Matt Dickinson of The Times has every reason to take David Sullivan to the cleaners and he has done in no uncertain manner in today’s edition.
For Matt wrote the finest book ever written about Mooro – The Man in Full and I was honoured that he asked me to offer some anecdotes for it as the great man’s one time ghost writer.
So, as one of the country’s most foremost and finest journos when Matt he applies his words to West Ham as today he is to be taken very seriously.
Writing in today’s edition he declares: “Barely two weeks into a new season the unrest has already set in about a team seeking its first point of the campaign, a manager taking training from his London apartment because of quarantine and a club which, uniquely in the Premier League, is yet to make a single summer signing.
He adds: “And then Sullivan went and made it worse by going on TalkSport this week and giving an interview that was as popular as someone coughing over your shoulder in the supermarket queue.”
He continued: ‘In 2015, ahead of the move to the new ground, it was a five-year plan to win the Premier League and the Champions League like an English Atletico Madrid. “Unlikely but not impossible,” Sullivan said. Bless.
Matt Dickinson
‘Whatever his intention in going on the air this week, all Sullivan did was confirm that West Ham are led by a regime that takes a difficult job and makes it so much harder.
I scanned a piece I had written going into Moyes’ first period as manager in late 2017. It was all about the difficulty of constantly navigating the whims of the owners at a club with very strange ideas how to treat staff, plus the hierarchy’s inability to set a course and stick to it without undermining successive managers.
“The fans were on my back to have a director of football, a foreign manager,” Sullivan explained this week. Ah, so it was all the fans’ fault.
‘There is always is someone else to blame, which might be plausible if Sullivan delegated responsibilities and left others to get on with it but he does not.
In one statement in the interview with Jim White he wanted us to believe that “I left it to the previous regime for two years. They didn’t buy well.” But everyone knows it is never that simple, as he then admitted.
“I had to bully the manager into signing [Issa] Diop and [Lukasz] Fabianski,” he said, eager to take credit for two of the more successful signings, certainly when compared to Sébastien Haller at £45 million.
Matt adds: ‘Dare to be critical and, as well as sometimes resorting to lawyers, Sullivan will eagerly point out that £214 million is the net outlay on transfers in the last four years plus more than £1.5 million on scouts in 2019.
That rebuttal ignores the obvious problem that you can spend that money badly, especially when there is haphazard recruitment and a lack of vision.”
Sullivan made one of the the worst decision of his life in deciding to spout off about his miseries on talkSPORT and to read Matt’s entire piece we recommend you go to https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/57045a16-fe7b-11ea-8eac-e356e4cd0308.
It’s a great piece of writing from a bloke who truly got on the inside of Mooro in his book. He’s not one of the cheap media men who take easy shots at West Ham United which makes today’s piece important and required reading for all us supporters.
Great article, Hugh. Do we have to qualify the line about the interview being one of the worst decisions of Sullivan’s life? It will only be the case, if the interview ends up reducing the value of his shareholding significantly..The financial value of the business is the only variable in relation to WHUFC that Sullivan has shown time and again to care about. He doesn’t care about what the fans, the players or the staff think about him, I doubt.
Thanks ljd. It’s nice to receive encouragement. There are so many on here wanting to give it large when they pay for absolutely nothing. I’m losing patience to be honest. I think yesterday was one of the worst days of my West Ham life
If you need any further encouragement, Hugh, I stopped looking at other West Ham sites years ago. I only use C&H these days. The mix that you and Sean, in particular, bring to the party is unavailable elsewhere. C&H is, by and large, an idiot-free zone, which is also a big attraction. Keep on keeping on. Don’t let a few comments from a few blinkered individuals get you down. Those same sorts of individuals nearly did for Over Land and Sea a few years before its eventual demise, let’s not forget. They should remember that without C&H and other intelligent corners of the internet covering West Ham issues, we’d be left with the official West Ham website, Sky and the BBC. Where would they go then to get even-handed coverage of the real issues that matter to the fans, eh?
Bless yer mate – thanks so much. No chance of us going away but I hate hatred and abuse especially when people don’t have a clue what you are really about. I’m too blooming old to give up anything. I’ve worked far too hard to set this up. Grateful to you. Anything you wanna blog, come and join the team
I may take you up on that offer, if you drop me a line at email address (which I’m assuming you can see at your end).
All done buddy 🙂
Completely agree. Only come to C&H now. Used to read limb.com but too much constant negativity.
Thanks Alan
You know whats really annoying. We can offer no public display of how unhappy we are with the current owners. They pay zero attention to media or social media, we cant protest at games cos we can’t attend, we cant protest outside of games because of social gathering laws, so at present these decrepit old vampires have the perfect foil to continue destroying this club, blissfully ignorant to the misery they are causing. It’s almost like they hate that the fans dont like them so they are intentionally running the club into the ground to spite us.
I’m sorry but anyone who has renewed their ST is also part of the problem.
Rant over, up the ‘hammers!!
Really sad to hear your comments about yesterday Hugh, you, Sean and everyone who contributes do a fantastic job of bringing daily WHU related news which as you quite correctly point is free and no doubt at considerable time and expense to yourselves.
Thank you James. Sullivan’s interview was a disgrace – cut me deeply and then the moaners come in. We’ll get through it mate. Support is appreciated. Thank you.
Good piece, Hugh. Keep up the good work – it’s appreciated!
Yesterday was too much far too much. WHUFC was my first love in 1962. I’ve tried to be fair and balanced since we’ve been around but for him to moan, bleat, whinge, whine and say it was wrong to have to pay to take players to a match in north west when there as no money from Cup tie was despicable. I’m not having that
Keep your spirits up, keep your faith in your journalistic judgement and keep your faith in the claret and blue. Sullivan’s not fit to own the shirt. Let’s hope for a couple of new defenders, a win against Wolves and a win all the way up there in the north west against Everton! Well, as Hammers we’ve got to be optimists … COYI.
I’d like to echo the sentiments of others. I only read this site these days because the reporting is broad and varied. I really like reading you putting the haters in their place, Hugh!! Compared to other sites which enable people to comment, this one has a bunch of different views that, by and large, are respectfully offered.
Keep up the good work everybody, 99% of us appreciate all your efforts
Hi Saul
I dont always agree with what you say but generally find your comments very insightful so glad that you continue to read and post here
Also agree with your point about appreciating the efforts of Hugh, Sean and Dave – it is now my go to site on WHU
The beauty of a democracy.
Thank you, bud, straight back at ya!
You must be red in the face keep telling these people that you are not the boards mouthpiece
🤬
Don’t let it get you down and keep up the good work.
I too Hugh was in total disbelief when I heard DS’s comments and he has the front to call himself a fan ..dispicable man..keep up the good work Hugh,Sean and the other writers it’s the only site for TRUE WEST HAM UNITED supporters with you non bias styles of reporting…..