It has been a pretty traumatic few months for the legions of West Ham supporters who have seen the club battered and beaten on the pitch, rightly relegated after a terrible season and then further divided by the boardroom battles initiated by the allegations over then Chairman David Sullivan’s past which caused his resignation from the board and more than likely initiated the Staveley hostile takeover bid.
Yet, despite that, ‘the fifty thousand’– plus – put their faith in Gold and Kretinsky’s statement, and renewed their season tickets to show massive support for the nascent ‘new era’ leadership which has subsequently turned to disillusionment as the club has failed to throw off the shadow of the past.
West Ham fans deserve absolute clarity after backing the club in their tens of thousands
News that David Sullivan has increased his shareholding is being met with dismay and anger by those who thought the ‘BS’ era firmly in the rear view mirror.
Those very fans deserve transparency. The transfer window is closed, the die is cast and now the football club must open up and come clean with a detailed explanation of how and by whom it is to be run and financed.
Remember, the June statement claimed that:
“We were deeply concerned by the revelations made by The Times and Panorama this week and our thoughts go out to those women who have fought so hard to make their voices heard. Any abuse of power is abhorrent, and it takes great courage and determination to speak up against it.” (whufc.com)
And yet Sullivan has increased his share, we understand, in some existing shareholder backroom deal done to keep Staveley out.
Fans who invested their hard-earned cash in season tickets have a right to know how the new-look board feels now.
What is the board’s composition and has their original, powerfully compelling position set out in June altered, or the waters been further muddied by their former Chairman – despite the allegations and an ongoing investigation by the Football Regulator- increasing his ownership share within the football club.
A new statement is promised and it must be as clear and uncompromising as that made in June.
Edit: We understand there will be a club statement today at 5pm.
David Sullivan denies all of the allegations made against him
The only person who screwed up West Ham’s transfer period is Staveley
Staveley knew that if she put a put in, that those shares would be tied up for a month.
Staveley timed her bid to ensure the first round ended just after the transfer period
This isnt Kretinsky or any other shareholder’s fault, however much I’d love to blame Sullivan, the truth of this is Gold wemt back on her promise and Staveley carefully screwed up the timing
Increasing his share to keep out Staveley might be a beneficial act by Sullivan. It’s easy to understand why emotively this is not to the liking of supporters. But from a practical point of view a non-executive Sullivan might be better then Staveley. He is at least a West Ham supporter, and will probably sell up once he’s made a killing on the value appreciation of his shares. The club does need a major makeover, but not too much too soon so as to jeopardise the team’s performances. Also do we really want US and/or Arab ownership coming in with unpredictable consequences ? Newcastle haven’t exactly set the world alight following the Staveley era.
Newcastle haven’t set the world alight .. From looking certainty for relegation at the time of the takeover, they have twice qualified for the CL and have won the League Cup .. Hammers have done neither ..
I personally do not need a reassuring statement because all this was a hiatus, don’t believe DK chose DS over Staveley, don’t care if DK has not been to any matches (I already know he follows football and knowledgeable), don’t care if Staveley does excited little fist pumps of joy when WHU score (suddenly a hammer, not a tooner), I am not dismayed that DS has 40% (because he is not on the board), I am not feeling disillusioned, I am not enamoured Staveley had property development plans (that is why they were interested), not dismayed she or any other consortium of dubious origins has been kicked into touch, do not feel have been made false promises or sold down the river, etc., etc., etc.
do hope justice is served on DS, do appreciate the call for clarity & transparency (investment, academy role, recruitment setup), but not right now, not this second, since we do not know situation of the club come end of season, do believe we might have a period of stability (not talking of manager) in which club could grow with time and start to realise its potential, but proof is in the pudding.
COYI!
Well said, lifelong fan.
Sullivan already held 38% of the shares before the pre-emption rights kicked in. As long as he has no representation at board level, an increase to 40%
now is unlikely to give him control.
Sullivan can’t be forced to relinquish his shares other than by the football regulator on the basis of unsuitability. Until then, existing shareholders have to do a deal amongst themselves to protect their interests and fight off an unwelcome takeover.
Some folks are clearly disappointed because they see Staveley and her consortium as the quick-fix saviour.
As you say quick-fix because Staveley is efficient and a consortium brings immediate funds, but I prefer something else – club means too much, to too many for that.
cheers spindoc – have a good one
Too much negativity over absolutely nothing.
50,000 fans renewed season tickets as they were optimistic about the season ahead.
We have secured significant fees from players who wanted out, we retained Bowen and have a team capable of securing automatic promotion. We have a manager that got Wolves promoted.
We now also finally have DK in full control as opposed to Sullivan and Brady. Demanding answers from someone who was a minority investor at the time of the season ticket renewal is pointless.
Instead of always finding things to pick holes in, it would be refreshing to support the new leadership team, manager and players!
Onwards and upwards COYI
PS – I hardly ever agree with TaffyHammer but on this thread I’m with him all day long.
Gold increasing his shareholding is no surprise because he is looking to sell and at a Premier price that is his sole reason……as for DK lets see if this man actually does what he says……i will not hold my breath to long though.
No, I think youve gone off on a wild goose chase here. Theres Nothing to see, people.
1) DK & board made their statement.
(fully aware that no one can force DS to sell his stake.)
2) AS comes in from left field with a hostile bid.
3) DK & board act to close it down.
As part of the mechanism used to do so, theres an infinitesimal re-ordering of shares. The only materially significant change being VG out and DK assuming majority stake.
If you liked their position 2 months ago then they’re much better placed now to put it into practice as a result of this.
DS extra 2% is meaningless.
Staveley is a sideshow.
Stand down. Lets see what DK has in mind. Now he has control, we can watch and judge. But he needs to be given time- from now- not from july.
DS is the regulators concern.
No, I think youve gone off on a wild goose chase here. Theres Nothing to see, people.
1) DK & board made their statement.
(fully aware that no one can force DS to sell his stake.)
2) AS comes in from left field with a hostile bid.
3) DK & board act to close it down.
As part of the mechanism used to do so, theres an infinitesimal re-ordering of shares. The only materially significant change being VG out and DK assuming majority stake.
If you liked their position 2 months ago then they’re much better placed now to put it into practice as a result of this.
DS extra 2% is meaningless.
Staveley is a sideshow.
Stand down. Lets see what DK has in mind. Now he has control, we can watch and judge. But he needs to be given time- from now- not from july.
DS is the regulators concern.
No, I think youve gone off on a wild goose chase here. Theres Nothing to see, people.
1) DK & board made their statement.
(fully aware that no one can force DS to sell his stake.)
2) AS comes in from left field with a hostile bid.
3) DK & board act to close it down.
As part of the mechanism used to do so, theres an infinitesimal re-ordering of shares. The only materially significant change being VG out and DK assuming majority stake.
If you liked their position 2 months ago then they’re much better placed now to put it into practice as a result of this.
DS extra 2% is meaningless.
Staveley is a sideshow.
Stand down. Lets see what DK has in mind. Now he has control, we can watch and judge. But he needs to be given time- from now- not from july.
DS is the regulators concern.
No, I think youve gone off on a wild goose chase here. Theres Nothing to see, people.
1) DK & board made their statement.
(fully aware that no one can force DS to sell his stake.)
2) AS comes in from left field with a hostile bid.
3) DK & board act to close it down.
As part of the mechanism used to do so, theres an infinitesimal re-ordering of shares. The only materially significant change being VG out and DK assuming majority stake.
If you liked their position 2 months ago then they’re much better placed now to put it into practice as a result of this.
DS extra 2% is meaningless.
Staveley is a sideshow.
Stand down. Lets see what DK has in mind. Now he has control, we can watch and judge. But he needs to be given time- from now- not from july.
DS is the regulators concern.
Why don’t the fanbases give DK and the shareholders some breathing space ? The best way of keeping the asset strippers out, was to do what the shareholders did. Look at what has happened to Spurs that could have been us. You get a bunch in they get rid of your stars and buy nothings. We at least got some quality. Let’s see how the team does with nine new recruits. Stick to supporting the lads to victory and just let the board deal with stability.
I think you’re focused on the wrong thing here. DS was allowed to increase his shareholding according to club covenant. By rights he had first dibs on 9.5% and chose to increase by only 2% rounding up his number. It’s an investment that the shares purchased at championship valuation wll increase in short order, and he was unable to raise capital for more. Tripp Smith did the same. Meanwhile both made way for Kretinsky to increase his holding by 19% and become the primary. With Havalant voting with him, and Smith indicating support, Sullivan is very much a silent partner now
with regards to Sullivan, the IFR doesnt have the power to stop him buying shares as an existing shareholder utilising his pre-emptive rights. They do however have the power to force him to sell his shareholding if the investigation returns a verdict that he is does not pass the fit and proper person test.
Everyone is making such a big deal over the fact he bought shares, but evem before that he still had 38% shareholding any way. The important part is that everyone seems to be missing is that he has no control or say in the running of the club and he is not a member of the board.
The real benefit of however we got here, is that Kretinsky did what he needed to do to protect our club and his investment while also keeping Amanda Staveley at bay. Staveley and Gold between them ruined any chance of the extra £90 million Kretinsky investment and between the pair of them ruined any chance we had of a good transfer window. With the way things happened I consider that we didnt do too badly considering how they dropped us in it. Once Gold had her head turned by the Staveley money, the pair of them scuppered the £90 million investment that Kretinsky had planned. And then so many people got taken in by that Borson story whiich was just spin created by PR savvy Stavely to avoid any fan backlash. The real person at fault is Gold for backing out of the original deal so she could sell her whole shareholding at a massive increase in price. Borson was attempting to blame Kretinsky for the delay saying he didnt have the money, to cover the fact that Gold backed out of the original deal to accept Stavelys offer. That alone meant who ever bought her shares would still have to pay the same price as Staveley had offered, so was a win win for Gold. Lets hope after having to out maneovre Gold and Staveley that this becomes the starting point for Kretinsky to come good, as all his previous plans of stabilty and whats best foe WHU were dashed the moment Gold Agreed to Staveleys offer.
COYI
I’m a bit confused on why this is seen as bad news, we now have stable ownership. Yes Sullivan is still a shareholder but he isn’t making appointments or running the club, he is an annoyance.
Stavelys consortium could have been a disaster, you never know. It would be a risk either way.
Very interesting, Martin. I feel that the article is a bit Panorama-ish in that it really has nothing to do with football and West Ham United fans.
Two, two and two have been tenuously put together to total seven.
I think we should be relaxed about ownership and high finance and just enjoy the trials and tribulations of the team on the pitch. Should there be any season ticket holders who have bought the hire of seats on a mistaken promise rather than the terms and conditions associated with the sale of season tickets, then the answer is simple. Sell or give their tickets to someone who will appreciate the opportunity to attend and support the Irons.
This comment is made with the best of intentions and not a trolling effort. Mental health is important.
You and I can agree to disagree: I think it has everything to do with the 50,000 fans who bought season tickets based on the board’s June statement. However, nothing wrong with healthy disagreement.
You’re quite entitled to your own opinion and I appreciate the tone.
Cheers, Martin.
Keep the articles and opinions coming. Always a pleasure to read.
You people are mugs. DK has done what he said he would do and is the majority shareholder. And a bonus that Stavely is being locked out.
I guess the only bright side to this is that Sullivan has gone from having the most shares to now only having the second most albeit he has more than previously. The deal between Gold and Kretinsky looked solid, but you can’t blame someone who wants out for preferring a deal that buys all their shares rather than some. It would take a massive offer to buy out Sullivan now and that is not an attractive proposition when such expenditure wouldn’t get you a controlling interest.
Spot on MT.
The club will need to go on a ‘charm offensive ‘ to placate one of the most loyal fanbases in world football.
Surely they must understand that the extraordinary numbers of renewed ST’S for a Championship campaign was largely due to DS resigning from a position of influence, coupled with his no.1 employee (KB).
The joint statement issued by DK and VG galvanised us and provided optimism.
Gonzo’s piece on regeneration of the surroundings and stadium captured our imagination and filled us with hope for a pathway to exponentially increase revenues that could give the club a better competitive advantage.
If the PR department fails to deliver substantive clarity of what they are planning. All of the goodwill of the summer will evaporate and toxicity return on a scale not previously seen.