Forum | General Discussion

With the exception of those owned by state stealth, the vast majority of Barclays Premier League clubs are struggling to cope with the fiscal fall out generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and West Ham United are most definitely one of them! It could be worse though, and we shall go in to the details in more depth now.

Certain 'institutions' known for their fiscal countenance have been caught out by the Pandemic, none more so than West Ham's London neighbours Tottenham, who have been forced to take out an eye watering £1 Billion loan in order to cover the shortfall of income from the newly constructed stadium, no one anticipated the loss of revenue that would occur from non-football related events scheduled to run throughout the off season.

While having nowhere near the financial commitments of 'Lord' Levy's club, Hammers still have a fiscal 'black hole' to fill, and to that purpose, the bean counters have come up with a relatively 'clever' resolution. It is common knowledge that assets held by the banks yield a paltry return, so 'cash rich' investment companies, trust and hedge fund conglomerates are seeking ways to get a bigger bang for their bucks.

The Dell corporation, started in a little box room 40 years ago but now worth in excess of £5 Billion are the unlikely 'cavalry' coming to the aid of the Irons, well not exactly Dell, more like the trust fund set out by the founder to look after his family, but irrespective of the monies origins, a £100 Million rolling loan' facility has been established.

In a way it is a win win for all parties, the Dell trust gets 2.5 % annual interest, which is FIVE times more than they would receive from a bank, and West Ham get to borrow money 'on the cheap', thus removing the need to sell 'player assets'. This is a unique turn of events, and could herald the beginning of an era when West Ham finally manage to retain their best players without having to sell them on to balance the books.

Of course some conspiracy theorists will view this latest development as a pre-cursor to the eventual lifting of the stringent FFP rules that the club has hidden behind for too many years, whichever way you look at it though, David Moyes will have sufficient funding to add to his squad whilst retaining those he wishes to keep, he will also have the benefit of having a massively reduced wage bill, one that could be reduced even more substantially should he manage to 'move on' Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko and Winston Reid, their combined wages of over £300,000 per week have been crippling Moyes's attempts at completely overhauling the squad he has at his disposal. - Ed

The waiting list, or more appropriately the length of the waiting list for season tickets looks like getting longer for most due to Hammers impressive form thus far this season, consequently the uptake of season ticket renewals is anticipated to be between high and very high!

However, all is not lost, and the following conditions give genuine hope that a season ticket holder can pass their ticket on to a friend or family member without fiscal punishment and without losing their ticket next time round. Supporters who took the 30% payment option for their 2020/21 Season Ticket do not need to take any action at this time and will be contacted by the Club in the coming days to discuss their options for 2021/22 renewals. For any supporters who may need a bit more time to feel comfortable returning to London Stadium, the Club is extending the option to transfer a Season Ticket to another supporter for next season.

Season Ticket holders aged over 70 and those who are categorised by the Government as ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ will also be given the option to defer their Season Ticket for one season at no cost should they not wish to return immediately, and they will retain their seat for the 2022/23 season.
All this means there WILL be additional seats available, it will be interesting to see how the procedure is effected, because there are many who dearly wish to go to the London Stadium, despite it's obvious flaws as a proper football stadium, demand will outstrip supply, and it is to be hoped that there is a fair and justifiable procedure employed to ensure a genuine outcome for fans. - Ed

The two week international break will be a welcome blessing to those recovering from injury and those who have run their hearts out, during the 'compressed' season, that is unless the player has been called way to represent their country. Playing for one's country has always been seen as the ultimate accolade that can be achieved in the game, but it can come at an enormous cost, both to player and club.

Hammers fans need look no further than Manuel Lanzini, who received what has been a 'career' changing injury while away with the Argentine squad, he has come back, but he is a shadow of his former self, despite his best efforts. So the pride fans have in seeing their players go off to do international battle, is offset by the fear of potential injuries being picked up.

There is of course the added element of Covid-19 now, a positive test for several, or even one player can have a catastrophic effect on any team, particularly one that has an incredibly thin squad, as do West Ham.

David Moyes has expressed concern about the 'Czech Mates' Tomas Soufal and Vladimir Coufal, they journey to areas that are not up to the same level of inoculation, and as such are more vulnerable to infection. There is also the question of 'burn out', Soucek, Coufal and Declan Rice have played virtually every minute of every game the season, and in recent games have, like many other Barclays Premier League players, looked very leggy compared to the team that took the league by storm after the first two games.

It should be remembered that two of the key players during that 'assault' on the top four are currently out injured, the influential Angelo Ogbonna, and the equally important Authur Masuaku. Moyes has been unable to replace what 'King' Authur brings to the team, his ability to bring the ball out of defence was one of the key reasons fore the team's early season success. The 'Angel' might have organised things at the back better to cope with Arsenal's resurgence on Sunday, who knows? But it will be superb to have him available for the crucial run in of this, the weirdest of seasons.

Hopefully none of those away will get injured or ill, international recognition is uplifting, but it can be very expensive in many ways. - Ed