By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X).
For too long now, West Ham United have been devoid of many of the qualities needed to keep a football club at the very top.
One in particular has been glaring in its absence: ambition.
Now, with David Sullivan’s resignation from the club, there is a genuine opportunity to move West Ham forward and finally implement the sort of infrastructure, planning and long-term thinking required to compete in the modern game.
And that is where Daniel Kretinsky comes in.
Many, myself included, have long believed that the Czech billionaire has been sitting quietly in the background, waiting for the right moment, knowing that Sullivan’s time at West Ham would eventually come to an end.
Whilst it remains true that stepping down from the board does not necessarily mean Sullivan has sold his shares, it does create an opportunity for Kretinsky to take full control of the running of the football club.
Kretinsky’s Moment Has Arrived
As covered earlier today on Claret & Hugh, the decision over Nuno Espírito Santo’s future was ultimately taken out of the then chairman’s hands by Kretinsky, who appeared safe in the knowledge that Sullivan’s influence at the club was diminishing.
For some time now, there has been a growing sense that the balance of power was shifting.
This latest development would appear to support that view.
Reports of upcoming documentaries and media investigations concerning historical allegations surrounding Sullivan are nothing new.
They have existed in the background for some time and many have speculated that the prospect of renewed scrutiny contributed to Karren Brady’s departure from the football club earlier this year.
A Chance To Move Forward
The one positive from what is otherwise an uncomfortable situation is that any future allegations or media attention will now be directed towards a ‘former’ West Ham chairman rather than the serving figurehead of the club.
That at least provides some degree of separation and hopefully prevents the football club itself from being dragged too deeply into scandal.
But it is important that Kretinsky, in particular, steers both himself and West Ham away from the drama which may follow.
The time has come.
And with any luck, he can begin steering the club in the right direction and implementing the type of footballing policies West Ham supporters have deserved for a very long time.
Ultimately, we are about to discover just how ambitious our billionaire chairman really is.
Temper this with reality transformation takes time and it will likely be more than 5 seasons before we see substantial change because Kretinsky will have to pick apart the structure that Sullivan created.
Chelsea and City it took years and they were able to work with freedom because there was no PSR etc we have to do it within constraints so he can’t clean the decks like they did more is the shame.
I am though like you expecting to see change happening regularly and constantly to change the brand, a good thing for the fans would be to get rid of the logo and have a fresh one or return to our old crest to disassociate us with the DS legacy.
This is just speculation. Only the Czech knows his intentions.
It would be good if the club would issue a definitive statement by COB Monday as to how they plan to move forward for at least the upcoming season. Calm the waters and give stability and confidence to the playing staff, sponsors, business partners etc.
Shortly thereafter presenting a new long-term plan for not just returning to the EPL but sustaining long term stability, paying down debt and leveling up to be a club that consistently challenges in the top half of the EPL.
Now’s the time, but as a previous commentator said, we have previous!
Cearns, Brown and the Icelandics. Now Sullivan.
The balance of odds says the club has to get it correct at some point… Please 🤞
Yes. Progress
These days a club must be financially successful to have any chance of being successful on the pitch . Kretinsky is very good at building successful companies and so now hopefully he will implement the policies required to make Westham better than ever .
We’ve always had a rubbish board. Going back to the Cearns family, Terry Brown, The Icelandic Fiasco and then Sullivan. The fans at this club have always been loyal – much more than the club has ever deserved.
So, let’s hope Kretinsky is the man. Obviously, has his fingers in lots of pies so does concern me that he will give us the dedication needed.
Proof is in the pudding, as they say, so we can only hope that the great fans of this football club finally
have someone with ambition to match their own.
Royal Mail is growing exponentially in the world of parcel delivery. Talk to many delivery drivers and they will tell you how much new business they are winning. Many of them are jumping ship to work there. I understand traditional Post Office workers will be frothing at the mouth to hear any of this but no doubt the long term aim will be to integrate letters into the parcel business. He has also been hamstrung by the powerful unions along the way. One would like to assume he can implement change a lot quicker at West Ham. Should he choose to do so, I for one think he deserves 100% backing and I hope many of my fellow hammers will feel the same.
IYeah, I especially love the fact that you’ve ” streamlined ” the business so well that most of the Post offices near me have closed even some of the ones in the mini marts. Anyway Daniel shouldn’t you be working on this takeover instead of blowing yourself off on here?
Just to be clear Royal Mail and the Post Office are nowadays separate. Royal Mail is a private company and the Post Office is government owned. Kretinski does not own or run the Post Office.
Ha! Do you know how big a shambles that Royal Mail is?? Kretinsky’s got his work cut out there….it might take a decade to sort out the mess.
Spot on Gonzo. Don’t want to get carried away here, but if you are a multi billionaire who clearly loves football and the opportunity to take control of a big english club you are already invested in falls into your lap, are you going to be able to resist? I think the possible fly in the ointment is that Sullivan and others may not be reasonable about the value of their shares and a guy like Kretinsky will not want to pay over the odds.
Let’s hope he does a better job than he’s currently doing with Royal Mail