CumbrianRam Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Hammer house of horrors: David Sullivan says he and fellow co-owner David Gold will have to find up to £40m to keep the club afloat Our finances are worst in country, says David Sullivan. David Sullivan said today West Ham's finances are the worst of any club in the country as the Hammers face up to the very real prospect of relegation. West Ham are three points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League and go to Wigan on Sunday knowing they will almost certainly need to win to avoid the drop into the Championship. That would be a nightmare outcome for a club already around £80million in debt and although Sullivan and David Gold have already said that relegation would lead to an exodus of high-profile players that would not be enough to satisfy the banks. As result, the co-owners accept they will have to find up to £40m from their personal fortunes to keep the club afloat. Sullivan said today: "The fans should know though this club is in a worse financial position than any other in the country. All the debts are football or bank debts secures on the stadium and training ground so there is no route via administration. West Ham really is a club where the football and bank debts exceed the value of the club. "It's a pretty thankless task and the criticism hurts. Should the worst happen, we will have to inject loans of £20-£40m, depending on circumstances, which will probably never be repaid. I don't believe the supporters realise the potential real cost to us. "Nobody out there wants to take on the burden of West Ham United. We do, as we are supporters but our resources don't match foreign-based oligarchs who pay no UK tax." During 16 years as co-owners of Birmingham City Sullivan and Gold experienced many highs and lows but as Hammers fans this is their most painful season yet. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/football/article-23948216-our-finances-are-worst-in-country-says-david-sullivan.do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G STAR RAM Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Are they looking for sympathy? Surely they knew all of this when they took the club over? All season they have undermined their manager and now they have virtually announced they are selling their players if they go down (sure thats what players want to hear). They deserve everything they get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaffsRam Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Completely agree. Also follows on from a point that Sir Alan Sugar made last night; fans need to see a horror story to give everyone connected with football the boot up the backside it deserves. If businesses outside of football were run in the same way then they'd have gone under by now. Portsmouth should have been made an example of, but weren't, I doubt that West Ham will be either sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G STAR RAM Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Completely agree. Also follows on from a point that Sir Alan Sugar made last night; fans need to see a horror story to give everyone connected with football the boot up the backside it deserves. If businesses outside of football were run in the same way then they'd have gone under by now. Portsmouth should have been made an example of, but weren't, I doubt that West Ham will be either sadly. It appears West Ham are a bit of a different animal to Portsmouth as their debts are secured against their ground and training facilities. If I remember rightly Portsmouth debts were unsecured and they shafted everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaffsRam Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 It appears West Ham are a bit of a different animal to Portsmouth as their debts are secured against their ground and training facilities. If I remember rightly Portsmouth debts were unsecured and they shafted everybody. Yes, again they touched on that last night. Some of Portsmouth's creditors are now themselves in administration because they were shafted out of being repaid. Administration's too easy a 'get out of jail free' card for clubs like Portsmouth. Look at clubs who've been through it - Leicester, back spending $$$, Leeds, back spending $$$ - how long before Pompey are doing it again.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G STAR RAM Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Yes, again they touched on that last night. Some of Portsmouth's creditors are now themselves in administration because they were shafted out of being repaid. Administration's too easy a 'get out of jail free' card for clubs like Portsmouth. Look at clubs who've been through it - Leicester, back spending $$$, Leeds, back spending $$$ - how long before Pompey are doing it again.... Only caught a bit of the programme, did I hear right when Sugar was saying that players take preference over other creditors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Only caught a bit of the programme, did I hear right when Sugar was saying that players take preference over other creditors? Any debts that are football related - agents fees, transfer fees players wages etc take priority. Part of the reason HMRC are going after clubs- force then to pay up or go into administration and take the points penalty and the owners lose money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G STAR RAM Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Any debts that are football related - agents fees, transfer fees players wages etc take priority. Part of the reason HMRC are going after clubs- force then to pay up or go into administration and take the points penalty and the owners lose money. That is scandalous. The very same people that have brought football clubs to their knees are first in line to fianlly bleed their paymasters dry. Find it hard to believe that Portsmouth have the guts to carry on paying players thousands of pounds yet failed to pay St Johns Ambulance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CumbrianRam Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 West Ham co-owner David Gold says he is baffled by reports F1 Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes wants to buy the club - but is interested in talking to him. Fernandes, a rival bidder when Gold and David Sullivan bought the club, used his Twitter feed to reveal his offer. "For all you West Ham fans an offer has gone to the present owners of West Ham. Let's see if they accept," he tweeted. "It's absolute news to me, I certainly haven't heard any information regarding this - it's interesting," said Gold. Co-owner David Sullivan was, however, more dismissive, telling Sky Sports News: "We've received no offer from Tony Fernandes. We think any serious bidder would make it in private." Gold said that he echoed Sullivan's comments and that it was "inconceivable someone would start negotiations this way" but he was open to the idea of the Malaysian airline millionaire joining the club as an investor. "We're interested in finances coming into the club, we welcome that," said Gold. "I certainly would be very happy to sit down with Tony with a view to him joining the board and bringing in desperately needed finance." Fernandes is a life-long West Ham fan but had previously been linked with investing in Norwich, near where his F1 team are based. Businessman Fernandes received the CBE earlier this year But two days ago he tweeted: "Can I just say to all. Norwich doesn't need me and they doing great. Not interested in buying them or any other club. Only West Ham if deal makes sense." Meanwhile, newly appointed West Ham manager Sam Allardyce hopes that any change of ownership does not impact on him, as it has done in the past. "My information, having spoken to David Sullivan, was that he did not want to sell West Ham football club, because it is his club," Allardyce told Sky Sports News. "It is the club he has always supported. "That was one of the reasons why I took the job, because I didn't want any fractions in terms of change of ownership. "My reputation has already suffered wrongly by new ownerships at Newcastle and Blackburn dispensing of my services when there was no real credibility in that other than the fact that they were new owners and didn't want me. "It wasn't down to results, it wasn't down to the way I have performed as a manager, so, if that's the case and that materialises then obviously I am surprised at that." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13620939.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G STAR RAM Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I see Portsmouth have been taken over. I hope the football league insist on them paying all the people they shafted before making any signings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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