Trying to step out of the emotions right now as a West Ham United fan is tough, especially when writing about it. Football in 2024 is about emotion on the one hand, trying to interface with business on the other.
One One hand. Ticket prices are rising, The era of ‘affordable family football’ which The Board promised when the move from Upton Park took place, is no longer. Football is big business. Daniel Kretinksy is no mug when it comes to making money and has a large amount of money invested in West Ham’s controlling company.
So, the endless march of commercialism which includes raising prices for pensioners & children whilst making sure any new concessions are banished to the furthest, worst seats in the ground has to be tolerated by a set of supporters already enduring enormous costs.
Getting to the ground, walking miles, enduring the hated ‘walking traffic lights’ because a proper system of crowd management costs money – plus stupid prices for food and beverages – mean that West Ham United Supporters are already paying premium, absolute top end elite level prices just to watch their club.
Indeed, if I remember right, ticket price rises were justified as ‘enabling the club to buy better players’ and strengthen the squad.
So, fans are enduring the costs of ‘elite level ‘ club support.
On the other hand – the club ownership fails miserably to play its part and act in the same manner.
Negotiations are ham fisted, underbidding is rife and player after player which the club reputedly goes after are lost, aborted, abandoned, ‘snubbed’ whatever name is give for ‘failed to buy’. With the exception of Max Kilman (who I suspect was a deal breaker for our new Head Coach if he’d not materialised) West Ham continually scout, bid and fail to secure player after player.
IF the board and coaching team identified Jhon Duran as the new-era goalscorer required at the club, and IF West Ham really were the ‘elite level’ club whose costs and charges the supporters endure, we would have BOUGHT the player by now.
No fuss, no dodgy part exchange option, no wheeling and dealing. Same with one of the many right backs and central defenders we’ve been linked with in the last six weeks. And God knows there have been loads. Having had to write about all of the failed interests, rumours, and the latest ‘Surprise! Shockingly high agents fees (when it isn’t the agent we want), which have precluded deals: It is as painful for me to report it as it is for those who have to read the club’s latest excuse for failing to add to the squad.
YES it is big business now. And the fact that our ageing, mostly ‘old regime’ squad got well beaten last night in a friendly is not in itself concerning. Look at the starting eleven, though, would YOU want to pay increased season ticket prices to watch that -Mo Kudus excepted-all season?
What is troubling is that the wheeling, dealing, del-boy style failure to commit the extra million to get a deal done for a new striker is a hallmark of a second rate business pretending to swim with the big fish.
Trouble is, if you are just a little fish pretending to be a big one, you are going to get bitten.
In the nicest way, West Ham United either need to ‘step up or push off’ back to being an also-ran club, run in an ‘also-ran’ way. But that doesn’t mean the paying ‘audience’ will continue to pay a premium price for watching ‘mediocre’.
And that is a warning sign for any business.
It seems more important to ‘win’ the negotiations than it is to ‘buy’ the player.
Do the West Ham United ownership have genuine ambition to be a Prestige club, ‘contender’ for top six, blah blah as the supporters are being told, whenever the costs go up?
Time to prove it. Pay the money out as fast as you pull it in. Get the Duran deal done. Prove me, and thousands wrong who believe the pretence of being a prestige club is only a one way street: Supporters pay out. Again and again. The board make endless excuses for ‘failing’ to provide the premium team we are being charged through the nose to watch, whilst bringing in this seasons’s cut-priced version of Danny Ings just as a sop to the coach and the fans. I don’t think the coach will stand for it.
Eventually, the fan base will get tired of it too.
I’ll happily write and put the whole Claret and Hugh readership straight, if I am wrong, come next week when our new number nine is pictured in claret and blue.
Come on Mr Sullivan. Prove me wrong.
No Bowen, No Paqueta, No Areola, No Alvarez, and to complain about the walking is laughable when you realise our fan base is made up of a large percentage of the morbidly obese. Also if you haven’t found a way in to the ground to circumnavigate the Stop Start – you’re either not very smart, or don’t actually go to games.
Very well written and, as far as any outsider can tell, more or less truthful. As a 7decade supporter it was quite joyful when Steidten appeared and operated well despite Moyes attempts to cause grief. The trouble is that every sport journalist exisiting wants to write a story and we really dont know what is right and wrong. I am praying that Jalo and Steidten will have things more or less right by window end. I find it incredible that every time WH are listed as being interested in a player certain club names then seemingly become interested as well. Are they using Steidten as their guide as well? COYH
I’m there praying with you, Michael!
Wow, I’m quite shocked to read both your article, Martin, and also the readers’ comments. However I am glad that raw feelings have been shared from all who have been Hammers fans for years. I do hope that owners and management of the club read this because it’s a reality check. I agree with most everything said. And the truth hurts!
Wonderful post, perfectly summed up the sentiments of many fans, irrespective of their chosen club.
Football fandom constantly evolves, as does owning and operational strategies. However it’s an individual choice as to how much we choose to participate in the offering..
Chin up, shoulders back and onwards we go.
Forever Claret and Blue!
Up the Hammers
What is needed is an article on the strictures of PSR.
The days have gone of paying out whatever is needed and sort the books sometime later if you’re Roman Abramovic never.
We’re into a completely different reality now. Overspend and you are docked points, just ask Everton. Lose six points and even if that doesn’t cost you European qualification or relegate you it is very likely to cost you places in the final table and that alone will cost you dear.
The books now need to balance and that is having a massive impact that many fans are not even beginning to get.
The lower your revenue the more it affects you, we are fortunate enough to have the seventh highest revenue so are less affected than most yet it’s still affecting us greatly.
You’ll get your article on PSR, John. Next few days. Trying to make it ‘interesting’ though, that’s a challenge in itself.
You have nailed it with this. Thank you for writing how you feel and speaking for the real West Ham fans who remember the ‘good old days’ when football was for the working man/gal.
I still, and will always maintain, Sullivan and Brady are our main problem. They’ve done very nicely for themselves, but, apart from 3 fun European runs and the cup, which I do appreciate winning, we, the fans have been the losers.
I can say this hand on heart and on my life, I would rather have stayed at Upton Park regardless of positions in the league or relegation. All I want to see are honest pros giving 100%. That’s the ‘we tried’ I want to hear.
My beloved West Ham has been taken away from me and unless we went totally bankrupt and started again, right at the bottom, we will never get it back.
I’m always a bit worried, if you and I agree….if only partially..
Although not the best I appreciate what DGS have done for us. Not looking over my shoulder in a relegation battle, winning a cup, European adventures.
Wouldn’t see players like Kudus and Paqueta at our club if still at the Boleyn. Would have sold Bowen by now. Rice wouldn’t have stayed as long and got us a big bumper payday
I seriously doubt anyone who says they’d rather be up and down between championship and premier League and constantly losing our best players, because that’s the reality if we’d stayed. We wouldn’t be competing with the clubs in the EPL right now with their bigger grounds and bigger profiles
Make you right, Kilman transfer was to keep JLo sweet, nothing more.
End up with a load of freebies and has beens week before transfer window ends, and it just shows how good our squad players are when nobody else wants them, even at half price we paid.
Typical Sullivan window, make the right noises get season tickets sold, produce nothing, hands up who though it was all Moyes.
Season so far, Kilman JLo trophy purchase, unknown Brazilian kid, thought we already had one, Goalkeeper, who actually let in more that us last season… I could go on..
So fed up with the negativity of our fans, never seem happy unless they can moan. We’ve grown massively as a club over the past few years. I’ve grown up with us a yo-yo club and we’ve come so far in my 40+ years of being a fan
We’ve got our new manager, spent over £60m already and there’s 4 weeks left of the transfer window
FFP has been a big change if the world of football and I think with our budget, number we need to sign and this that we’re being careful with our cash
Judge it on 1st August is what I say
How about some optimism for once?
Meant 1st September of course
We shipped the most goals in our history last season. You know where you can stick your optimism. We moved to this s* stadium to move on up were paying through the nose for it so why shouldn’t
fans expect more than the drivel that’s been served up of late. You can bang your little old West Ham we should know our place drum. Some of us want more than mid table and one trophy in 40 years when we get 63000 week in week out.
None of you understand how is business is run and think that the club has a bottomless pit of money. I can only imagine that none of you have money problems and live a rich life because life is no different to a business.
I don’t necessarily agree with the club stance on ticket increases but there is no way I can agree that the board should sign off whatever money is needed to bring in new players.
You obviously forget the £400m that Moyes spent on players but left us with a small and aging squad. Also don’t forget the financial restraints of the FA.
So get real and look further on how a club has to be run.
Hi Graham, thanks for your comment. when the ownership of the club justify ticket price rises ‘to afford new squad players and salaries’ then I think I am entitled to highlight the contradiction when the club repeatedly underbids and loses out. Gradually many of the players we have been linked with are being sold – most recently Matius Soule to Roma – deal. Latest just today Jake O’Brien to Everton. Other clubs secure their targets, why don’t West Ham?
Not everybody is getting who they want in this window. Clubs like West Ham have to be smart with how they spend their cash. And simply throwing 40 mil at an unproven striker isn’t necessarily the way.
It’s frustrating of course, but we must remember we have no European football to offer this season. Players won’t be falling over themselves to come to West Ham.
And we’re not the only club finding it difficult to conclude signings. What normally happens around now is one or two big deals take place, and then there’s a domino effect, with a frenzy of signings in the last few weeks. I don’t expect this window to be any different.
I’m guessing you don’t know how much is brought in through season ticket sales? It’s £27 million, which is not enough to pay the wage bill, let alone purchase players.
You complain that we don’t buy players, and complain that ticket prices are too high.
It sounds like you’ve never run a business in your life. If you did, you’d know it’s a good idea to run at a profit, because if you don’t, you go bust.
I agree with Graham. Going all out and spending all the money generated from honest hard working fans wont help bring ticket prices down. The fact that they are even still talking to Villa despite such sky high valuation for Duran is already proof that they are doing something. Chelsea have blown large sums of money and Man United too and they are still recovering.
Season tickets sales = £27 million.
Wage bill = £130 million. salaries for players, coaching staff, and other club employees.
£165 million on player transfers during the 2022-2023 season.
Would love to see the complainers balance the books HAHA
Yep. Maybe West Ham’s share of the £6.7 BILLION sky sports deal might need to be factored in.
£128 million – still doesn’t add up does it?
Couldn’t agree with you more. Trouble is – we don’t own the club, & can only look on in terror & hope. Nothing will change unless the owners change first. We live in hope; but that might just be too much to ask.
On a related note: all of the endless stories in these columns about buying players only make the situation worse. I suppose that if we don’t like it, we don’t have to read it; but I for one, wouldn’t be averse to a week (or two) without any comment whatsoever from C&H about our “ hopeful, done deal, fallen through” transfer business. Just let me know when they have signed. But, I should imagine that you are not going to do that; but just keep on leading us on & letting us down. Just to be honest – I really am not criticising C&H, I know that you are doing your best & trying to keep us informed; but it is so soul destroying !
That was an excellent piece of informative reading and explains the whole case of West Ham in a nutshell how it has been run for so long and the true supporters are the long suffering ones that have to adjure the endless farcical way this club portrays itself you don’t get any other clubs portraying themselves in the media like we do it’s becoming farcical.
Sadly those in charge of our great club dont understand football or us the fans.
I would really love the stadium to be empty for the opening game of the season, in protest to show it is us the fans that matter. Without fans there is no club!!!
The club lost sight of the fans a long time ago. We are mere customers to which they want more £’s per customer.
We need to show we are not f’ing customers. As fans it’s time to make a stand and leave the Stadium empty for the opening game. WE have the bigger voice not them. Let’s use it!!!
never believed the Rubbish Gold/Sullivan/Brady were spouting about the big move and so i have never attended one match or set foot anywhere near that God forsaken dump.
When we moved i cancelled my season ticket that i had had for over 45 years and that hurt but i have heard so many stories from others who would give it a go but like me they in the end cancelled season tickets and will not go again.
Such a great club run by Amateurs only out to make a buck for themselves……Do i miss going to see the team play? of course i do and i have seen a few away matches but line the pockets of billionaires who are only interested in spending enough to keep us up so they can coin in the TV money year in year out well that is something i refuse to do…good luck to those who go regularly i admire your gumption but for me and many others it’s the TV now not Green street not the Boleyn pub not the pie n mash on the
Barking road….Those people killing our club just get out but why would they?
I never believed the Rubbish Gold/Sullivan/Brady were spouting about the big move and so i have never attended one match or set foot anywhere near that God forsaken dump.
When we moved i cancelled my season ticket that i had had for over 45 years and that hurt but i have heard so many stories from others who would give it a go but like me they in the end cancelled season tickets and will not go again.
Such a great club run by Amateurs only out to make a buck for themselves……Do i miss going to see the team play? of course i do and i have seen a few away matches but line the pockets of billionaires who are only interested in spending enough to keep us up so they can coin in the TV money year in year out well that is something i refuse to do…good luck to those who go regularly i admire your gumption but for me and many others it’s the TV now not Green street not the Boleyn pub not the pie n mash on the
Barking road….Those people killing our club just get out but why would they?
Boleyn pub? you must be a real hammer!
Excellent post, Martin. Completely in agreement.
Don’t reckon they’ll let you keep writing for Claret and Hugh if you keep on writing like this though. Think they would see it as biting the hand that feeds them by criticising the ownership in this way.