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13 Brentford Rd 9:22 Fri Aug 7
How the Hammers struck bronze......

When Gold and Sullivan took over the club I was slightly underwhelmed but happy that they would at least steady the ship and sort out the finances.They were a safe bet (though we did get relegated due to their decisions on managers) Much like Allardyce they were probably what we needed at the time, four or five years of prudence and stability.

So here we are some five years on supposedly about to embark on a new era for West Ham with the big move and the need to attract more fans and investment and where are we? It appears we are still only concerned about Premiership survival whilst other less established smaller clubs are showing intent and ambition by matching our spending (which has dropped) and finishing above us every season. How is that possible?

I was also underwhelmed with Billic's appointment too as I was hoping for and expecting a real statement of intent, however the jury is still out and he has my backing as any WHU manager would until there is a good reason not to back them.

My opinion of Gold and Sullivan has always been that they are not ambitious enough for a club like us especially now, and that they lack immagination and try to do everything on the cheap and eventually this catches up with them. The Olympic stadium and our transfer policy this year are good examples. Where is the investment needed to kick us on?

We are in the top ten biggest clubs in the country with a large and loyal fanbase, and the the nineteenth richest club in Europe so why the constant mediocrity and disappointment?

In my opinion they have done a decent job and spent a bit of cash but what the club is crying out for now is someone with immagination and ambition who wants to fulfil the clubs potential and maximise the opportunity we have otherwise I fear the Daves are not capable of this and we can only expect more of the same and probably more relegation struggles.

Thanks chaps but please do the right thing for the club now and sell it to someome who can take this great club forward to where it should be.

Willtell 9:38 Fri Apr 7
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

I didn't think Bilic was even their 3rd or 4th choice actually BRANDED...

BRANDED 9:35 Fri Apr 7
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

The Davids are infinitely richer since they took West Ham on. Slav was t their no1 or no2 choice so no wonder its unravelling.

Willtell 9:32 Fri Apr 7
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

Takashi Miike 11:37
Yes we aren't disagreeing but I do think Sullivan has ambitions. He just doesn't realise that his own character type is counter intuitive to his ambition.

In short 13 BR is right. Sullivan is a knee-jerker to fortune. Everything is going wrong again so instead of some self-examination he publicly belittles the manager with messages from the boardroom that fool no-one.

But the owners have spent money. The problem is that they micro-manage every penny spent and try to get bargains all the time. When real top 4 clubs want a player they seem to agree massive fees without blinking. Sullivan shows the player how much WH want him by haggling about the price...

13 Brentford Rd 11:57 Thu Apr 6
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

Exactly, as I said originally they are incapable of taking the club any further. They do not have a clue how to put in place a structure, system and philosophy to build the club.

It's all ad hoc and reactionary.
Last summer's dreadful approach to transfers seemed to be a "MARQUE" signing to sell tickets and so they can look like they are ambitious and cheap squad fillers. The answer to that disaster is to announce in January that we are now only interested in "PROVEN PREMIERSHIP PLAYERS” and sign Fonte aged 33 and a player who I would have NEVER even considered for us, Snodgrass.Worked out well didn't it.
What will the next policy be in the summer I wonder?
The stadium is fucking PONY too. I thought they would at least get that right but no they spent as little as possible and deceived the fans.
They have been even worse than I thought when I wrote this thread all those months ago.

They are clueless inept chancers who are way out of their depth now.

Takashi Miike 11:37 Thu Apr 6
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

will, we can all talk up what we could do, set targets for league placings and make ridiculous statements about signing 'world class players'. that's the problem, its just words, false promises and bullshit. they had one of their ITK lackies on Facebook saying they would have spent £40-50m on a striker if one had agreed to sign. its utter fantasy, and how would this cunt on Facebook know this if he hadn't been briefed by Sully's mini mes or the man himself? these claims about spending big money were on the same post where the ITK finally decided that Bilic had to go. its so clear the game they play, its not in the least clever yet is so divisive to team spirit, harmony amongst the fans and at a time when everyone should be pulling together

Willtell 11:28 Thu Apr 6
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

Miike the ambition is definitely there otherwise why does Sullivan keep setting targets that take WH up the table? He is a successful businessman that has ambitions for WH but has reached his own glass ceiling...

Takashi Miike 10:59 Thu Apr 6
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

*they*

Takashi Miike 10:59 Thu Apr 6
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

no, I don't see any ambition. just a pair of spivs who've sold us down the river to make a nice few quid in the next couple of years. it was a fucking disaster the day that turned up

Willtell 10:48 Thu Apr 6
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

I believe the owners mean well and are very ambitious.

Their problem is they don't recognise their own failings. In their business life Sullivan has leaned heavily on Karren Brady to tidy up the organisational mess he creates. I don't know them but that would be typical of a self-made billionaire like Sullivan. They usually have a 'Karren' that dots the i's and crosses the t's.

Sullivan is a loose canon running our club in a real life game of FM17 or whatever it's called these days. His record speaks for him. 2 relegations at Birmingham and a succession of unpopular under-performing managers and cheap players. Then they luckily get a crooked mug to buy Birmingham and crow about how much they have made and move on to a new start at WH.

So far it seems as if WH is a repeat of his performances at Birmingham and he is making the same mistakes over again but if he's like most self-made billionaires he will not admit that the problem has anything to do with him.

Yet it keeps happening although we all still hope we get away with it this year, the reality is that the Championship is Sullivan's level all the time he is driving the good ship WH...

DJH 10:16 Thu Apr 6
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

I don't believe too there is some foreign multi-billionaire waiting in the wings ready to make our dreams come true, why would someone see us as a better investment now at the Olympic Stadium rather than any time over the last decade or so if money was no object for the prospective buyer?

Putting aside the actual stadium until the club properly invested in its footballing infrastructure staff and training facilities then we are always going to miles behind the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, etc.

Until we then add a club philosophy of developing young players and accommodating them in the side even if that means we eventually have to sell some of them to bigger clubs then we are always going to have to be buying all our players as instant fixes and how much we spend we usually dictate in the end how good we are.

To achieve this would need to invest heavily in the development staff and training facilities whilst ultimately employ a manager/coach who has a remit to bring young players into the 1st team, this could have all been put in place any time under the current owners and I see little evidence of this ever happening. We certainly did not need to move stadiums to achieve this and would be something that had we done right far it would be more beneficial to the club than moving grounds would be.

Then lets talk about moving on to the stadium, yes it was an opportunity to improve the fan base but first and foremost it should be the chance to give supporters facilities we could only dream of at the Boleyn Ground.

Neither of these two could be done on the cheap if being done right so the fact the perception and the reality is that they have it is little surprise to find things how they are now.

We can all argue all day about transfer spending and how much we are spending but the lack of proper investment in other areas is for me that shows the owners up.

The fact other clubs are spending in those areas and we are not really should mean that we have greater spending resources for transfers before player sales than those clubs unfortunately our approach also means unless the owners go into their own pockets we are never able to add to them significantly.

I am sure as a business we are relative success for the owners but as as a football club the inevitable relegations these owners bring their clubs will tell you everything you need to know about successful we are.

Takashi Miike 9:18 Thu Apr 6
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

I'm sure most people have worked for snide bosses. where you never truly feel safe or valued, and where you're forever being undermined, and a knife is never far from your back. thats what I get from these three poisonous cunts. even allardyce struggled at times with them and he has skin like a rhino. yes, of course we can change manager AGAIN, but the biggest three problems remain. I'm tempted to say its too late anyway now to worry as they completed their job in destroying the club

13 Brentford Rd 9:11 Thu Apr 6
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

Well done the Spivs, really excellent stuff. Your true colours are there for all to see now.

Hermit Road 7:41 Wed Apr 5
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

Spend some money, don't employ cunty stewards, the move is successful.

Show less ambition than Palace, take a stewarding approach designed to antagonise the fans and the move is a disaster.

Sir Alf 7:09 Wed Apr 5
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

I was ok with overlooking the "suitability" issues and can stomach some scaffolding and gaps on one condition.... that we got a much improved squad and team and became at least an established Premiership club. I did not think for one minute we would be in Europe every year and the Champions League. Also, we all understand it takes more than one season to build a strong squad but fvck me I did not expect to be fighting relegation this season and back where we came from before we even got a sniff of better time !!! I suppose last season was that "sniff"?

Massive let down and back where we have always been if things carry on as I expect we will continue to be the proverbial "yoyo" club we have been the last 20 or 30 years :-(

13 Brentford Rd 6:29 Wed Apr 5
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

Ag SG, was waiting for that to CROP up.

Son of Anarchy 6:03 Wed Apr 5
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

How can a stadium with temp seating win stadium of the year?

Spandex Sidney 6:02 Wed Apr 5
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

I always laugh when I see someone to sell up to a better owner and push off.

Like there are people queuing up to buy English Football clubs. They used to, not anymore. The real money that was interested have already bought theirs and I cannot believe for a second that a genuine £650m offer would be snapped up in a heartbeat.

How long has Sunderland been up for sale? Years.

stewie griffin 6:00 Wed Apr 5
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

it's all a far cry from standing outside the stadium with a basket of apples and a tennis racket, Rd son?

Son of Anarchy 6:00 Wed Apr 5
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

Correct Road son...

I doubt anyone wouldve been positive about the move had the lower tier been scaffholding and massive gaps

13 Brentford Rd 5:58 Wed Apr 5
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

........And they also claimed that it would take us to the next level.
So far we have bought a load of shit, sold Payer and replaced him ROBERT FUCKING SNODGRASS and have gone from challenging for CL places to a relegation battle.

Takashi Miike 5:57 Wed Apr 5
Re: How the Hammers struck bronze......

Brown was poisonous. asset stripped every good youngster we produced and employed the biggest fucking retard ever to manage in the professional game

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