In January 2010 David Gold and David Sullivan rescued the club from a doomed future by buying a 50% share of the club from Icelandic CB Holding, and over the last 2 years they have slowly increased that share to 61.2%, showing their ongoing commitment to the club.
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Having already saved Birmingham City they are three people who clearly know what they are doing and have experience of making financially failing clubs successful again, whether these rescue methods are popular with the supporters or not is another matter. I for one was extremely happy when they acquired the club as I thought they would bring a sense of stability to the club which I thought had been lacking for a long time.
Both David Gold and David Sullivan are both passionate West Ham fans that have shown they are willing to dig deep into there own pockets to help the club rectify finances and fund transfers. In 2011, they invested £2.5m of their own money into the transfer budget and £29m by way of equity and loans to the club.
The pair made a bold decision in the appointment of Sam Allardyce as he was not necessarily the fans favourite in shortlisted names for the job. However, the appointment has proved critics wrong and West Ham are playing well for Big Sam. Some fans including myself feel that Allardyce may not be the manager to take us to higher levels of the Premiership and so bold decisions may need made again in future.
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The decision to bid for the Olympic Stadium has the aim of reducing costs even further at the club and to generate income from the sale of the Boleyn ground to reduce debt. I think that it is important for the owners to now begin telling fans what the other possible options are surrounding possible moves or rebuilds, the constant delays in decisions and appeals from other interested parties such as Leyton Orient does not bode well for a successful move.
Some of the decisions and communications from the two Davids can be eccentric and far fetched at times such as the constant rumours of possible signings that are banded about during each transfer window. This often leads to disappointment when they fail to materialise. However, it does gain media attention to the club which could provide more revenue.
Now on to Karren Brady who I feel is the unsung hero and brains behind the two Davids. She is the one that brings Gold and Sullivan back down to Earth and ensures realistic signings and business decisions are made to benefit the club.
In her first year at Birmingham she turned the club around from administration to achieving a profit; she has begun to achieve similar things at West Ham. In 2011, the club made a £6.8m profit for the first time in years after she had cut overheads by £3.2m per annum with her shrewd business acumen. As well as reducing costs, she has also found ways to generate increased income such as raising the sponsorship and partner income 62%.
Another way the trio have tried to raise money within the club is to gain another investor that is also a fan of West Ham that would have the clubs interest at heart. One target for this was Tony Fernandes as he had made it clear he was interested in buying West Ham, so the Davids offered him a stake in the club, rumour has it he wanted to buy out Gold and Sullivan, not work with them as the pair are majority stakeholders.
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My personal opinion in moving forward is that if we don’t get the Olympic Stadium, how are we going to raise more capital and reduce costs? The Davids are currently putting their own money into the club and especially transfer but his is not matching some of the other wealthy club owners. My worry is that without heavy investment we are going to struggle to break into the European places, and I am unsure whether Gold, Sullivan and Brady have the wealth and funds available to them for this. Having said that I would like to see the trio at the club for the foreseeable future because they have recovered the drive and the heart that is West Ham and I would love the club to continue moving forward with the two biggest fans at the helm.
In Gold, Sullivan and Brady we trust.
Carl Bateson
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I don’t trust any of them, especially Sullivan and Brady. If THe Boleyn were to be sold, and West Ham were to lease the OS. precisely who would gain financially? I think we all know the answer to that. The very same pair of chairman who sold Birmingham at a profit, and stand to make far, far more, if West Ham move to the OS. Gold told me that the money would go to the club, but, let’s face it, his own stake in the club is in excess of 30%, probably meaning he’d end up with a profit of some £50 million, should this happen.
The two Davids portfolios are riddled with such things, and the less said about Karren, the better. I respect your opinions, or at least your right to express them, but couldn’t disagree with you more.
COYI
SJ