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West Ham 2018/19: Flares’n’Slippers
In January 2020 David Sullivan, West Ham’s controlling shareholder said “Overall, I believe the club’s in a far better state than 10 years ago” so we thought we’d put that to the test with a look at the club’s finances during that period. Decade of success or standing still? The West Ham that Sullivan and Gold acquired from the former Icelandic Bank owners was certainly in crisis, but have their efforts improved the happiness of fans who now attend the rented London Stadium? Rebelling fans know West Ham have just announced their accounts for the year ended 30 June 2019, and like events on the pitch last season, disappoint more than…
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West Ham 2018: Plastic Passion
Introduction: Getting to the London Stadium was supposed to be a game changer financially for West Ham, according to the club’s owners, David Gold and David Sullivan. Once the move was completed the additional capacity, combined with the greater opportunities for developing sponsorship and commercial agreements should have given the club the extra income to allow West Ham to break through the glass ceiling of the ‘Big Six’ clubs who had taken nearly all of the Champions League places this decade. Local fans however have not been happy with the move, leading to an uneasy relationship with the owners that manifested itself last season on occasion with demonstrations and hostility…
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West Ham United 2017 Financial Results: Fool’s Gold
After an emotional farewell to the Boleyn Ground the previous season, West Ham moved to the London Stadium, and fans had high expectations that the club could start to chip away at the glass ceiling of the self-styled ‘Big 6’, who have a disproportionate share of the income, and therefore best players, within the Premier League. Those hopes failed to materialise. A poor start in the Europa League, where they were knocked out before the group stage by the team that finished 6th in the Romanian League the previous season, was followed by problems with the new stadium in terms of logistics, stewarding and atmosphere. A spat with the council…
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West Ham and the London Stadium: Flares ‘n’ Slippers
Introduction: We don’t particularly like politicians here at Price of Football. Not because we have any left/right leanings, our viewpoint is mid-Atlantic on most issues, but because they repeatedly fail the competence threshold, regardless of their affiliations. Present London mayor Sadiq Khan (Labour) commissioned an investigation into the deal which has resulted in West Ham residing in the former 2012 Olympic (now London) stadium. The deal to give the Hammers the stadium was granted by the former administration, run by foot in mouth former mayor Boris Johnson (Conservative). Herein lies the first point, had the previous mayor been Labour, what would be the chances of this investigation and report taking…