matches only happens with a big points deduction or a massive injury crisis . No one any good will sign for Westham and after relegation the best will be sold and the remaining overpaid dregs will linger until Westham are financially dead . Westham are on the precipice of multiple relegations until the BS goes away and new competent owners can begin the slow process of completely rebuilding Westham .
Since when has Sullivan not been in charge of Finances and Transfers? Even when someone else has supposedly been he charge he still pulled all the strings in the background. It’s the way he operates so this really isn’t a story. Although, this time he won’t have any more excuses when we are relegated.
We are good enough to compete against the lower achieving teams in the league but we are now five points adrift plus goal difference is two wins and we will likely still be in the bottom three.
The next few games are against teams that we can compete with but the bottom line reality is that we now need to win those games, not have bad performances, or get our noses ahead take off all our attacking threat and collapse. It’s do or die time.
Sullivan and brady have ruined the club No wonder when Brady Sullivan is going no where because if he goes she is out of a job she should have gone ages ago
Guys, someone needs to sort this site out, quite often I’m halfway through a post and it crashes, obviously not going to start again !
NB: this message sent without crashing 😁
The adage that if you are in the relegation zone at Christmas the’s little chance of escaping the drop. I don’t have faith in D.S with his penny pinching ways and I believe we will go down irrespective of who may or may not come in.Our sins have found us out.The blame must surely rest with the owners and the board.
Over the last 50 years we have had some squeaky bum seasons and been in dire straits.we got out of it by the skin of our teeth because we had battlers and grafters.im afraid this time the game is up.we also had the Upton Park crowd the place was a bear pit.thousands of fans went up to Manchester a week before Christmas they deserve better.in fact we all do.go to the edge of the abyss too many times and look over you will fall in
It’s all very sad but enviable the way the club is run.i remember being at anfield where we needed something to stay up it was 0_0 and we did.what we knew as west ham gas gone.keep the faith but sadly I think this time it’s not going to be enough.
DS killed the club when he sold Upton Park. Should be done for murder!!!