Who is the worst owner/chairman of West Ham in the last 50 years and why?

[El Scorchio]

• The Cearns
• Brown
• Icelandics/Eggman
• Sullivan

Be interested to know everyone's opinion and reasoning.

By the way Sullivan for me. I'm not really old enough to remember the full bond saga although I realise that might resonate even more with some others than anything else that's been done.

[RootsRadical]

Brown was bad but Sullivan & co sre a disaster for us.

We're stuck with him & his sons too as they have overvalued the club.
If they truly cared about the club they would accept that they need to go & let someone with more money & nous at least try to fulfil its potential.
Icompetant, deluded, dishonest and vain.
Dragged the name of the club through the mud & made us a laughing stock.
The Boleyn deal stank!
The stadium which I had high hopes for is awful and another broken promise.
14 years of lurching from one crisis to another with a huge turnover of players and it goes on...
 

[WHU(Exeter)]

Wasn’t Iceland the worst hit country in the financial crisis, or a lot worst hit than most others? Their intentions were good and I think they had a genuine appreciation of the fanbase as well.

Mike’s analogy is a good one. Let’s not forget that Sullivan also came out with the pearler of “the role of a football manager is overrated”, which essentially tells you all you need to know.

3 or 4 decades into football and still he hasn’t learnt.

[zico]

I can't agree with you on Eggy.

Yeah maybe I am a bit harsh there on Eggert,.  Forgot about Duxbury, he was a bit of a disaster.  You don't see or hear much about Magnússon these days although I did note a few months ago that Björgólfur Guðmundsson passed away in February.

[Mike Oxsaw]

You don't buy a dog and bark yourself.

Sullivan's been howling at the moon ever since he got involved in football.

[Gank]

Big difference between the Cearns and Sullivan is that the Cearns were always in the background and as far as I know allowed the manager to buy the players. When the club had the success years early 80s they certainly allowed the cup receipts to be spent on players. 800 k for Paul Goddard after the Fa cup win if I remember rightly and even a world record fee for a keeper in Parkes when we were in the second division. You can argue they didn't build on the success but no way were they as bad as Sullivan. Put it this way I couldn't imagine a man of principal like John Lyall putting up with Sullivan for one year let alone 15 odd!

He wasn't at the club long enough but I could have seen Eggert going down the Sullivan route. Looked a bit of a player and could imagine him sticking his nose in when it came to transfers. In fact I still can't imagine the likes of an over the hill Ljungberg was Curbs choice.

I can't agree with you on Eggy. He was placed in charge of the business with only 5% share ownership, then sacked Pardew and appointed Curbishley, giving him a decent transfer chest. He sold his 5% to Gudmundsson who appointed Scott Duxberry to oversee a football project and he chucked even more money at it for his appointed man. We can argue that Duxberry was a prat, not a football man and wasted all that money, but both of those Icelandics three money at blokes they trusted to do the football side of the business.

If poor signings were made, it was their trusted employees doing it so whilst you could say that they appointed the wrong man, they at least trusted them, funded them and stayed out of it. Sullivan is the opposite of that. That they were victims of circumstance and not their own poor decisions in terms of finance is a bitter pill to swallow as a supporter because they were probably the BEST owners we ever had, and shouldn't in my opinion because anywhere near a discussion about the worst.

[eusebiovic]

Big difference between the Cearns and Sullivan is that the Cearns were always in the background and as far as I know allowed the manager to buy the players. When the club had the success years early 80s they certainly allowed the cup receipts to be spent on players. 800 k for Paul Goddard after the Fa cup win if I remember rightly and even a world record fee for a keeper in Parkes when we were in the second division. You can argue they didn't build on the success but no way were they as bad as Sullivan. Put it this way I couldn't imagine a man of principal like John Lyall putting up with Sullivan for one year let alone 15 odd!

He wasn't at the club long enough but I could have seen Eggert going down the Sullivan route. Looked a bit of a player and could imagine him sticking his nose in when it came to transfers. In fact I still can't imagine the likes of an over the hill Ljungberg was Curbs choice.

The only thing about the Cearns which really pissed me off was failing to build on the 1985/86 third place finish. All we needed was 2 max 3 really good players to compliment that team but they wimped out and gave Lyall a pittance to work with. That really was a missed opportunity.

[zico]

Big difference between the Cearns and Sullivan is that the Cearns were always in the background and as far as I know allowed the manager to buy the players. When the club had the success years early 80s they certainly allowed the cup receipts to be spent on players. 800 k for Paul Goddard after the Fa cup win if I remember rightly and even a world record fee for a keeper in Parkes when we were in the second division. You can argue they didn't build on the success but no way were they as bad as Sullivan. Put it this way I couldn't imagine a man of principal like John Lyall putting up with Sullivan for one year let alone 15 odd!

He wasn't at the club long enough but I could have seen Eggert going down the Sullivan route. Looked a bit of a player and could imagine him sticking his nose in when it came to transfers. In fact I still can't imagine the likes of an over the hill Ljungberg was Curbs choice.

[Sir Alf]

 Replace “Who” with Sullivan and remove the “and why” bit from the title and shut this thread down. Its no  longer a question.  

[ATHammer]

As we brace ourselves for the trash talk from those other unfunny, unoriginal, lickspittles from north London wanking on about feeder clubs I am also tempted to turn my dislike toward Newcastle. True, they haven't, as yet, lined Sullivan's palm with silver on taking talent yet but their sin could be even more insidious. They seem to see us as some sort of invalid home. Certainly Dyer and now Wilson (I know he is a free) came directly and Carroll indirectly but the results the same. We wind up with some badly damaged goods that all has it's origins at St James Park. I know Dyer pre-dated Sullivan but he has perpetuated their abuse of our medical facilities. Another example of Sullivan and co. being the worst owners/chairman.  

[Monsieur merde de cheval]

Without a doubt, if you're comparing them as blokes, Terry Brown you'd probably happily go for a beer with. The other one, no doubt what we'd all do there given half a chance.

However, the question is who is the worst owner. It was harder to fuck that situation up we were in, we had half the future England team in our squad, and he appointed the worst manager in our history, who he then give what was at the time unprecedented money (for us) to spend. He bought Repka & Hutchison.

The end.

Can't argue with any of that mate

the question is actually impossible to answer .they've all been equally shite.
If pushed ...
SMURF and his 2ic ...closely followed by the CAIRNS family..
would top the list for me.

[nychammer]

Look at the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool. Both have have been mediocre at times in the past decade or so. The difference is they have dragged themselves back into perennial champions league contention. Have the spent much more money than us in the process ? Maybe, but i don’t it’s a lot. I think the difference is stewardship at those clubs. Right manager and backed well. No shit show transfer sagas. If they want a player they pay asking. Yes I know pedigree helps in attracting the top players and success breeds success, but we don’t do those basic things right and it’s why despite  being in the top 20 richest clubs we rarely see that kind of success

[ATHammer]

From Claret and Hugh (A club mouthpiece) today:
"West Ham appear about to announce a major ‘U’ turn over controversial ID checks which the club had planned to introduce for supporters holding concessions tickets – under 21’s and over 66’s specifically......."
Sullivan and Brady, who we know consider the supporters to be, at best, an inconvenience but we want their money, presided over the development of a scheme that caused data protection concerns, employed a third party to implement said scheme and are now having to modify it.
Are they so vindictive and damaged by climbing down over the concessions that they think that the kids, the clubs future, and the over 66's, the clubs history, spend their entire time dreaming up ways to scam the club?
Simple questions:
1. How much will it save?
2. How much did this scheme cost?
3. How much did the third party employment, and presumably disengagement cost?
4. What is the opportunity cost of various lackeys taking the proposal, working it up, engaging the third party, rectifying the errors and how much boardroom time at a cost was wasted? 
5. What is the CBA? Are the costs proportionate to the benefits anticipated?
If the answers to these questions are not positive then,
6. Whose idea was it and have they been sacked yet?
No wonder the club plead poverty when they waste time and money on schemes like this.
Aside from the financials there is also the impact and widening of a fractured relationship between the board and supporters which I don't suppose they care too much about. There is also the potential impact on time taken getting in to the stadium which is already a time consuming and miserable process.
The whole thing is a cuntish move by cuntish owners who have no respect whatsoever for the fanbase.
Once again Sullivan and Brady prove themselves to be the worst owners of our club.
It was a high bar to start with but raising it they are.

[eusebiovic]

This is a list of all clients on the Unique Sports roster which is Will Salthouse

I predict we will end up with Che Adams up front at some point in the future.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/unique- ... rater/4142

You can check out all the players and coaches on his books

I checked out Barry Silkman but it looks like he has retired and dissolved his company and the same with Willie McKay but in his case it was due to the fallout of the Emiliano Sala case. Booking a handglider to fly over the Bay of Biscay.

What's the worst that could happen?

[nerd2]

Brown 1st then Icelandic as that shambles gave us  GSD
 the last 24 years have been pathetic and it was this lots fault.

[Eerie Decent]

He also said after we got relegated...

"It was our turn"

[Eerie Decent]

Without a doubt, if you're comparing them as blokes, Terry Brown you'd probably happily go for a beer with. The other one, no doubt what we'd all do there given half a chance.

However, the question is who is the worst owner. It was harder to fuck that situation up we were in, we had half the future England team in our squad, and he appointed the worst manager in our history, who he then give what was at the time unprecedented money (for us) to spend. He bought Repka & Hutchison.

The end.

[Monsieur merde de cheval]

The one thing Sullivan beats them all at is moving us to the bowl.

On every other conceivable level, Terry Brown is by far the worst. There will never be another club that will have talent like Rio, Lampard, Cole, Carrick, Defoe, Johnson come through all within a few years, sell them for peanuts (given what they went on to do) and oversee relegation off the back of it.

Aside from the Man Utd group, no one has come close to producing that sort of talent over such a short space of time. Had we had a proper chairman, we could be up there with the big boys now.

Terrence was hopeless at running  WHU..
always found him a  decent bloke. mind ...just  out of his depth..
His mouthpiece Peter storrie on capital radio trying to placate the supporters was more annoying ..

Those days  we still  had  a closed shop support.. with backbone  and   some  serious weight behind it....

[Monsieur merde de cheval]

All cut from the same cloth.
The Cairns 
Terrence 
GSB

The Icelandic chaps seemed to good to be true .

We have always deserved better .
Alas
 

[eusebiovic]

So Frankfurt signed Ekitike for £15m and sell him for £75m 

A player we were endlessly linked with but never got over the line for one reason or another.

By my calculations that is an 80% profit

Funny that eh?

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/liverp ... -frankfurt

 

Psst - Eusebio...that's £400% profit, fella.

But your point is still a very good one.

Of course it's 400% - I'm glad you read between the lines!  

[Massive Attack]

It's such a depressing thread to think how cursed we have been down the years where we have to figure out who's been the biggest cսnt Owners of them all at WHU. Imagine how good we could have been with some competence and genuine care of the Club...



Thing is as West Ham fans we're also fairly reasonable and have never asked for much as a Club, so it's not like we're a demanding fanbase full of crybabies without good reason, if say comparing us to Chelsea fans of late. Fans that have stomped their precious feet like children with how they're new Ownership had been going and yet because of their mega bankrolled - yet again - direction they have managed to remain successful. Sickens me to see it.

[Eerie Decent]

The one thing Sullivan beats them all at is moving us to the bowl.

On every other conceivable level, Terry Brown is by far the worst. There will never be another club that will have talent like Rio, Lampard, Cole, Carrick, Defoe, Johnson come through all within a few years, sell them for peanuts (given what they went on to do) and oversee relegation off the back of it.

Aside from the Man Utd group, no one has come close to producing that sort of talent over such a short space of time. Had we had a proper chairman, we could be up there with the big boys now.

[southbankbornnbred]

So Frankfurt signed Ekitike for £15m and sell him for £75m 

A player we were endlessly linked with but never got over the line for one reason or another.

By my calculations that is an 80% profit

Funny that eh?

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/liverp ... -frankfurt
 

Psst - Eusebio...that's £400% profit, fella.

But your point is still a very good one.

[Mad Dog]

Has any other club had this many poor owners?  Most have had one or two shit ones, but it really takes the piss when you look back at how we've been run for 50+ years

[eusebiovic]

So Frankfurt signed Ekitike for £15m and sell him for £75m 

A player we were endlessly linked with but never got over the line for one reason or another.

By my calculations that is an 80% profit

Funny that eh?

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/liverp ... -frankfurt

[only1billybonds]

Not sure you can count the Cearns's as football club ownership and the finances involved couldn't be further from what they are in the modern game. Think the Icelandics genuinely cared for the club but in true West Ham style luck,they owned us at exactly the wrong time. Brown was out of his depth and had a touch of the spiv about him. I've said for years now that I really don't think Sullivan would have been half as keen had Stratford not got the Olympics,the cheap rent of the khasi was something he just couldn't ignore. This current lot by a country mile for me, they have sucked so much joy out of supporting this club, they should never be forgiven.