West Ham fans are watching a poor team in a terrible stadium with a board they hate

[Any Old Iron]

From the Daily Telegraph

If Tottenham Hotspur supporters thought they had it bad under former chairman Daniel Levy, then imagine how West Ham United fans must be feeling.The post-Levy era started with a bang for Spurs, but it’s same old, same old for West Ham supporters who are stuck watching a poor team in a stadium they cannot stand with a chairman and vice-chair they want out.Hammers chairman David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady looked uncomfortable as the London Stadium emptied out after Micky van de Ven had scored Tottenham’s third goal.Vivienne Lewis and her son-in-law Nick Beucher, representing Tottenham’s new era, did a good job of maintaining a professional front in the stands, but they must have been cock-a-hoop.Remember it was Levy who proposed knocking down the Olympic arena to build a proper football ground when he considered taking Tottenham to Stratford. Spurs fans must thank their lucky stars that never came to fruition, but West Ham supporters will think he had the right idea after being left watching their team in an athletics stadium

[Texas Iron]

What do you expect from Barrow boy Ex-Porno ownership…

Incompetently run on a shoestring budget by Amateurs…

No surprises here…

 

[Any Old Iron]

More from the Telegraph

West Ham’s unloved stadium has become red flag for potential buyersSupporters want owners to sell, but the club’s valuation pales in comparison to London rivalsWest Ham pay low rent on their 99-year lease on London Stadium but because they do not own the ground they are limited when it comes to revenue growthCredit: Getty Images/Vince MignottTim Wigmore17 September 2025 6:01am BST“No more BS”. The signs at London Stadium on Saturday demonstrated West Ham fans’ desperation. Mass protests during the 3-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur aimed to pressurise Karren Brady and David Sullivan, the vice-chair and chairman, into selling the club.Two weeks ago, West Ham’s official fan advisory board – which claims to represent 25,000 supporters – issued a letter of no confidence in the board.But, so far, West Ham’s owners have not given any public indications of being open to a sale. Then again, owners seldom do: after all, to admit to a desire to sell is to tacitly lower the value of the asset.The dynamics at West Ham suggest a sale is possible, however. Brady and Sullivan have been in their posts for 15 years; Sullivan, who owns 38.8 per cent of the club, would make tens of millions in profit if he sold up. So would Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire who owns 27 per cent. There have already been strong suggestions that Vanessa Gold, who owns 25.1 per cent after her father David died two years ago, is keen to sell.David Sullivan (right) is under pressure to sell after 15 years as West Ham co-ownerCredit: Getty Images/Robbie Jay BarrattAfter Daniel Levy’s departure as Tottenham chairman, there have already been two declarations of interest in buying Spurs. Enic Sports & Developments Holdings Ltd – which has an almost 87 per cent stake in the club – has denied that Tottenham are for sale though.Advertisement
Spurs’ situation is relevant for West Ham. Last Monday, Tottenham said they received an approach to sell from PCP International Finance Limited, which is fronted by Amanda Staveley, who led the Saudi Arabian takeover of Newcastle United.PCP International Finance subsequently said that it did not intend to make an offer for Tottenham. Under UK takeover rules, PCP is now barred from returning with an offer for the club over the next six months. But in the meantime, it is free to make inquiries with West Ham, should it wish to.For prospective buyers, the existing owners – and the fans who desire them gone – the salient question is simple. How much are West Ham worth?West Ham are in turmoil and are becoming an increasingly unattractive option for would-be investorsLondon premiumWest Ham’s most obvious advantage is geography. Any capital club attract a significant London premium. All other things being equal, a Premier League side based in the capital would reasonably be likely to be sold for about 25 per cent more than one in a less-desirable location, says Kieran Maguire, author of The Price of Football.The discrepancy is largely explained by the greater affluence of London football-goers. The three biggest London clubs, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal, generate 23 per cent more from each match-day fan than Liverpool and Manchester United.But London’s appeal transcends wealth alone. Owning a London club is not just a financial investment; it is also a status symbol, a way of showing off to friends and business partners. An equally successful club in, say, Bournemouth will never command the same worth.
Stadium ‘curse’For all the general dynamics that inform West Ham’s value, perhaps most important is the club’s unique stadium arrangement. In 2013, West Ham made London Stadium their new home on a 99-year lease. Under the agreement with City Hall and the London Legacy Development Corporation, West Ham received benefits that equated to a public subsidy of about £700m; like winning the lottery, Arsène Wenger said.West Ham’s rent amounts to less than the costs of running the venue. The stadium is effectively subsidised by about £10m a year. “Brady negotiated a great deal on behalf of West Ham,” Maguire says. “She should be applauded for that, unless you’re a taxpayer.”While London Stadium is West Ham’s greatest asset, it is simultaneously a curse. West Ham benefit from the cheap rent and big crowds. But they do not control the infrastructure – limiting their revenue growth and ultimately capping their valuation.For West Ham, London Stadium has become a little less desirable with every extra year that the club have played there. The stadium sits uncomfortably with changing Premier League dynamics.With UK broadcasting rights declining by 31 per cent in real terms – that is, accounting for inflation – clubs have become more creative in how they generate cash. Across the Premier League, broadcasting rights accounted for 60 per cent of total revenue in 2016-17, but just 52 per cent in 2023-24.Clubs like Tottenham are aggressively positioning their venues as marquee stadiums for the best music artists to perform at, allowing the stadium to generate cash outside match days. London Stadium generates cash in this way, too – but this bounty goes to the London Legacy Development Corporation, not West Ham. Even if Taylor Swift performed at London Stadium, it would not help West Ham.“Because West Ham don’t own the ground, they can’t sweat the asset in the way Spurs or Arsenal can,” says Dr Paul Widdop, a reader in sport business at Manchester Metropolitan University.Spurs’ potential to acquire a naming-rights partner for the ground inflates the club’s value. West Ham could not sell the naming rights to London Stadium in the same way. This leaves the club “without the financial autonomy that would normally drive a premium in any sale”. Should Spurs sell their naming rights, these could be worth as much as £25m a year – £250m over a decade.West Ham retain the bulk of the cash that the stadium generates on match days. But such revenue is limited because the ground is not a purpose-built, football-first ground.Many seats have a poor view; the facilities are also far less conducive for extracting money from fans as those at tailor-made venues.While Spurs generated an average of £84 from each match-going fan in 2023-24, Maguire calculates, West Ham earned just £27.The stadium is also immensely unpopular with West Ham fans, especially compared to their previous home Upton Park. It often has many empty seats and has become a hotspot for “football tourists”.
On-field strugglesCurrent on-field performance is also off-putting for potential investors. After coming 14th last year, a lack of summer investment, and a poor start to this season, has raised fears that West Ham could be relegated.Any prospective investors would factor in the risk of relegation, either this year or in the coming seasons. Were the side sold when at grave peril of demotion, or already relegated, this could knock several £100m off the club’s value.West Ham’s ability to command high fees for the squad’s existing talent is limited. So far this season, the average age of West Ham’s starting XI is closer to 28 than 27, the fifth oldest in the Premier League. Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paquetá, who are regarded as the squad’s two most valuable players, are both 28, past the age when they would be likely to command a peak transfer fee.
So, how much are West Ham worth?And so, if they were sold, the two clubs who met last weekend would command vastly different values. Tottenham’s total price would be likely to exceed £3bn, possibly reaching as high as £3.4bn. This reflects not just the greater value of Spurs’ squad, but also the income derived from Champions League football and, above all, the club’s prowess in monetising their ground. Despite their prime location, West Ham lack these advantages.West Ham’s annual revenue was £277m last year. Leading teams are typically sold for around five times their annual revenue. But West Ham’s circumstances mean that the club will not receive anything like that much.Even Brady has acknowledged this. In 2020, writing on her website, she claimed that West Ham were valued at £800m. A year later, Kretinsky bought a 27 per cent stake for about £180m, implying that the club’s total value was £660m.“Investors – particularly those from North America – see ownership of real estate as a major component of their sports strategies, so non-ownership is likely to limit the pool of potential buyers and the valuation of the club as a whole,” says Nic Hamer from Oakwell Sports Advisory. He believes that West Ham could be sold for in the region of two to three times the club’s annual valuation, suggesting a total price of up to £830m.If they are convinced to sell, Brady and Sullivan would ideally like £1bn, Maguire believes. “It will involve good negotiation, but it’s not impossible.”Premier League clubs – let alone those based in London – are rarely for sale. As in the sale of any sports team, billionaires’ vanity could drive up the price of West Ham beyond their expected worth. But that is still likely to be around a third of Tottenham.

[El Scorchio]

Without meaning to sound too dramatic. West Ham are a club that's slowly dying. End of. 

At face value, we have a shit stadium, poor manager with an average team.

Deeper down, we have an absolute incompetent and insidious cսnt of an owner who has made numerous bad decisions about the stadium and finances, and simply cannot get manager and player recruitment right. 

This has led to the root problem where fans are just giving up in their droves and the club has lost its core identity. It just doesn't mean much to anyone anymore. Other club's supporters look at West Ham like its a dog with fleas. Our identity should be the thing that other club's supporters respect. But that's gone. Pundits look at West Ham like its a fly in a bedroom. Nothing to worry about but just a bit annoying. Due to the apathy we are simply unable to show other supporters what we really are - Especially at home. The match day experience is boring and frustrating. 

I am struggling to find any enthusiasm to take my daughter who's football mad. She went to half a dozen games last season and we were shit in all but one of them when we were 'OK' and nicked a win. She goes to games and then asks me why everyone is so angry. It's so fucking hard. 

Unless there is a major change in ownership and direction we will get relegated and that could be it for us.  

 

it's on a par with what the Washington Redskins put up with for twenty five years under the ownership of Dan Snyder. Another egomaniac control freak cսnt, that never made a good decision, never invested in decent facilities for players, had us playing in a shithole stadium and pushed thousands of loyal fans away from the franchise. For those years of torment, the no good bastard walked away with $6b. Rumours are that he's now relocated to Europe, in particular London. It would just be our luck if the porn dwarf sold up to someone as bad as him

Actually good case study in a good/bad owner and how it affects a team on the field- look at them now, just two years removed.

Am I right in saying he also tried to 'influence' or 'control' all the local media outlets, similar to a certain little you know who?

Just like Sullivan will though, it's criminal how these bad owners always walk away with fuller pockets than when they rocked up. As always the supporters are the victims.

[Takashi Miike]

Without meaning to sound too dramatic. West Ham are a club that's slowly dying. End of. 

At face value, we have a shit stadium, poor manager with an average team.

Deeper down, we have an absolute incompetent and insidious cսnt of an owner who has made numerous bad decisions about the stadium and finances, and simply cannot get manager and player recruitment right. 

This has led to the root problem where fans are just giving up in their droves and the club has lost its core identity. It just doesn't mean much to anyone anymore. Other club's supporters look at West Ham like its a dog with fleas. Our identity should be the thing that other club's supporters respect. But that's gone. Pundits look at West Ham like its a fly in a bedroom. Nothing to worry about but just a bit annoying. Due to the apathy we are simply unable to show other supporters what we really are - Especially at home. The match day experience is boring and frustrating. 

I am struggling to find any enthusiasm to take my daughter who's football mad. She went to half a dozen games last season and we were shit in all but one of them when we were 'OK' and nicked a win. She goes to games and then asks me why everyone is so angry. It's so fucking hard. 

Unless there is a major change in ownership and direction we will get relegated and that could be it for us.  

 

 

it's on a par with what the Washington Redskins put up with for twenty five years under the ownership of Dan Snyder. Another egomaniac control freak cսnt, that never made a good decision, never invested in decent facilities for players, had us playing in a shithole stadium and pushed thousands of loyal fans away from the franchise. For those years of torment, the no good bastard walked away with $6b. Rumours are that he's now relocated to Europe, in particular London. It would just be our luck if the porn dwarf sold up to someone as bad as him

[El Scorchio]

Agree. Centre backs, goalkeeper, Striker- fucking shocking and so far below the required quality. CM has been absolutely fucking shocking, although Fernandes and Magassa might fix that particular area at least- time will tell/jury out- but CM absolutely was in a dreadful state and had been for at least 12-18 months.

[Far Cough UKunt]

With the squad we've got right now, it would struggle in the championship.

[Russ of the BML]

Without meaning to sound too dramatic. West Ham are a club that's slowly dying. End of. 

At face value, we have a shit stadium, poor manager with an average team.

Deeper down, we have an absolute incompetent and insidious cսnt of an owner who has made numerous bad decisions about the stadium and finances, and simply cannot get manager and player recruitment right. 

This has led to the root problem where fans are just giving up in their droves and the club has lost its core identity. It just doesn't mean much to anyone anymore. Other club's supporters look at West Ham like its a dog with fleas. Our identity should be the thing that other club's supporters respect. But that's gone. Pundits look at West Ham like its a fly in a bedroom. Nothing to worry about but just a bit annoying. Due to the apathy we are simply unable to show other supporters what we really are - Especially at home. The match day experience is boring and frustrating. 

I am struggling to find any enthusiasm to take my daughter who's football mad. She went to half a dozen games last season and we were shit in all but one of them when we were 'OK' and nicked a win. She goes to games and then asks me why everyone is so angry. It's so fucking hard. 

Unless there is a major change in ownership and direction we will get relegated and that could be it for us.  

[Dick Shaftsbury]

The bit about knocking the stadium down, which Levy suggested, is very relevant.  But can anyone im agine an alkternative universe where a West Ham board would take such a long term, and very expensive, view rather than a short term "this will do for the moment" approach.?  We've head some pretty awful boards of directors over the years,m and I agree the present crowd are as bad, if not worse, than any of them.  And none of them have ever had any genuine long term strategy for trying to push the club upwards.

And we fans have to take a bit of the blame imo.  In the 1980's some people will remember, we were offered the opportunity of having a purpose built stadium in Becton as part of the Docklands regeneration scheme. But there was so much uproar about leaving Upton Park, in fact I seem to remember there was a vote taken and about 90% of those who took part said no, and the idea was scrapped.

I wonder if we owned the stadium, and sold the naming rights for 10 or 20 years, would that go a long way towards funding a new stadium?

[Cerveza Para Mi]

The bit about knocking the stadium down, which Levy suggested, is very relevant.  But can anyone im agine an alkternative universe where a West Ham board would take such a long term, and very expensive, view rather than a short term "this will do for the moment" approach.?  We've head some pretty awful boards of directors over the years,m and I agree the present crowd are as bad, if not worse, than any of them.  And none of them have ever had any genuine long term strategy for trying to push the club upwards.

And we fans have to take a bit of the blame imo.  In the 1980's some people will remember, we were offered the opportunity of having a purpose built stadium in Becton as part of the Docklands regeneration scheme. But there was so much uproar about leaving Upton Park, in fact I seem to remember there was a vote taken and about 90% of those who took part said no, and the idea was scrapped.

[Any Old Iron]

So Vexed, what would you rather see in a widely read newspaper about WHU, Bullshit and lies from Tits McGee in the Sun? 
If we want rid of Sullivan and his Brass then these kind of articles are all grist to the mill.

[Mex Martillo]

But, good to see it the tory rag, also similar stuff from Jacob in the Guardian. With the natioal media finally realising, Sullivan will be getting more uncomfortable.

[Sydney_Iron]

Fuck me! Thanks for posting, never would have realised otherwise............................

They will be telling us the manager is clueless next

Maybe we need some threads on changing owners or getting rid of the board? 

FFS!

[Vexed]

Doesn't really serve any purpose at all that article. 

Yeah we know. Thanks The Telegraph.