Right slap bang in the final week of preparations for West Ham’s season opener in the Carabao Cup next weekend, the tabling of Amanda Staveley’s bid for 25% of the controlling shares in West Ham United has the potential to be hugely distracting at a time when everything should be focussed on events on the pitch.
By launching what is, in effect, a hostile takeover bid just eighteen days before the Championship gets under way, Staveley’s consortium risks unsettling players, management and fans even as the first signings are, reportedly, close to completion.
Staveleys bid for Vanessa Gold shares has thrown the club into boardroom turmoil just ahead of the Championship season
Fans have already joined the dots and started asking the same question:
With the boardroom locked in an impasse for at least the next two months, what happens to the transfer budget and the funds that have been freed up through player sales?
Can West Ham actually sign any players before the 2nd September closure of the window?
Claret and Hugh spoke to a source this evening within West Ham for clarification and received the following unequivocal response:
“Please reassure supporters that none of this affects the transfer budget and [player] moves, inbound and outbound, are still being made as before’.
Which will come as something of a relief with the boardroom locked in a tug of war for the future of the football club which looks to be months, if not several months, away from any resolution.
It seems to me (not that I’m genned up on business and finance) that Staveley and her backers might be more able to pressure Sullivan into giving up at least some of his holding. Either way, I think we have to be resigned to a(nother) season of change before we see real improvement. *sigh*
As these negotiations are not going to impact signings_GET ON WITH IT.
At least 3 of these comply with wishes of Nuno_Harwood-Bellis (Disarsi if available), Engles, Sorba Thomas.
All likely (possibly) premier league players if whu go up.
Striker is more of an unknown latest is Poku with list continuing to grow.
This would be a start and could be added to in January when owners/investors should be sorted.
Need to be in contention at Christmas otherwise won’t be just players also new manager.
Emphasis needs to be removed from Staverly/Kretinsky/Sullivan and centered on what’s going to effect next 12 months.
Hope DK buys the shares and we buy much needed players now
There’s a lot of speculation here & we don’t really know the truth of it. Based on what has been said publicly the most likely scenario would appear to be that Kretinski & Gold signed an MOU. Staveley then moved in with a better offer, for reasons unclear. Did Gold offer Kretinski the chance to match it ? Nevertheless under the pre emption clause Kretinski does have that option & hints that he might exercise it. Sullivan appears to just want the maximum return for his shares if & when he sells them. None of it directly affects the financial situation re transfers. What we don’t know is who is running the show. Are Nuno & the new CEO & Director of Recruitment being allowed to act as they see fit within the financial constraints, as the club’s statement would imply ? Football club ownership is often less than straightfoward and often involves some questionable individuals. West Ham has been in that position ever since the Cearns family handed over control several dedades ago.
I reckon any news that the Gold’s maybe leaving is good for the club BUT when they and Sullivan came we were second choice after Birmingham City Now we are second choice behind Newcastle Does anyone want us as their first chice club????
Having read the club statement, Gold’s statement and Kretinsky’s statement all the hope I had has faded and died (at least for this season to be a great one).
I still feel an upheaval was needed, years of previous ownership never fully seeing the club to its full potential.
I can’t blame Gold for any of this, it was believed from the start she would sell her shares, why should she be kept waiting for preferable circumstances that suit the others?
Never a dull moment as a West Ham fan.
If DK done what he said he was going to do month ago this wouldn’t be an issue..
It seems like, I didn’t it want until some one else wanted it
Was the “source” David Sullivan or one of his sons by any chance?
As my writing clearly states, “within the club”.
It comes as a relief to you Martin that we can continue to fail to get a single signing through the door? Wow. Staveley is where she is because Kretinsky didn’t cough up. Simple. And can we stop claiming this has Sully’s prints all over it, because had Kretinsky delivered upon his June agreement with the Gold family then we wouldn’t be where we are. Under Kretinsky’s stewardship we’ve maximised sales whilst spending zip. If this is the leadership we cab look forward to then the sooner someone else wrestles control away from him the better. And I’m no fan of Staveley and her bunch of short-term money makers.
The upside of all of this is that the play-offs go right down to 8th position from now on. There’s always the January window for whoever ends up in control to invest in. If the squad can keep themselves in touch a 2nd half of the season push can very easily race you in to the top end of the division. The championship is so close with often a spread of just 10 pts between 8th and 18th even at the end of the season.
As for this current situation, what it will do is eventually flush out the bluffers and leave us with only those serious enough to put their money where their mouths are.
Nobody is investing in a championship club for fun and will need to turn their investment into growth. That includes improving the quality of the squad. Any of them will need premier league income in order to push forward with any plans for land development in future. That kind of plan is very long term but won’t want the club sinking in the mean time.
Very unhelpful. This sort of turmoil is likely to disrupt the team a season of mid table mediocrity looked likely given the transfer situation which now made much worse by the sale of Potts which seems a very poor decision given the gaping hole in the midfield with Soucek injured. I am beginning to be worried that league 1 beckons just like Leicester particular as Kilman seems to be our best player at the moment. These are very worrying times.
What impact on transfers.?.All we have done is sold or released a bunch of players and still no sign of anybody incoming.All feels very familiar.
This has got Sullivans paw prints all over it, a Club that has posted financial losses, been relegated and halved its potential revenue, has effectively been valued by Staveley and Co. more than lady years valuation.
Sullivan and Gold shares are now worth more than when we were in the Premiere League.
Read the club’s statement.
It’s all very clear that the fantasy Ktreyinsky takeover imagined by many isn’t coming anytime soon.
What it does show is that WHUFC remains an attractive proposition – albeit at Championship level – for an established football investor.
Thanks for putting my mind at rest Martin, as I questioned in a previous article I was worried that funds may have been tied up in these board room shenanigans 😊
It would be hard to impact something that hasn’t happened Martin, all we have seen is players going out as the obvious deficiencies in our squad are simply not being addressed. We are as slow a Lego blocks, we’ve got a midfield incapable of functioning and possibly the worse forward I’ve ever witnessed at the club and yet the powers that be have just sat on their hands and done nothing to give us a chance of returning to the premier league, so a reassurance nothing is changing in regards to incomings doesn’t exactly fill me with hope