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Sullivan out!
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Re: Sullivan out!
so having decent owners delivers success?? who knew!!??
Everton finished 15th (twice), 17th, 16th and 13th over the past 5 years. They had already been hit with PSR points deductions and would have gone into administration this year as well as being forced to sell their best players and possibly give up a chunk of ownership of the new stadium.
we're currently bottom of the league and have the worst record of any PL club over the last 60 games.
if you had half a brain you would be able to see the PSR threat we're walking in to.
reduced revenue through poor league performance
poor recruitment wasting millions
the club will make a significant loss this year.
Everton finished 15th (twice), 17th, 16th and 13th over the past 5 years. They had already been hit with PSR points deductions and would have gone into administration this year as well as being forced to sell their best players and possibly give up a chunk of ownership of the new stadium.
we're currently bottom of the league and have the worst record of any PL club over the last 60 games.
if you had half a brain you would be able to see the PSR threat we're walking in to.
reduced revenue through poor league performance
poor recruitment wasting millions
the club will make a significant loss this year.
Re: Sullivan out!
goose wrote: ↑28 Aug 2025, 09:44XKhammer wrote: ↑28 Aug 2025, 09:41More doom and gloom bollocks
First you say we're going down within next few years followed byI know reading is tough for your tiny brain joyo son, but i've said below they would have finally gone without new ownership. hence it being on the thread about ownership.
without new owners everton would have done into administration and been eventually relegated.
by doom & gloom you mean facts about what is actually happening? you can sit there like a grinning chimp but the numbers don't lie.Yes my tiny rain can't work out facts like Everton going down when they never have
Here's another fact which going to upset you and related to the thread....we would have gone into administration if it wasn't for Sullivan
- WHU(Exeter)
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Re: Sullivan out!
“In both instances is was driven by potential property developments and, if I remember correctly, and I'm sure some on here will relish in correcting me, the possibility of building operating a casino attached to both new football grounds”
Totally agree Mike, although I think the casino thing was only at Brum?
I remember the response from Birmingham City council to their proposal, which in layman’s terms basically stated fuck off and stop trying to take the piss.
That was the point at which they decided to look elsewhere to doom another club to their fucking ineptitude and very, very unfortunately that was us.
IMHO Sullivan’s claim that he left because of being hounded out by the fans, was just another of the many lies. It was the casino falling through and the fact that they weren’t going to get a substantial leg up by the council.
”Kidderminster Town, who are they” (Brady, before a home cup tie at Brum), before being dumped out at home by the non-league club in 1994, pretty much lays the ground for the next 3 decades of their fucking arrogance and incompetence.
Totally agree Mike, although I think the casino thing was only at Brum?
I remember the response from Birmingham City council to their proposal, which in layman’s terms basically stated fuck off and stop trying to take the piss.
That was the point at which they decided to look elsewhere to doom another club to their fucking ineptitude and very, very unfortunately that was us.
IMHO Sullivan’s claim that he left because of being hounded out by the fans, was just another of the many lies. It was the casino falling through and the fact that they weren’t going to get a substantial leg up by the council.
”Kidderminster Town, who are they” (Brady, before a home cup tie at Brum), before being dumped out at home by the non-league club in 1994, pretty much lays the ground for the next 3 decades of their fucking arrogance and incompetence.
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Re: Sullivan out!
Massive Attack" wrote: ↑28 Aug 2025, 09:52 We can't be the new Everton, they have a propose built Football Stadium.
Maybe becoming the new Everton isn't such a bad thing if we can get a new ground built!
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Re: Sullivan out!
We can't be the new Everton, they have a purpose built Football Stadium.
Last edited by Massive Attack on 28 Aug 2025, 10:00, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Sullivan out!
goose wrote: ↑28 Aug 2025, 09:11Eventually they would have done without new owners.
So could have Chelsea without a Russian billionaire crook or City without Arab dosh
Still l want to know why we're the new Everton?
You mean we will never go down then?
Still l want to know why we're the new Everton?
You mean we will never go down then?
Re: Sullivan out!
I know reading is tough for your tiny brain joyo son, but i've said below they would have finally gone without new ownership. hence it being on the thread about ownership.
without new owners everton would have done into administration and been eventually relegated.
by doom & gloom you mean facts about what is actually happening? you can sit there like a grinning chimp but the numbers don't lie.
without new owners everton would have done into administration and been eventually relegated.
by doom & gloom you mean facts about what is actually happening? you can sit there like a grinning chimp but the numbers don't lie.
Re: Sullivan out!
More doom and gloom bollocks
First you say we're going down within next few years followed by we're the new Everton who have never gone down ?????
It ain't over till your fat wife sings
First you say we're going down within next few years followed by we're the new Everton who have never gone down ?????
It ain't over till your fat wife sings
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Re: Sullivan out!
Good to be getting some traction with the media, once they start they’re all like sharks sniffing blood, keep up the good work drawing attention to the owners.
Re: Sullivan out!
Mad Ferret" wrote: ↑28 Aug 2025, 09:23 We're the new Everton and we're gonna be relegated just like they didn't.
bit like that Kappa kit eh?
and the special kit for the conf league final.
and the special kit for the conf league final.
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Re: Sullivan out!
goose wrote: ↑28 Aug 2025, 08:50 The club is fucked. If we aren’t relegated this season it will be next season or the season after if things don’t change fundamentally. I said before we’re the new Everton.
Declan Rice got us out of a short term hole, but we managed to balls up that opportunity.
we don’t recruit well. Look how many players over the last 4 or 5 years that we’ve lost money on.
we can’t keep doing that.
coupled with that we aren’t producing players. We need young players coming through of PL quality but simply haven’t produced any. If we can’t produce players it puts even more pressure on recruitment.
things must change asap.
Even worse Goose,
We'd be in real danger of falling down into League One for the first time in our history if the way the football side of the club is run doesn't change. How Sullivan has still got to this stage running it the way he has is beyond embarrassment in actual fact it's as shameful as him to be honest.
We'd be in real danger of falling down into League One for the first time in our history if the way the football side of the club is run doesn't change. How Sullivan has still got to this stage running it the way he has is beyond embarrassment in actual fact it's as shameful as him to be honest.
Re: Sullivan out!
Eventually they would have done without new owners.
- Mad Ferret
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Re: Sullivan out!
The club is fucked. If we aren’t relegated this season it will be next season or the season after if things don’t change fundamentally. I said before we’re the new Everton.
Declan Rice got us out of a short term hole, but we managed to balls up that opportunity.
we don’t recruit well. Look how many players over the last 4 or 5 years that we’ve lost money on.
we can’t keep doing that.
coupled with that we aren’t producing players. We need young players coming through of PL quality but simply haven’t produced any. If we can’t produce players it puts even more pressure on recruitment.
things must change asap.
Declan Rice got us out of a short term hole, but we managed to balls up that opportunity.
we don’t recruit well. Look how many players over the last 4 or 5 years that we’ve lost money on.
we can’t keep doing that.
coupled with that we aren’t producing players. We need young players coming through of PL quality but simply haven’t produced any. If we can’t produce players it puts even more pressure on recruitment.
things must change asap.
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Re: Sullivan out!
Massive Attack" wrote: ↑27 Aug 2025, 18:01 Matt Law article below..
How West Ham United lost their soul
Lofty promises were made when the club left Upton Park but haphazard spending and muddled thinking have led to growing apathy
At the end of this season it will be 10 years since West Ham United shut the gates of Upton Park forever with vice-chairman Karren Brady promising “a world-class stadium for a world-class team”.
No wonder frustrated supporters, among whom Tony Cottee – the fifth-highest goalscorer in the club’s history – counts himself one, believe promises have been broken.
Until now, West Ham’s average position over nine Premier League seasons since the move to the London Stadium has been 11th and that is threatening to get worse with the team losing their first two games of the league campaign and dropping out of the Carabao Cup.
In nine top-flight seasons before the move, West Ham’s average position was 12.5 and that included one bottom-placed finish that resulted in a season in the Championship.
There has been the Europa Conference League success and some memorable European nights, but West Ham have continued to sell their best players - Dimitri Payet, Declan Rice and Mohammed Kudus - since leaving Upton Park. Lucas Paqueta would have left for Manchester City had it not been for spot-fixing charges he was cleared of and the so-called “world-class stadium” has driven an irreparable wedge between thousands of fans and the club.
“I’ve always said it’s a wonderful stadium but it’s not a wonderful stadium for football and the board failed to recognise that,” said Cottee. “Promises were made to the fans about what the stadium would mean, but then you see Kudus move to Tottenham. It was meant to stop things like that happening. If you make promises they have to be delivered. I’m sure the board would point to winning the Conference League and that was a wonderful moment, but what good is it if it’s not built on and we’re fighting relegation or, even worse, going down a couple of years later?”
Anger, which prompted protests against the board after the stadium move, has developed into apathy among some. Fed-up fans walked out during the thrashing by Chelsea and such has been the silence on some matchdays that at least one visiting manager wondered whether an unofficial minute’s silence was being observed mid-game.
Cottee points to West Ham’s fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur, another of his former clubs, Everton, and Manchester City, as examples of clubs who have got their stadium moves right.
“West Ham fans would have moved all day long, it’s not about the move, when you go through all the ways it could help the club,” he said. “They would have accepted the move if it was like the other clubs, moving into a purpose built stadium or properly converting a stadium like Man City did. But West Ham moved into an athletics stadium and now play in an athletics stadium. That’s not to say it can’t generate an atmosphere because there have been some wonderful nights there like Sevilla. But they have been few and far between.”
Cottee, who scored 146 goals across two spells at West Ham spanning eight years, claims he has been frozen out by the club’s board since backing a proposed takeover bid in 2021. But that has not stopped him attending games and sharing the frustration of supporters.
“I’m not welcome by the board and, yes, it hurts me because I love the club,” said Cottee. “I would love to be involved again if there was a new board, there’s nothing I’d like more.
“I don’t get invited to anything or given any freebies, but I still pay for my season ticket in the corporate lounge. It costs me thousands, so I know how the fans who pay every week feel. I’m one of them and I hurt just as much as them. Things have got to change in my opinion because, trust me, a lot of people didn’t renew their season tickets and there will be a lot of empty seats if things go on as they are.”
Following Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers, captain Jarrod Bowen clashed with supporters who had seen their team fall to a third successive defeat.
“The fans are frustrated and angry, and it’s understandable,” said Cottee. “All I would say is that if you’re going to have a go at anybody, then don’t have a go at Jarrod Bowen because he’s the one person who has given everything.”
Cottee acknowledges that West Ham’s players and head coach Graham Potter must take their share of responsibility for results, but believes mistakes will be repeated under the current ownership.
Since West Ham moved from Upton Park, only Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham have higher net spends according to figures published by transfermarkt.
But money has been wasted, particularly the £105m that was banked for Declan Rice. The decision to spend almost £30m on striker Niclas Fullkrug, who was 31 at the time, shocked rivals with most clubs reluctant to sign ageing players with little or no resale value.
West Ham are still to replace the leadership or energy of Rice, although midfield reinforcements, including Soungoutou Magassa, are expected to arrive before the transfer window shuts.
‘David Moyes should have been allowed to build’
“I’ve said nothing will change unless there’s a change of ownership and I stand by that, mainly on the basis of the way the club has been run over the past 18 months,” said Cottee. “We had a great manager in David Moyes and they couldn’t wait to get rid of him. There’s nobody with any football knowledge on the board and they’ve spent millions of pounds on players who aren’t good enough.
“They seem to only have a weekly plan. Certainly not a 10-year plan, a five-year plan or even a two-year plan. There’s no structure and no business plan for the football side of things at West Ham, that’s obvious. They make erratic decisions and appoint the wrong managers. The appointment of Julen Lopetegui was just ridiculous and anybody could have told you that at the time.
“The current problems started in January 2024, when David (Moyes) was manager. We had won away at Arsenal and we were sixth in the Premier League, and still in the Europa League. In the January transfer window, he needed backing with the signing of four players. But what did they do? They let three or four go and signed one, Kalvin Phillips, and we all saw what happened there.
“They hung the manager out to dry and as a result West Ham lost the third best manager in the club’s history. As far as I’m concerned it was a sliding doors moment, similar to when I was at the club in 1986 and we finished third, the board never invested and we got relegated two years later. David should have been given a five-year contract and been allowed to build on what he achieved.”
Tim Steidten left his role as technical director in February and Kyle Macaulay arrived as head of recruitment, but critics argue that chairman David Sullivan continues to take the opinion of too many allies outside the club.
That has contributed to Potter fighting against a tide of discontent at West Ham with a squad that has been put together by a number of people with different philosophies, priorities and agendas.
Encouragement may be taken from the fact in his second spell at the club, which proved to be successful, Moyes managed five league wins in his first 19 games at the end of the 2019-20 season and started the next campaign with two league defeats. Potter had five league wins from 18 games - including against Arsenal and Manchester United - last season and has started with two top-flight losses this term.
“I like Graham Potter,” said Cottee. “I said he should have been appointed when Lopetegui was and maybe we could have avoided some of the current problems if he had come in earlier. He seems to be a genuinely good guy and I think he’s a good coach, but he needs results. He needs at least a draw at (Nottingham) Forest at the weekend, otherwise the walls will start closing in.
“You hear a few people saying ‘get rid of him’. But then what do you do? Who do you replace him with? Sean Dyche? You can’t just keep changing managers and nothing else. Graham is still the right person in my opinion, but he needs to get some results – fast.
“We’re in really big trouble with the way things stand. It needs to change in the last few days of the transfer window with the players that are brought in. I’m scratching my head at why it’s been left so late until the last minute. Surely you get them in as early as possible to have a pre-season with the club. But, as I said, there’s no plan.”
Superb!
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Re: Sullivan out!
I just watched a YouTube video on Hammers Chat by a guy called Mark, a 30 year West Ham veteran.
I think he sums up beautifully what the majority of us think about the disconnection of the club from the fans, the move to the bowl and its ramifications and just how much the heart and soul was ripped out of the club when we sold our home.
All dreadfully sad really.
I think he sums up beautifully what the majority of us think about the disconnection of the club from the fans, the move to the bowl and its ramifications and just how much the heart and soul was ripped out of the club when we sold our home.
All dreadfully sad really.
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- Mike Oxsaw
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Re: Sullivan out!
Like Birmingham before us, Gold & Sullivan were never interested in football or the football club.
In both instances is was driven by potential property developments and, if I remember correctly, and I'm sure some on here will relish in correcting me, the possibility of building operating a casino attached to both new football grounds.
When that idea vanished at Birmingham, it was still not completely off the table for the redevelopment of Stratford for the Olympics, but that idea, too, was subsequently scuppered and the pair were lumbered with a football club which, as businessmen, neither really wanted.
Rather that, in both cases, appoint a team to run the footballing side, they decided that their experience in greasing dildos was perfect to build a world class football team.
Being egotistical, they simply couldn't admit to not knowing (anything) and so simply used the brute force of their ownership to drive the club "forward", rather than delegate the tasks to correctly identified individuals, step back and play a few rounds of golf.
It is indeed a train crash that we are witnessing, and the journey started the minute Gold & Sullivan bought the club.
In both instances is was driven by potential property developments and, if I remember correctly, and I'm sure some on here will relish in correcting me, the possibility of building operating a casino attached to both new football grounds.
When that idea vanished at Birmingham, it was still not completely off the table for the redevelopment of Stratford for the Olympics, but that idea, too, was subsequently scuppered and the pair were lumbered with a football club which, as businessmen, neither really wanted.
Rather that, in both cases, appoint a team to run the footballing side, they decided that their experience in greasing dildos was perfect to build a world class football team.
Being egotistical, they simply couldn't admit to not knowing (anything) and so simply used the brute force of their ownership to drive the club "forward", rather than delegate the tasks to correctly identified individuals, step back and play a few rounds of golf.
It is indeed a train crash that we are witnessing, and the journey started the minute Gold & Sullivan bought the club.
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Re: Sullivan out!
Matt Law article below..
How West Ham United lost their soul
Lofty promises were made when the club left Upton Park but haphazard spending and muddled thinking have led to growing apathy
At the end of this season it will be 10 years since West Ham United shut the gates of Upton Park forever with vice-chairman Karren Brady promising “a world-class stadium for a world-class team”.
No wonder frustrated supporters, among whom Tony Cottee – the fifth-highest goalscorer in the club’s history – counts himself one, believe promises have been broken.
Until now, West Ham’s average position over nine Premier League seasons since the move to the London Stadium has been 11th and that is threatening to get worse with the team losing their first two games of the league campaign and dropping out of the Carabao Cup.
In nine top-flight seasons before the move, West Ham’s average position was 12.5 and that included one bottom-placed finish that resulted in a season in the Championship.
There has been the Europa Conference League success and some memorable European nights, but West Ham have continued to sell their best players - Dimitri Payet, Declan Rice and Mohammed Kudus - since leaving Upton Park. Lucas Paqueta would have left for Manchester City had it not been for spot-fixing charges he was cleared of and the so-called “world-class stadium” has driven an irreparable wedge between thousands of fans and the club.
“I’ve always said it’s a wonderful stadium but it’s not a wonderful stadium for football and the board failed to recognise that,” said Cottee. “Promises were made to the fans about what the stadium would mean, but then you see Kudus move to Tottenham. It was meant to stop things like that happening. If you make promises they have to be delivered. I’m sure the board would point to winning the Conference League and that was a wonderful moment, but what good is it if it’s not built on and we’re fighting relegation or, even worse, going down a couple of years later?”
Anger, which prompted protests against the board after the stadium move, has developed into apathy among some. Fed-up fans walked out during the thrashing by Chelsea and such has been the silence on some matchdays that at least one visiting manager wondered whether an unofficial minute’s silence was being observed mid-game.
Cottee points to West Ham’s fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur, another of his former clubs, Everton, and Manchester City, as examples of clubs who have got their stadium moves right.
“West Ham fans would have moved all day long, it’s not about the move, when you go through all the ways it could help the club,” he said. “They would have accepted the move if it was like the other clubs, moving into a purpose built stadium or properly converting a stadium like Man City did. But West Ham moved into an athletics stadium and now play in an athletics stadium. That’s not to say it can’t generate an atmosphere because there have been some wonderful nights there like Sevilla. But they have been few and far between.”
Cottee, who scored 146 goals across two spells at West Ham spanning eight years, claims he has been frozen out by the club’s board since backing a proposed takeover bid in 2021. But that has not stopped him attending games and sharing the frustration of supporters.
“I’m not welcome by the board and, yes, it hurts me because I love the club,” said Cottee. “I would love to be involved again if there was a new board, there’s nothing I’d like more.
“I don’t get invited to anything or given any freebies, but I still pay for my season ticket in the corporate lounge. It costs me thousands, so I know how the fans who pay every week feel. I’m one of them and I hurt just as much as them. Things have got to change in my opinion because, trust me, a lot of people didn’t renew their season tickets and there will be a lot of empty seats if things go on as they are.”
Following Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers, captain Jarrod Bowen clashed with supporters who had seen their team fall to a third successive defeat.
“The fans are frustrated and angry, and it’s understandable,” said Cottee. “All I would say is that if you’re going to have a go at anybody, then don’t have a go at Jarrod Bowen because he’s the one person who has given everything.”
Cottee acknowledges that West Ham’s players and head coach Graham Potter must take their share of responsibility for results, but believes mistakes will be repeated under the current ownership.
Since West Ham moved from Upton Park, only Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham have higher net spends according to figures published by transfermarkt.
But money has been wasted, particularly the £105m that was banked for Declan Rice. The decision to spend almost £30m on striker Niclas Fullkrug, who was 31 at the time, shocked rivals with most clubs reluctant to sign ageing players with little or no resale value.
West Ham are still to replace the leadership or energy of Rice, although midfield reinforcements, including Soungoutou Magassa, are expected to arrive before the transfer window shuts.
‘David Moyes should have been allowed to build’
“I’ve said nothing will change unless there’s a change of ownership and I stand by that, mainly on the basis of the way the club has been run over the past 18 months,” said Cottee. “We had a great manager in David Moyes and they couldn’t wait to get rid of him. There’s nobody with any football knowledge on the board and they’ve spent millions of pounds on players who aren’t good enough.
“They seem to only have a weekly plan. Certainly not a 10-year plan, a five-year plan or even a two-year plan. There’s no structure and no business plan for the football side of things at West Ham, that’s obvious. They make erratic decisions and appoint the wrong managers. The appointment of Julen Lopetegui was just ridiculous and anybody could have told you that at the time.
“The current problems started in January 2024, when David (Moyes) was manager. We had won away at Arsenal and we were sixth in the Premier League, and still in the Europa League. In the January transfer window, he needed backing with the signing of four players. But what did they do? They let three or four go and signed one, Kalvin Phillips, and we all saw what happened there.
“They hung the manager out to dry and as a result West Ham lost the third best manager in the club’s history. As far as I’m concerned it was a sliding doors moment, similar to when I was at the club in 1986 and we finished third, the board never invested and we got relegated two years later. David should have been given a five-year contract and been allowed to build on what he achieved.”
Tim Steidten left his role as technical director in February and Kyle Macaulay arrived as head of recruitment, but critics argue that chairman David Sullivan continues to take the opinion of too many allies outside the club.
That has contributed to Potter fighting against a tide of discontent at West Ham with a squad that has been put together by a number of people with different philosophies, priorities and agendas.
Encouragement may be taken from the fact in his second spell at the club, which proved to be successful, Moyes managed five league wins in his first 19 games at the end of the 2019-20 season and started the next campaign with two league defeats. Potter had five league wins from 18 games - including against Arsenal and Manchester United - last season and has started with two top-flight losses this term.
“I like Graham Potter,” said Cottee. “I said he should have been appointed when Lopetegui was and maybe we could have avoided some of the current problems if he had come in earlier. He seems to be a genuinely good guy and I think he’s a good coach, but he needs results. He needs at least a draw at (Nottingham) Forest at the weekend, otherwise the walls will start closing in.
“You hear a few people saying ‘get rid of him’. But then what do you do? Who do you replace him with? Sean Dyche? You can’t just keep changing managers and nothing else. Graham is still the right person in my opinion, but he needs to get some results – fast.
“We’re in really big trouble with the way things stand. It needs to change in the last few days of the transfer window with the players that are brought in. I’m scratching my head at why it’s been left so late until the last minute. Surely you get them in as early as possible to have a pre-season with the club. But, as I said, there’s no plan.”
How West Ham United lost their soul
Lofty promises were made when the club left Upton Park but haphazard spending and muddled thinking have led to growing apathy
At the end of this season it will be 10 years since West Ham United shut the gates of Upton Park forever with vice-chairman Karren Brady promising “a world-class stadium for a world-class team”.
No wonder frustrated supporters, among whom Tony Cottee – the fifth-highest goalscorer in the club’s history – counts himself one, believe promises have been broken.
Until now, West Ham’s average position over nine Premier League seasons since the move to the London Stadium has been 11th and that is threatening to get worse with the team losing their first two games of the league campaign and dropping out of the Carabao Cup.
In nine top-flight seasons before the move, West Ham’s average position was 12.5 and that included one bottom-placed finish that resulted in a season in the Championship.
There has been the Europa Conference League success and some memorable European nights, but West Ham have continued to sell their best players - Dimitri Payet, Declan Rice and Mohammed Kudus - since leaving Upton Park. Lucas Paqueta would have left for Manchester City had it not been for spot-fixing charges he was cleared of and the so-called “world-class stadium” has driven an irreparable wedge between thousands of fans and the club.
“I’ve always said it’s a wonderful stadium but it’s not a wonderful stadium for football and the board failed to recognise that,” said Cottee. “Promises were made to the fans about what the stadium would mean, but then you see Kudus move to Tottenham. It was meant to stop things like that happening. If you make promises they have to be delivered. I’m sure the board would point to winning the Conference League and that was a wonderful moment, but what good is it if it’s not built on and we’re fighting relegation or, even worse, going down a couple of years later?”
Anger, which prompted protests against the board after the stadium move, has developed into apathy among some. Fed-up fans walked out during the thrashing by Chelsea and such has been the silence on some matchdays that at least one visiting manager wondered whether an unofficial minute’s silence was being observed mid-game.
Cottee points to West Ham’s fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur, another of his former clubs, Everton, and Manchester City, as examples of clubs who have got their stadium moves right.
“West Ham fans would have moved all day long, it’s not about the move, when you go through all the ways it could help the club,” he said. “They would have accepted the move if it was like the other clubs, moving into a purpose built stadium or properly converting a stadium like Man City did. But West Ham moved into an athletics stadium and now play in an athletics stadium. That’s not to say it can’t generate an atmosphere because there have been some wonderful nights there like Sevilla. But they have been few and far between.”
Cottee, who scored 146 goals across two spells at West Ham spanning eight years, claims he has been frozen out by the club’s board since backing a proposed takeover bid in 2021. But that has not stopped him attending games and sharing the frustration of supporters.
“I’m not welcome by the board and, yes, it hurts me because I love the club,” said Cottee. “I would love to be involved again if there was a new board, there’s nothing I’d like more.
“I don’t get invited to anything or given any freebies, but I still pay for my season ticket in the corporate lounge. It costs me thousands, so I know how the fans who pay every week feel. I’m one of them and I hurt just as much as them. Things have got to change in my opinion because, trust me, a lot of people didn’t renew their season tickets and there will be a lot of empty seats if things go on as they are.”
Following Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers, captain Jarrod Bowen clashed with supporters who had seen their team fall to a third successive defeat.
“The fans are frustrated and angry, and it’s understandable,” said Cottee. “All I would say is that if you’re going to have a go at anybody, then don’t have a go at Jarrod Bowen because he’s the one person who has given everything.”
Cottee acknowledges that West Ham’s players and head coach Graham Potter must take their share of responsibility for results, but believes mistakes will be repeated under the current ownership.
Since West Ham moved from Upton Park, only Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham have higher net spends according to figures published by transfermarkt.
But money has been wasted, particularly the £105m that was banked for Declan Rice. The decision to spend almost £30m on striker Niclas Fullkrug, who was 31 at the time, shocked rivals with most clubs reluctant to sign ageing players with little or no resale value.
West Ham are still to replace the leadership or energy of Rice, although midfield reinforcements, including Soungoutou Magassa, are expected to arrive before the transfer window shuts.
‘David Moyes should have been allowed to build’
“I’ve said nothing will change unless there’s a change of ownership and I stand by that, mainly on the basis of the way the club has been run over the past 18 months,” said Cottee. “We had a great manager in David Moyes and they couldn’t wait to get rid of him. There’s nobody with any football knowledge on the board and they’ve spent millions of pounds on players who aren’t good enough.
“They seem to only have a weekly plan. Certainly not a 10-year plan, a five-year plan or even a two-year plan. There’s no structure and no business plan for the football side of things at West Ham, that’s obvious. They make erratic decisions and appoint the wrong managers. The appointment of Julen Lopetegui was just ridiculous and anybody could have told you that at the time.
“The current problems started in January 2024, when David (Moyes) was manager. We had won away at Arsenal and we were sixth in the Premier League, and still in the Europa League. In the January transfer window, he needed backing with the signing of four players. But what did they do? They let three or four go and signed one, Kalvin Phillips, and we all saw what happened there.
“They hung the manager out to dry and as a result West Ham lost the third best manager in the club’s history. As far as I’m concerned it was a sliding doors moment, similar to when I was at the club in 1986 and we finished third, the board never invested and we got relegated two years later. David should have been given a five-year contract and been allowed to build on what he achieved.”
Tim Steidten left his role as technical director in February and Kyle Macaulay arrived as head of recruitment, but critics argue that chairman David Sullivan continues to take the opinion of too many allies outside the club.
That has contributed to Potter fighting against a tide of discontent at West Ham with a squad that has been put together by a number of people with different philosophies, priorities and agendas.
Encouragement may be taken from the fact in his second spell at the club, which proved to be successful, Moyes managed five league wins in his first 19 games at the end of the 2019-20 season and started the next campaign with two league defeats. Potter had five league wins from 18 games - including against Arsenal and Manchester United - last season and has started with two top-flight losses this term.
“I like Graham Potter,” said Cottee. “I said he should have been appointed when Lopetegui was and maybe we could have avoided some of the current problems if he had come in earlier. He seems to be a genuinely good guy and I think he’s a good coach, but he needs results. He needs at least a draw at (Nottingham) Forest at the weekend, otherwise the walls will start closing in.
“You hear a few people saying ‘get rid of him’. But then what do you do? Who do you replace him with? Sean Dyche? You can’t just keep changing managers and nothing else. Graham is still the right person in my opinion, but he needs to get some results – fast.
“We’re in really big trouble with the way things stand. It needs to change in the last few days of the transfer window with the players that are brought in. I’m scratching my head at why it’s been left so late until the last minute. Surely you get them in as early as possible to have a pre-season with the club. But, as I said, there’s no plan.”
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- Mike Oxsaw
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Re: Sullivan out!
Massive Attack" wrote: ↑27 Aug 2025, 12:39 Demanding Sullivan and Brady to get out of our Club is really positive and sensible.
Not a hint of a "Whoooooosh!".
Oh, wait....
Oh, wait....
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Re: Sullivan out!
Thanks XK for putting me straight, I'm going to make an effort not to be as rude on here as it’s not clever I will retract my suggestion of doing anything as scandalous and obviously illegal as buying a shirt from them naughty far easterners and I will refrain from calling you a thin skinned do gooder cսnt.
I stand corrected, accept my apologies
I stand corrected, accept my apologies