As West Ham head into a situation where victory against possibly the best team in Europe feels like a must just to survive, you really do have to ask the question — how on earth has it come to this?
Everybody will have their own reasons for why the Hammers find themselves in the bottom three this season.
But in terms of the bigger picture, there is only one man ultimately responsible for where West Ham are right now — David Sullivan.
The Question Sullivan Must Surely Ask Himself
I often try to put myself in Sullivan’s position and wonder why a billionaire in the twilight years of his life would continue at a football club where he’s disliked by much of the fanbase and, quite obviously, failing at the job.
Perhaps he’s surrounded himself with too many yes men, all telling him what a fantastic job he’s done and how he’s delivered West Ham fans the best years in the club’s history.
Certainly, if you listen to the way Sullivan and Karren Brady have spoken about their stewardship, everything seems to centre around the three seasons of European football under David Moyes.
At no point has there ever really been any genuine admission of failure or mismanagement.
By Almost Every Metric, West Ham Are Failing
And yet, by almost every measurable standard, West Ham are failing.
Hundreds of millions of pounds in debt.
A rented stadium.
Poor recruitment.
An even worse points tally.
The suspicions around financial mismanagement and chaotic recruitment have always existed, but success on the pitch made it easier for Sullivan to dismiss criticism.
Now that success has disappeared, the cracks look impossible to hide.
Sullivan has blamed everyone else aside from himself for the clubs failure
Success Claimed, Failure Deflected
If football results are the true measure of ownership success — and Sullivan has often implied they are — then even by his own metric, this season represents complete failure.
What I’ll never fully understand is how somebody in his position can happily accept praise and applause when things go well, but refuse to accept responsibility when things fall apart.
Because with Sullivan, success always seems to belong to him.
But failure?
That’s everybody else.
Managers, recruitment teams, supporters — everyone is viewed with a degree of detachment, as though the chairman himself has played no role in any of it.
Analogue Owners In A Digital Age
I’d like to think that if I were surrounded by clubs using modern structures, smarter recruitment and better football operations — while consistently outperforming me — I might eventually conclude it was time to step aside.
Nobody has ever summed it up better than the phrase “analogue owners in a digital age”.
And that’s exactly what West Ham feel like.
Relegation Must Force Change
It’s difficult to know exactly what the future holds for West Ham, but right now it feels bleaker than it has in a very long time.
Of course, this being West Ham, we could quite easily lose 3-0 to Brentford and then somehow beat Arsenal. That truly would be the West Ham way.
And I genuinely hope it happens.
But if the worst does occur, then surely the time has finally come for Sullivan to give up the ghost and publicly admit he is no longer the right man to rebuild the club or lead a return to the Premier League.
There are very few positives to relegation.
But if it happens, one absolute necessity must be Sullivan publicly putting West Ham up for sale and stepping away from executive decision-making while a buyer is found.
Until then, all supporters can really do is hope for the best and back the team when the whistle blows for the final, crucial games of the season.
Business people make money by selling things for more than they pay .. DS will get that with the club, but he simply does not apply that to buying and selling players when the Brentfords, Bournemouths, Brightons, Fulhams etc. do .. Spurs fans hated Levy, yet, from a level beginning with 35,000 stadiums and Redknapp finishing above Spurs 3 years running, Levy built Spurs into a £550m income per year business when DS has us at £250m per year .. So, if Levy was bad and yet was £300m per year better than Sullivan, it sums up just how bad DS (and Brady) have been ..
Gonzo
Best article of the season and lots of fantastic comments from some true long suffering hammers fans.
Sadly I think there is zero chance he will sell up. Any money he might get is small change for a billionaire and as one of your commenters said it keeps him relevant.
I was at school with sully albeit a few years below him. He was a charismatic, sharp guy. Today he looks much older than his 75 years and looks as if he is nearly ready for a care home.
Sadly I feel the best that we can hope for is he steps down from his role of CEO and appoints professionals to run the club with him remaining as part owner
To me that is the preferred solution (not saying it is your preferred option), that he steps away and takes a back seat. If he sells which corporate vulture will decide to step in on a club in trouble.
With Kretinsky (funds, loans, large scale business ventures, Sparta Prague) you would expect finances will one day stop being out of control and managerial appointments won’t be on a whim and a prayer, because if a person buys shares of a badly run business it is in order to turn that business around, gradually. Normally you do not need to care who the CEOs are, hopefully that’ll be the case again one day.
Pure speculation on my part: Brady left because IF Kretinsky is to become more involved in decisions, then she would have known her time would soon be up anyhow.
A brilliant and an accurate article GONZO .Mirrors what I said 16 years ago .
Cheers fella . . . hope all is well
To use another reader’s favourite expression, I think Sullivan must have blown out. Maybe he’s just blowing in the wind? Whatever, I wish he’s just blow away.
No that was Bob Dylan 😅
Great article Gonzo and some brilliant comments as well.Saves me writing anything else as all has been said about this man.
Some of the decisions have been unhinged, deranged.
Sullivan is a dinosaur without doubt but I am not certain that he isn’t losing it.
Sullivan’s an egotistical narcissist. He won’t accept that he’s failed.
The brief success under Moyes was an utter fluke. In the 16 years we’ve had to endure under the stewardship of the ex-adult industry vertically-challenged velvet-shoed clueless classless dictatorial cretin, we’ve finished 13th and below 9 times. This includes finishing rock bottom in 2010/11, subsequently followed by a year in the Championship.
Hardly, a “world-class team in a world-class stadium” stuff, is it?
And now we look odds-on for a second relegation under this arrogant and delusional fool, but we should apparently all be worshipping at his feet in his warped mind.
Just sell-up and go for crying out loud. No-one rates you. You couldn’t be any worse at your job if you tried.
Everyone laughs at you, and you’ve made our club an utter embarrassment that can’t even compete with the likes of Palace, Brighton, Fulham, Brentford, and Bournemouth. Absolutely two bob and pathetic.
He reminds me of Kier Starmer , things are falling apart around him and he simply can’t / won’t see it as his responsibility. Leaders lead and neither of them have shown in any way they can . The final slap in the face for fans is they are the only ones who will suffer if we go down . Players through there agents will move on and get lucrative contracts elsewhere , Sullivan if he sells will pocket his cash and carry on telling anyone who will listen that he did his best . Brady will already have lined up another role befitting her elite status, excuse me while I get the sick bag and the manager will be getting offers from better run clubs . I also feel sorry for all the staff at the club who will lose their jobs , mostly who had nothing to do with Sullivans mismanagement . I can’t wait to meet up with my Tottenham supporting son in law in June , he’s actually a lovely guy and will be feeling as anxious as me right now but I fear he’ll be mightily relieved by the time I see him .
Thanks Sullivan , you will be remembered but I doubt you’ll be thinking of us .
The reason why he stays? for me its simple he has nothing else to do and owning a football club in the Prem(for now)makes him seem relevant and gives him what for want of better words “something to do”. He revels in the chaos and enjoys winding fans up with his ridiculous statements put out to the media by his “Friends”
He will be gone soon enough at his age one real cold winter and all the ruskie hats he has will not save him but if/when he goes what then? as none of the current board for me are fit for purpose and need to go as well but what then? Fan ownership? well if you times 62 thousand matchday fans by 15 thousand fans that equates to £930 million and that would be enough to buy the club then the real fun would begin.
I’m just going to check down the back of the sofa and start saving Gonzo you do the same.
partial/majority executive fan ownership is the only thing of interest to me, personally. Not for them to run the club, but to hold sway or be agreeable to, who will be appointed to look after finances, commerce, team manager, etc. It is a complex matter and it should in fact be subject of a study made on partial fan ownership based on clubs in Germany, etc. Anyhow, ain’t going to happen – just blowing hot air.
If DS leaves, which other suited execs are going to come in and ruin the club feeding off of it? Not interested in becoming another Chelsea. So many clubs have suffered from outside takeovers. Anyhow, I would have thought DS more likely to see WHU as an heirloom to his kids who have participated in the past.
I had a look down the back of the sofa Pat and found my dogs squeaky toy, a sock and 10p.
Nicely summarised Gonzo.
Enough is enough, I have seen too many friends, close and acquaintances walk away due to mis management of our club and being a s/t holder for 27 out of the last 30 years I am seriously questioning whether or not to renew. I feel tired of the fact renewal is an endorsement of S & B era of mismanagement. It’s also good to see the journos stories putting the blame clearly where it lays and long may it continue whilst Sullivan remains.
Afternoon John, I honesty think the biggest boost to renewals would be him resigning or at least publicly putting the club up for sale.