Image for The Frightening Consequence of Staveley Turning to Everton | West Ham News
Image for The Frightening Consequence of Staveley Turning to Everton | West Ham News
By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Amanda Staveley potentially turning her attention to Everton could deliver a double-whammy knockout blow to West Ham supporters like myself who welcomed her interest in the club.
As I’ve written previously, my personal preference was for Daniel Křetínský to run West Ham alongside Staveley. The Czech billionaire has shown little appetite for owning more than 50% of the football club, while Staveley is a wily old fox of a football operator with an impressive CV, not least from helping to turn around an underperforming giant in Newcastle United.
However, there is an even less palatable by-product of PCP Capital Partners potentially turning their attention towards Merseyside.
West Ham could be lumbered with David Sullivan for some time yet.
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Staveley was Sullivan’s obvious exit route
As Hammers News has reported, Everton are among the alternative football projects now being seriously considered by Staveley and PCP.
There is no suggestion of an offer or agreement at this stage, but it raises a pretty obvious question for West Ham.
Without wishing to bore everyone with a complete rewrite of recent history, having lost out on the opportunity to purchase Vanessa Gold’s West Ham shareholding, Staveley’s attention had turned towards David Sullivan’s stake.
Indeed, Staveley subsequently confirmed that her consortium’s original offer had actually been for both Sullivan’s 38.8% and Vanessa Gold’s 25.1%. As I wrote at the time, that demonstrated PCP wasn’t looking to become some passive minority investor. Staveley wanted control.
Sullivan, of course, had appeared to be on the ropes following the scathing Panorama documentary earlier this summer and his subsequent departure as West Ham chairman.
Claret & Hugh later revealed that Sullivan had been encouraged to resign his executive position by fellow shareholders. For many Hammers supporters, it felt like the beginning of the end.
Unfortunately, from that position of weakness, he seems to have made something of a comeback.
Amanda Staveley amid ongoing interest in buying a stake in West Ham United
A Staveley scarper could result in David Sullivan staying at West Ham
Sullivan went from 38.8% to 40%
Rather than selling his West Ham shareholding, Sullivan increased it to approximately 40% during the redistribution of Vanessa Gold’s shares.
Those aren’t the actions you would ordinarily associate with somebody desperate to find the exit door.
There were some who suggested Sullivan was merely strengthening his position before eventually selling to Staveley. Increasing his stake would obviously increase the value of whatever he eventually sold, and a source close to Staveley told C&H earlier this month that her West Ham ambitions were not necessarily finished.
But if Sullivan was positioning himself for an eventual sale to Staveley, why the hell is the former Newcastle co-owner now looking at Everton?
That is the bit which worries me.
West Ham’s nightmare scenario
C&H has been specifically told that Sullivan will have no operational role and will not return to the West Ham board. That remains the information we have been given and there is no reason to suggest otherwise.
But no operational control does not mean no influence.
As we have previously explained, a 40% shareholding still gives Sullivan significant power in certain shareholder decisions. He doesn’t need to be sitting behind a desk at Rush Green or running recruitment to remain an important figure in the ownership of West Ham United.
And that is where Staveley’s possible Everton interest becomes particularly concerning.
The nightmare scenario isn’t simply that West Ham miss out on Staveley. It is that she moves on, PCP Capital Partners invest elsewhere and one of the most obvious potential buyers of Sullivan’s 40% disappears.
We could then be left with Křetínský owning approximately 46%, Sullivan sitting on around 40% and neither man showing any obvious inclination to take outright majority ownership of West Ham.
For supporters who hoped Sullivan’s resignation as chairman represented the beginning of the end, that would be quite some turnaround.
West Ham could lose Amanda Staveley to Everton.
Even worse, we could be left with David Sullivan.