West Ham have been rocked by fan unrest in recent weeks, but in a major development, a board official has now agreed to meet with angry supporters today.
The move could mark a pivotal moment in the ongoing tensions between the club’s hierarchy and the Hammers fanbase, who are planning protests to force them out.
West Ham majority owner David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady have been at the centre of protest plans using their initials under the slogan ‘No more BS’.
Hammers News was the first to reveal fans were mobilising again to protest against West Ham’s owners in upcoming matches.
A growing number of unhappy supporters want to try and force Sullivan and co to sell the club.
West Ham fan power makes potential breakthrough
West Ham have stated they don’t feel such protests help anyone but declined to comment on the record or respond to the fan groups after a public vote of no confidence in the board.
That sparked the attention of the national press who have reported West Ham are on the brink of ‘civil war’.
After the disastrous start to the new season at Sunderland, Hammers vice-chair Brady insisted West Ham’s owners are not going anywhere.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
Since then, Daniel Levy has stood down at rivals Spurs after 25 years.
Not only has that given Hammers fans renewed hope their own activism could achieve its ultimate aim, it has also led to Tottenham rejecting takeover bids from two consortiums – one of which, PCP Capital Partners, has been heavily linked with West Ham.
West Ham majority owner David Sullivan deep in thought.
Credit: Getty Images/Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images.
That has piled pressure on Sullivan given the vast wealth of West Ham-linked PCP and their reported determination to invest in a Premier League club.
In an update this week, a leading Sky Sports journalist suggested the Hammers may only have a small window to do a deal to sell to PCP.
On the pitch, Graham Potter received a welcome boost when West Ham got their first win of the season at Forest last time out.
The 3-0 victory, off the back of the £60m double signing of Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa, has breathed new life and hope into West Ham’s season after a torrid start which sparked very real relegation fears.
Potter will be looking to continue the revival against Tottenham this weekend.
Under-fire West Ham owners agree to meet angry fans
It comes against the backdrop of protest plans with pleas from supporter groups for answers from the ownership going ignored. Until now.
There has been a major development as the West Ham owners have agreed to meet angry fans today.
It could be a huge breakthrough for Hammers supporters and comes almost two weeks after the West Ham United Fan Advisory Board wrote to the shareholding board directors Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky, Albert Tripp Smith and Vanessa Gold, to issue a “vote of no confidence” in the management of the club.
The letter clearly stated the issues and called for the appointment of top quality professionals to run West Ham on a daily basis to finally fulfil the unrealised potential that those same executives have claimed our club has.
Now West Ham’s owners, through the nominated board level official, have offered a meeting to discuss the points raised in the letter.
West Ham fan Paul Colborne, chairman of the Hammers United fan group, plants a corner flag in the centre circle during a pitch invasion in 2008
Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images
The West Ham United Independent Supporters’ Committee has announced they are due to meet with that board director on Thursday September 11th, vowing to air their views in a ‘frank and professional manner’.
And the fan representatives have also hit back at suggestions their grievances are entitled and expectations unrealistic.
“Our letter was written in support of feelings made plain by our members, who we represent, numbering 25,000 loyal supporters,” West Ham United Independent Supporters’ Committee said in a statement.
“Naturally those supporters have varying nuances in opinion, but the overwhelming flavour is one of growing continued dissatisfaction with how our club is run and its apparent lack of ambition.
“We believe our supporters are realistic despite attempts to paint us otherwise. It was the owners who trumpeted “World Class Team in a World Class Stadium”, not the supporters.
“We never expected to rival Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool, Man City, Bayern Munich and others, but moving to Stratford, enjoying Europe’s 17th largest revenue streams and crowd numbers among the top ten across the continent should surely provide some benefit. Regular top 10 finishes, tilts at UEFA’s lesser competitions, decent cup runs, and an ambition to be “best of the rest” were and still are most supporters’ height of ambition.
Committee to demand a clear plan from West Ham owners
“Instead we have board members telling us we have a financial crisis. Our infrastructure is shabby and uncompetitive after years of negligible investment, and we are being overtaken by clubs traditionally half our size. For a club with our fanbase size, financial income, history and tradition we feel we are vastly underperforming at many levels.”
The supporters’ committee says it has turned down opportunities to ‘go live’ and air their grievances amid interest from the national press.
But they have declined for now, preferring that the shareholding board members respond directly in a constructive manner and confirm to fans what plans they have to achieve realistic ambitions far removed from relegation threat.
They believe any slide towards a public “war of words” will only serve to inflame a situation that should be resolved in calm and orderly fashion.
“Once again, we call on the shareholders to ensure there is a meaningful response to our letter and demonstrate to one of football’s most loyal supporter bases that they recognise the club’s issues, and show real commitment to change,” the committee states.