Forum | General Discussion

In the light of the current and future crisis that will impact so heavily on people's lives, The Barclays Premiership clubs are preparing themselves for 'life after doomsday'. No club big or small, whether owned by a sovereign state or a rich Oligarch or who ever, will be immune from the impact and fallout from the Covid-19 Pandemic, some could 'go to the wall' unless they seriously reduce their expenditure, so what news is coming out of West Ham United?

The major part of any 'elite' club's budget is paying the lavish amounts of wages players are used to, and it is not their fault that they were offered wages that spiraled from excessive to down right ludicrous, and before accusations of unfairness it should be remembered that it is not only Barclays Premier and Elite European Leagues players who earn ridiculous amounts of money, NFL, NHL, USA Basketball Players, Formula One drivers, Tennis players and other top sports persons have up to now been able to earn such huge sums due to the corporate nature of live events and their incumbent media outlet rules and finances.

The 'sway' of the Media is about to become even more invasive, recent 'confidential' information we received from a reliable source has disclosed the 'outline' proposals for Project Restart being sanctioned by the Government clearly point towards there being NO live Barclays Premier League football played unless behind closed doors until mid 2021 at the very earliest, even if an inoculation were made available due to the need for 'blanket' coverage of the population which logistically is a massive task destined to take 'an age'.

Between now and then, clubs will have to cut their cloth accordingly, some more than others, with many having to possibly sanction the sale of players who they would never have dreamed of selling before. West Ham United are no exception, however with prices of players set to plummet, at least for a year or so, who has been set up as the financial sacrificial lamb, and how may 'lambs' may need to go to slaughter? Hammers' best players are few and far between, with Declan Rice being the 'Jewel in the Crown' swiftly followed by Issa Diop, their combined value pre-pandemic was around £140 Million at best they are worth half that now, for the time being.

The club would take an enormous financial hit by selling these assets 'cheaply' for a short term reward, when their value would double if the club can maintain the players on their books during the 'lean days'. The likes of Andrily Yarmolenko could be sold, not for big money, but he earns a hefty £115,000 per week that could help balance the books. Wilshere, Reid, Gago and Sanchez are all a drain on the club's resources and should be offered 'exit' deals based on the new reality.

Apart from them, the club is blessed with creative midfielders who aren't always injured or have at least managed to play games following injury, Manuel Lanzini, Fellipe Anderson and Pablo Fornals are all talented 'luxury' players, Anderson in particular, and he is probably the most saleable out of the trio. Again from a reliable source, we have heard that David Moyes would prefer to let Manuel Lanzini go, but that the Hammers hierarchy would prefer to 'get rid' off Felipe Anderson instead as he is on much higher wages.

Of course in an ideal World Hammers would keep all three, and just move on the dead weights and perpetually injured players previously listed, unfortunately it would have been hard to move them on before things changed so dramatically, now it will be damn near impossible! Other clubs with 'banker' players that they were relying on selling or using as bargaining tools, now find their assets values severely reduced as well as their potential income, none more so than Hammers' London rivals Tottenham, who have spent and borrowed enormously to fund their new all singing, all dancing multi purpose Stadium in anticipation of year round revenue from Football, Baseball and American football with all the commensurate hospitality income. These expenditures were also made at the expense of first team squad building that eventually saw the departure of Mauricio Pochettino from the club.

Hammers may well lose one or two, or even a few players, but the co-owners are canny businessmen and know there are times to sell and those when not to, selling the 'family jewels' cheaply is an option they are unlikely to take, for now!- Ed

The contentious issue as to whether the Barclays Premier League should be continued, null and voided or decided on a 'Duckworth Lewis' type sliding scale, looks set to rumble on with Government directives still vague as to when or if it is safe and practical for 'project re-start' to actually happen. Baroness Brady did the Irons no favours by prematurely stating that the season should be declared null and void, and although her opinion was shared by many other club directors, she did put West Ham United on the spot because of the club's self interest in avoiding relegation.

The funding for 'parachute' payments for teams relegated from the Barclays Premier League are still in place despite the Covid-19 Pandemic as they were planned ahead of the event under the assumption that it would be a 'normal' season of promotion and relegation, and while those teams occupying the bottom six positions will fight tooth and nail to have the season declared null and void, those above will want the season to continue until it's fruition.

So while relegation would obviously be unpleasant, it would not represent the same catastrophic financial disaster that relegation from the 2021-22 season will bring about due to what will definitely be a reduction of funding right across the game in all formats. If West Ham were to be relegated would it be so much of an unmitigated disaster? Not really, yes some of the 'big names' might move on, and of course Chelsea, Man Utd and others including Real Madrid apparently, will try to prise Declan Rice from the club, but if the ship can be steadied there is no reason why ONE season in the lower league wouldn't be beneficial.

According to the club's spin there is an enormous waiting list for season tickets at the London Stadium so playing to a half empty vast stadium isn't an option, as they say, "there's a bum for every seat" and that expression rings true to this day, although until there is a widely available vaccine, actually attending match days in the traditional sense will be a thing of the past.

If all the logistical facilities required for re-starting the season can be put in place then football will resume with matches played behind closed doors, the possible use of 'neutral' venues is due to be discussed early this week, and if project restart is given the go ahead games could start to be played in little over a month.

If West Ham United did end up in the bottom three and suffer relegation it wouldn't be the end of the World, the World has changed so much that worrying about relegation almost seems churlish, what will be will be! - Ed

In what initially seems like an extraordinary gesture of 'generosity', West Ham United co-owner and majority share holder David Sullivan has vowed to retain the 'cream' of the club's players despite the massively challenging financial situation brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Hurrah, but what does he actually mean and what are the reasons behind his proclamation?

Firstly, it is entirely likely that big wham bam thank you mam transfers will be a thing of the past for all but the most elite of clubs, secondly transfer monies still owed will be subject to renegotiation with the threat of 'goods' being returned, which in the case of West Ham might make for a less than traumatic transfer window when it eventually re-opens, due to the fact that the club are not owed any substantial funds but actually owe quite a bit!

The reason for the 'Declan Rice' is not for sale notice is that his value has probably halved from as much as £85 Million, similarly the value of Issa Diop, coveted by Jose Mourinho, will have also dropped from £60 Million to half of that. It is therefore clear to a shrewd businessman like David Sullivan that selling 'product' that has a long shelf life at a reduced price would not make any sense, rather get rid of 'old stock' of which the club has plenty.

The currently imbalanced squad that David Moyes has at his disposal is a combination of young players with great potential veterans who are nearing the end of their career's and over priced 'mistakes' that need to be moved on no matter what, if there are any takers, if not they need to be paid off if possible.

Ngakia, Diangana, Johnson, Holland, Silva, Dju, Coventry, Cardoso, Anang and Trott are all realistic first team prospects, with Ngakia already firmly established at right back in his manager's eyes. The U-23 team has been nothing short of inspirational, and winning breeds winning, so the principle of retaining the youth players and getting rid of some of the 'imports' who have a relatively high value seems to be the direction the club is going in. High earners like Andrily Yarmolenko, and of course Jack Wilshere, Carlos Sanchez and GaGo should become a thing of the past, the 'experiment' at trying to get to the 'next level' having failed miserably leaving the club with a bloated over age squad on high wages!

When football eventually returns, expect David Moyes' team to feature several new YOUNG faces and several exits from the norm, essentially it is the only way forward for a club like West Ham, and when you think about it how many of the club's greatest players have been 'home grown'? Sometimes you have to go back before going forwards! - Ed

The London Stadium has been much maligned by long suffering Hammers' fans as a result of having moved from the 'hallowed' Boleyn Ground, apart from the obvious ie: the ground not really being fit for purpose, there was a general feeling of 'disconnection' experienced by those that attended matches mainly due to the distance between the pitch and the crowd.

The fact that the season ticket prices are so cheap, has enabled the club to sell 50,000 plus season tickets at a fraction of the price charged by competitors. The continuing financial losses for the stadium are not the fault of West Ham United, the blame lies rather in the lap of Lord Coe and his cronies for sanctioning the building of an 'all purpose' stadium, or complete white elephant in layman's terms. Despite the tax payer having to supplement the stadium, West Ham United's tenancy is the best that could be hoped for given the poor development and design of the stadium from it's inception through to completion.

If the London Stadium had been commercially funded, as was the original proposal, then it would have been constructed with the World's favourite sport, football, in mind as opposed to a 'glorification' of a bye gone age. Coe was quoted as saying that it was a 'matter of honour' that the stadium's 'legacy' would be for track and field events, an outcome that he and the Olympic bidding committee had promised! How could they then go 'back on their word' without breaking their promises? Quite simply the word honour and the placing of international sporting events and tournaments rarely sit well together.

The decision to award Qatar the next world cup, as well as the dubious decision to hold the last World Cup in Russia, are hardly 'honourable' acts, far from it, so why on earth did the UK decide to 'play ball' when no one else does? Although there is no point in crying over the vast amount of funds wasted by being the good guys, hopefully lessons will have been learned and such a folly will never be repeated.

Clubs that privately funded their stadia, particularly Tottenham Hotspur, did so with calculations of revenue streams very much in mind, even just the loss of hosting the NFL games that had been planned willl have a serious impact on the club's finances, and that is before looking at the larger picture with the potential loss of season ticket and match day revenues. Some might say that it couldn't have happened to a better case than that of Spurs supremo Daniel Levy, it was his deliberate interference that meant West Ham United were not able to buy the London Stadium outright and convert it in to a 'proper' football ground.

Without having borrowed enormously, and without depending on season ticket revenue any where near as much as other clubs will see Hammers firmly in the driving seat, if and when football resumes to some degree of normality the club will be well placed to 'pick up bargains' from clubs that had previously had a more progressive profile. Unfortunately the real winners and losers in professional football caused by the Covid 19 Corona Virus pandemic will be clubs in the Championship and leagues below that who exist mainly on 'live gates' rather than TV revenue, and despite the hardships felt by those in the Barclays Premier League, the situation in the lower leagues could, be devastating with many possibly going to the wall as a result, so there may well be a case for the 'elite' teams to step up to the plate and support lower league teams, after all it will be with these clubs most future signings will come from, gone will be the days of 'expensive' imports, at least for a few years.

Who knows, it could be the best thing for encouraging and bringing through British talent as opposed to the 'cheaper short term, but eventually destructive in the long term' foreign imports! - Ed