Driven by cash ... it’s the new West Ham way
WEST HAM supporters... here is a little information for you.
Take it or leave it from someone who has watched, worked with, been banned by and shared the odd drink with your football club’s main players over the past 25 years.
You see there appears to be a massive gap in understanding over what owners David Sullivan and David Gold actually stand for.
It appears they are Public Enemy Number One. And two. And Karren Brady is number three.
So as someone who has watched them steward the ship at Birmingham City, my club, from very close quarters, can I humbly try to bridge that?
Let’s start by blowing a hole in a few myths. For good and bad.
They haven’t suddenly changed their spots and turned into twoheaded hydras. They have always been interested in balancing the books and making every pound squeal.
For instance, Sullivan told apprentice Brady to question every invoice that landed on the mat at St Andrew’s. Ten years ago that even stretched to quizzing the surgeon’s bill who carried out the operation on former Arsenal striker Eduardo after he suffered an horrendous injury.
Yes, I know. I would have paid it without a quibble. But there you go.
Furthermore, the truth matters to them. Well, sort of.
Shortly after arriving in Birmingham, an artist’s impression appeared on the front of the local rag, showing the wraparound stands at the decrepit arena.
The owners delivered on that promise. However, they were unable to make good others. Back in the early 1990s Birmingham’s fans were also led to believe Maradona was en route.
It wasn’t even a misprint. Madonna never turned up, either.
That was, as Hammers’ fans have later discovered, one of many rumours that failed to materialise.
You know, like the one about Champions League football in the new stadium...
However, that does not mean they will not invest. They will. To suggest otherwise would be unfair.
But they will not spend money the club does not generate.
Is that so bad? Not putting the club’s financial future at risk?
Also, they do not like paying for failure. This is why Sam Allardyce was relieved of his duties when it went wrong. But they do not mind paying for success. Because success generates more money. For them, obviously.
I must stress at this point that it does not make them bad people.
Sullivan and Gold are captivating company. Ms Brady can charm the birds down from the trees when she so desires.
But you must understand what it is that drives them.
And, obviously, as football is a rising marketplace due to the ballooning of the television payments, each year they are in the bubble means the value of their asset is rising.
And that’s what it is. This is not a labour of love. I know that other London clubs were considered before West Ham was purchased. But the opportunity presented itself and here we are.
A little bit like the Olympic Stadium. What a deal.
Imagine if you had brokered that one? A few million in conversion costs and a state-of-the-art stadium for a peppercorn rent. That was fabulous.
But supporters don’t see that. They can’t see anything – many of them – from their vantage points. It’s not the same as the Boleyn. Far from it.
But it does add to the general air that the owners have mugged off the punters since turning up.
Yes, they may have a point over the stadium. But the owners are what they are. Interested in money. Interested in pushing the club forward benot