The vacancy at West Ham United that few will be rushing to fill

It would seem fair to say that the end of David Sullivan’s tenure of the boardroom at West Ham United has been broadly welcomed by most supporters, thousands of whom had had long been campaigning for the ‘No More BS’ revolution.

However, whilst the former Director and Chairman still holds a majority shareholding, West Ham fans will still feel slightly concerned as to the club’s direction in future: Rumours abound of Sullivan’s children taking his place – both were made directors in 2021–  which hardly feels like a ‘new broom’- style clean sweep.

Sullivan senior and jnrs

Writing in the guardian.com, Sullivan critic, journalist Jacob Steinberg describes the internal fears over sponsorship deals and Sullivans’ last game at the helm of the football club. In his article:

“David Sullivan: how did the pornographer rise so high in modern football?”

The journalist highlights the last day defeat against Leeds and the chairman’s sharp exit even before relegation was confirmed as being the defining moment in the Sullivan-era regime change:

“His final match as the club’s Chairman saw him jeered by supporters as West Ham’s relegation was confirmed on the final day of the season.  The defining image of his tenure will be of him leaving his seat in the director’s box early.

And Steinberg lifts the lid on internal commercial worries about the impact of the allegations upon West Ham’s sponsorship deals:

“In that sense, football has done nothing for Sullivan’s reputation. He will leave a toxic legacy at West Ham. Internally, there had been fears that allegations about his personal life – all of which he has denied – could cause sponsors to walk away.

In recent times Sullivan has cut an increasingly isolated figure. With allies like Brady having distanced themselves professionally from him and accusations swirling, resignation and the threat of legal action appeared to be his last and only option.”

Fixing the ‘toxic’ legacy will be a huge challenge for whatever style of leadership follows, be it Kretinsky – led or simply with a new director of football employed to become the public face of the West Ham board.

I’ll doubt events of this last week have made that position any easier to fill. Rumours abound that the club have a shortlist of two and will soon be making an appointment. Surely you’d have to question the sanity of anyone that looks with any genuine excitement at a ‘situation vacant’ sign over London Stadium just now.