By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
As the saying goes, I’ve had to give my head a wobble over the past few hours, largely because I found myself once again celebrating West Ham selling one of our best players.
It’s an odd phenomenon and one which forced me to do a double take as I found myself praising Daniel Křetínský for selling both Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville so wonderfully well.
The fact that so many West Ham fans are in such a good mood following relegation says as much about David Sullivan as it does about Daniel Křetínský.
And rightly so.
Because the Czech billionaire deserves to be judged with a clean slate.
West Ham Fans Understand Reality
As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, there is a pragmatism amongst West Ham fans who understand the need to sell players following relegation from the Premier League.
Of course, that has to be backed up by bringing new players in whilst retaining the key ones.
And from that point of view, it’s very much over to Křetínský to begin strengthening the squad.
I have little doubt that, had Sullivan still been in charge and we’d just sold Fernandes and Summerville without bringing anybody in, there would have been outrage amongst the West Ham fan base.
And deservedly so.
Sullivan’s tenure as owner oversaw two relegations and debts which ran into the hundreds of millions.
Realistically, that is why Daniel Křetínský is currently selling West Ham players with most supporters’ blessing.
Because we’ve chosen to believe better things are ahead.
Now Comes The Hard Part
West Ham fans are realistic enough to know the club needed to generate funds.
That’s why securing such huge fees for two players is being celebrated rather than criticised.
There is hope that raising those sums will allow the club to strengthen whilst retaining the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Taty Castellanos and Malick Diouf.
It also demonstrates that West Ham supporters default setting is not one of misery.
I would imagine there are not too many fan bases who could suffer relegation, sell two star players and still have 50,000 season-ticket holders looking forward to a Championship campaign.
For too long the likes of TalkSport‘s Simon Jordan have painted West Ham supporters as miserable troublemakers looking for any excuse to take a pop at whoever is running the club.
I simply don’t think that’s true. So well done, Daniel Křetínský.
Well done to the West Ham board.
There is genuine hope coursing through supporters’ veins at the moment, and many are rightly applauding the financial acumen and doggedness shown during the club’s last two outbound transfers.
But now comes the hard part.
It’s time to start bringing players in and building a squad capable of achieving promotion back to the Premier League. Because without the incomings, Irons fans won’t continue applauding whilst our best players skedaddle.
Talksport can be ignored as it actively stirs the pot on every single club when there is just a glimmer of a contentious situation. White and Jordan being the main purveyors of this. On one hand you had Jordan being sniffy about the worth of the conference trophy, then when Moyes was ejected using it as the one of the greatest achievements in world football and a reason for keeping him. I’m assuming that trophy is very prestigious now Palace have won it !
Then you have Alex Crook continually using the “be careful what you wish for” phrase for the Moyes situation but then finding it acceptable for Spurs to get rid of Postecoglu after winning the Uefa cup and previously taking the club to 5th. A feat Moyes never achieved with us.
We aren’t an entitled bunch, far from it, we just deserve some respect as loyal fans that keep turning up without return. And for that we would at least like to see some form of decent football at home. 52,000 season ticket holders proves talksports inane ranting and stirring as exactly that.
Seriously, how many other starved clubs fans could buy 52,000 season tickets immediately after a crushing relegation. It’s totally insane. Even O’ Hara stopped his goading when he was told live on air how many tickets had been sold. Lets be honest, had Spurs been relegated, e know that their fans would have imploded in a mass hissy fit.
I have a mate who is a Brighton season ticket holder and they always celebrate when someone like Chelski break the bank for one of their players. They just bank the cash and move on. Now, the difference is they stayed in the EPL and they buy shrewdly, but maybe we are on the right trajectory?
Hmmmm…… Totally agree with the sentiments 100 per cent but……. the views on the previous ownership doesn’t stack up as written . Sullivan did oversee (book ended even) his 16 years of ownership with two relegations (a travesty for a club that purports to be the size of West Ham) but also in the period between we finished below 14th once!, achieved promotion back in the first year (the first full year of their ownership),
Oh wait, we also qualified for Europe 5 times in 15 years having qualified 6 times in the previous 46 years (albeit I admit it is much easier to earn a jaunt to the continent these days for being an also ran), Didn’t we win a trophy and get to another semi-final?
That is actually a record that any team outside of the top six would consider a success.
I am not a Sullivan fan and agree that the club has been badly run and contemptuous of its fans but be fair and balanced where such acknowledgment of the facts is due – the Sullivan years were relatively successful for a club of our stature – albeit we all knew the writing was on wall last year when Sunderland beat us 3-0 on the first day.
That said – I like the way Kretinsky is going about things. I have hope for the season and appreciate the loyalty of the players who seem up for the fight. A sense of unity has broken out that feels alien from the way life has been over the past few years from the glories of a few years ago.
Looking forward with optimism but please however difficult the previous ownership was – please also remember it is probably our most successful sustained period on the pitch however much it didnt feel like it.
This is difficult to do Gonzo, those you want don’t want to drop down a division and others may like to wait to see what other offers come along first. Also getting the right players, ones that win you promotion and are of use when you get back in the Premiership 🤔 now that is a problem!
I’ll save the backslapping until the first players are acquired, only then will we know whether this window is worthy of celebrating
Only issue, Gonzo, is selling Fernandes to Spurs. Still rubs me the wrong way that we sold Kudus to them, and now Fernandes? I’d gladly have accepted 10m less to sell him to Man United. That was a bad way to start and I think we got lucky with the Summerville thing. Maybe I’m just not as optimistic, even if does feel better with Sullivan not in charge.
Chelsea are looking to do a deal with Roma £15m for Disarsi.
Todibo is wanted for approx. £20m £5m profit.
Daniel Kretinsky needs to fuel up his private jet and offer Disarsi a deal which he can’t refuse.
Get whu backup in premiership and a bonus will be yours.
Just give us 12 months a then leave if you want to.
“There is genuine hope coursing through supporters’ veins at the moment, and many are rightly applauding the financial acumen and doggedness shown during the club’s last two outbound transfers.”
This sums it up perfectly for me. It’s going to be harder to shift players who aren’t in demand but who also don’t want to stay. At least the approach the new board’s taking makes me believe we’ll get the best deal we can.