[Square Pegs, Round Holes: The Mismanagement of West Ham United](news_archive.php)
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When David Gold, David Sullivan, and Karren Brady took the reins of West Ham United in 2010, they promised ambition, evolution, and the transformation of the club into a European contender.
What supporters received instead has been a decade-and-a-half of a slow, painful dismantling of the club’s soul, paired with a string of poor decisions, broken promises and a total lack of strategic direction, resulting in stagnation and the slow erosion of West Ham’s identity. At the heart of this dysfunction lies a catalogue of boardroom missteps: from the sale of our spiritual home to the revolving door of failed striker signings, to a series of undermined managers and botched attempts at modern football structures. All of it wrapped in a slick PR machine that often seems more concerned with appearances than substance.
The Boleyn Betrayal
The decision to leave the Boleyn Ground (Upton Park) was presented as the dawn of a new era. A world-class stadium, they said. Champions League ambitions, they said. Upton Park wasn’t perfect, but it was home: close, loud, hostile to opponents, and rich in character. It had West Ham’s DNA in its bricks. What we got in exchange was the London Stadium, an athletics bowl architecturally and emotionally unfit for football. That ground was never built to host a football club. It's an oversized, round hole that doesn’t even attempt to accommodate the square peg that is West Ham’s spirit. Matchdays became muted. The intimacy vanished. The fortress aura gone. In exchange for commercial potential, we sold off our soul. And the returns? Few and far between.
50+ Strikers and Still No Plan
Since taking charge, GSB have sanctioned the signings of over 50 strikers. Most are forgettable, many outright failures. Zaza, Ajeti, Hugill, Haller.... the list reads more like a cautionary tale than a recruitment record. A scattergun approach with no coherent strategy or system in mind. The great irony is that one of the few success stories, Michail Antonio, wasn’t even signed as a striker. Brought in as a winger, and even forced to play as a wing-back for a time, Antonio eventually became the club’s record Premier League goalscorer. A fluke success, born out of necessity rather than design.
Moyes, Pellegrini, and the Director of Football Farce
David Moyes was hired, then dismissed, then hired again. The board initially deemed him unworthy of taking the club forward, choosing instead to bring in Manuel Pellegrini, who brought along Mario Husillos as Director of Football. This was the first attempt at a modern football structure. But it failed before it began. Husillos, a long-time friend of Pellegrini, came under criticism in his last season as sporting director at Málaga, for his transfer selections in a season that ended in relegation to the Segunda División. Yet he was deemed good enough for West Ham. Ultimately, it didn't matter because in a functional club, a DOF sits above or, at the very least, alongside the manager/coach. But not here. Husillos had no real authority, and when results soured, culminating in a limp defeat to Leicester around Christmas, Pellegrini was sacked. Moyes was brought back in. The same man they had previously dismissed. Yet in classic West Ham fashion, Moyes then oversaw the most successful period of our modern era: a top-six finish, three straight seasons of European football, and a historic European trophy in Prague. Ironically, much of his early success came during the COVID lockdowns, with empty stadiums perhaps masking the limitations of his conservative tactics. But as the fans returned, the cracks in Moyes’ style became more obvious. His football was functional but one-dimensional, and against the so-called bigger clubs, it often felt like he had no desire or plan to attack. Eventually, that weariness caught up.
The Steidten Experiment and the Return of Boardroom Interference
Tim Steidten’s arrival from Bayer Leverkusen in 2023 appeared to mark a genuine shift toward a modern football structure. His fingerprints were on signings like Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paquetá. For a brief moment, there was hope. But yet again, the cracks in the structure re-emerged. Moyes, an old-school manager, never fully embraced Steidten’s role. Conflicting visions bubbled to the surface. Rumours swirled about Sullivan’s continued meddling. Steidten was brought in to lead, but like Husillos, he was quickly undermined.
The Lopetegui Misadventure
When Moyes' reign ended by “mutual consentâ€, Steidten reportedly pushed for Ruben Amorim to take charge. Amorim flew in, held talks, and then dismissed the whole thing as a mistake. Whether or not a genuine offer was ever made is unclear. But knowing Sullivan’s aversion to paying compensation, it’s easy to see why another high-profile appointment fell through. Enter Julen Lopetegui, a name that failed to excite supporters. AC Milan fans had protested against his potential appointment, and West Ham fans shared their concerns. His best work had been overseas and even in his introductory interviews, it was clear that language was a barrier. Still, Sullivan was reportedly wowed by a PowerPoint presentation. And so, the free and available manager was appointed. His tenure was short, chaotic, and doomed from the start. He struggled with communication in interviews, and his tactical approach was muddled. A 3–0 humbling at Chelsea highlighted defensive ineptitude, and as the rumours of friction with Steidten surfaced again, photos even appeared of Tim interviewing his replacement before Julen had even been officially sacked.
Potter, Brady, and a Club on the Brink
Enter Graham Potter, whose appointment raised questions due to his close ties to Karren Brady’s husband, Paul Peschisolido. Potter, like his predecessors, has failed to make a meaningful impact. His system demands ball-playing defenders and press-resistant midfielders. All things West Ham currently don’t have. His insistence on playing out from the back with players clearly unsuited to it has resulted in multiple goals conceded from basic errors. The football is slow, cautious, and sterile. There’s no bite, no dynamism, and barely a glimmer of creativity. The midfield is ageing and immobile. The press, when it appears at all, is half-hearted. The squad is the oldest and most lethargic in the league. There's no pace, no athleticism, and little cutting edge. Only the abysmal quality of last season's promoted teams and, ironically, Lopetgui's point haul spared West Ham from a relegation dogfight. Amid the growing dysfunction, Tim Steidten was also quietly dismissed. Thrown under the now-unused West Ham parade bus. His position became untenable following internal tensions and the poor form of several signings. Most symbolic of this failure was the acquisition of Niclas Füllkrug: a hefty outlay for a striker whose age, lack of pace, and documented injury history raised red flags from the start. Predictably, he spent most of the season sidelined, offering little return on investment and highlighting the continued chaos in the club’s recruitment strategy.
Cash-Strapped and Clueless
As the transfer window re-opens, Sullivan is already pleading poverty. There’s no Director of Football in place, no clear plan, and in an era where PSR rules have real teeth, the lack of structure is dangerous. Meanwhile, Karren Brady, the self-styled businesswoman, continues to evade scrutiny. In nine years at the London Stadium, she’s failed to secure a naming rights partner. A massive commercial shortfall. Brady even admitted in a recent Sky interview that she handles some player negotiations herself, boasting about a “take it or leave it†approach. Unsurprisingly, many clubs chose to leave it. What exactly is she doing to benefit the club anymore? Brady was rewarded handsomely for securing what she called the “deal of the century†in leasing the stadium — but it’s a deal that now looks more like a PSR millstone. Unmarketable, soulless, and mismanaged.
Still a Circus, But Not Even a Good One
When Mark Noble said West Ham is “no longer run like a circus,†it was meant as praise. But in truth, even circuses are well run. They build a venue, attract a crowd, deliver a show, and move on efficiently. West Ham? We’ve got the clowns, but none of the magic. The tent is collapsing, the acts are tired, and the ringmasters are asleep at the wheel. Until meaningful change occurs at boardroom level, in either personnel or philosophy, we can expect more revolving doors, more managers who are “free and available,†more scattergun recruitment, and more egg on our collective faces. West Ham supporters deserve better. Because this isn’t evolution. It’s entropy. It’s time for transparency, structure, and leadership that matches the passion of the fanbase. If Sullivan, Brady, KÅ™etÃnský and Co cannot provide that, then they must step aside for those who can. The club’s soul has been sold - and it’s time to reclaim it.
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