Just at present it seems in vogue for many [West Ham](https://www.claretandhugh.info/blinkered-potter-making-decision-easy-for-west-ham-board/) fans to wax lyrical on readers’ comments sections as the conflict a tension with the ownership grows. One oft-repeated comment seems to be that ‘_relegation is a price worth paying_‘ to see Sullivan and Brady out of the door. (Not that they’re likely going anywhere).
The player exodus that would follow relegation from the Premier League doesn’t bear thinking about. Consider 2003, when following West Ham’s relegation key players who left included Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson, Freddie Kanouté, Trevor Sinclair ,Paulo Di Canio and Les Ferdinand. Plus of course Jermain Defoe submitted a transfer request shortly after dipping a toe into the championship. A whole generation of talent lost.
Todays article suggesting **El Hadji-Malick Diouf** amongst others could leave if West Ham were relegated (_Hammers.news)_ doesn’t even scratch the surface. West Ham would be decimated with pretty much every saleable player departing and just the overpriced, unmarketable few staying on. Imagine losing Bowen, Paquetá, Summerville, Fernandes, Wan Bissaka Guilherme, Magassa and Diouf: Promising youngsters Potts, Earthy, Marshall, Orford and Scarles would have plenty of offers as the ‘fire sale’ at West Ham took place in a frantic effort to balance the books.
So the danger of David Sullivan sticking his head in the sand and doing nothing to arrest West Ham’s slide towards the foot of the table is enormous. Financially, _compared with a few million lost in the compensation for Potter and associated costs_ in hiring a new manager and coaching staff, the cost of NOT acting is many, many times worse. This early in the season, the Hammers can still recover. But wait another month or two and a desperate scrap to stay in the Premier League would ensue.
For supporters, without a change of management and an uptick in club form pretty sharpish, it could be the end of an era. Those who comment that they’d _“happily take relegation if it meant ridding the club of their hated nemeses_” perhaps need to look at teams now in the lowly third tier like Huddersfield, Luton, Wigan and Cardiff City. They were all Premier League sides not so long ago. Ask their supporters about relegation.