It had to be all about the Czechs. One who seemingly wants out but can’t find the way, and another who probably wants to stay but looks unlikely to get the chance.
One I have not an ounce of sympathy for, the other plenty. You’ve all probably heard the rumour by now that the man with the most expensive season ticket in the house, second largest shareholder Daniel Kretinsky, is - let’s say - considering his options.
As for Vladimir Coufal, I’m far from convinced he is being treated with the respect he deserves. His contract is up in June, he’s not figured in any of Head Coach Graham Potter’s last five match day squads, and the tough-as-old-boots Czech full back feels nobody is talking to him about his future.
Now everyone knows this is a ruthless business, but it does not have to be cruel. Coufal was a European final hero, has run through brick walls for us , has played 173 games for West Ham and is still first choice for the Czech Republic on 53 caps.
He knows he’s lost his place to Aaron Wan-Bissaka, he’s 32 and his legs are not what they were. But because he had the temerity to discuss family issues and concerns with a Czech newspaper this week while on international duty - winning two games against the might of the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar - he’s been roundly abused by some of our fans.
He’s been branded a "cry baby", told to "get on his bike" and that he’s "finished". Social media these days has produced a level of pond life that disgusts me.
Vlad has been a great servant, is not on the best of money compared to the likes of Danny Ings, loves West Ham United and the fans and has bought into the club, 100 per cent.
He talked of his son already playing in our Academy, of another child soon to start school. He wants the best for them and the minimum of upheaval. Why should he not expect to have had a discussion about his future by now, almost April?
Could he do another year for us? Probably. Will the likes of Aaron Cresswell and Michail Antonio get new one-year deals soon? Almost certainly. So I’d be a bit upset about my treatment, too.
He wants to stay in London so as not to disrupt the family too much. He had Ma href="story.php?id=139066">a deadline day move to Fulham blocked, no doubt by coach who had not cover for Wan-Bissaka and a clutch of injured and out of form central defenders. You can understand that.
But Coufal may be wondering what eighth-placed Fulham, 11 points clear of West Ham, going for Europe, with a manager in Marco Silva who is doing one Hell of a job at Craven Cottage, sees in him that West Ham don’t. It pays to talk, Coufal deserves that.
But my sympathy evaporates where Kretinsky is concerned. He was going to be our savour from the David Sullivan regime, the mega-rich owner to take us to another level. Yet there's seemingly no chance of that.
Kretinsky has sat on the sidelines, it has been alleged he has no relationship with Sullivan other than business, and in his quieter moments he may wonder if he’s been gently mugged by Sullivan.
He had an option to buy the club under a time-specific agreement, he was offered the chance to buy half, at least, of Vanessa from Lingerie’s 25.1 per cent holding, bequeathed from her late father David Gold.
Since then she seems to have been in lockstep with Sullivan, just like her father, with anything board related. And even if Kretinsky had bought, say, 12 per cent of Vanessa’s shares he would still have needed the support of Tripp Smith’s eight per cent to have taken control from Sullivan.
It seems that Sullivan has no need to sell, he enjoys the dealing so much, and it would need someone to meet his valuation of around £800m to make him get out of bed in a rush.
Kretinsky, if he is getting seriously browned off with Sullivan, would struggle to sell his 27 per cent anyway at a decent price. Vanessa has been trying to offload some or all of her stake for well over a year. Plenty have looked - Karren Brady returned empty-handed from a trip to the oil-rich countries - so the amount of takers is limited.
Kretinsky paid £168m for 27 per cent of West Ham United FC Ltd, which roughly valued the club at around £600m. A recent pricing has West Ham valued at little over £400m, and the reason is clear. We don’t own the stadium we play in.
Kretinsky has held meetings to discuss this situation and got nowhere, and it’s the same old story. We are the only Premier League club that does not own their stadium (I’ll get to Manchester City).
It was a great deal for Sullivan and Gold to rent the London Stadium: no costs, no maintenance and a pitiful rent. But that deal is restricting our progress, putting off US consortiums and oil-rich nations, who all would want the stadium and surrounding areas to develop.
Manchester City are a special case. They gave the local council the old Maine Road site for affordable housing, and Manchester City council retained the freehold for the stadium and the land.
But the club is responsible for the operating, maintenance and future capital costs, and all revenues. They renegotiated the lease in 2010, obtained the naming rights to the stadium in return for an annual fixed fee of £3m.
It means City can, and are, redeveloping the stadium and currently rebuilding the north stand to bring capacity to over 60,000, with a new hotel. The owners have also regenerated large areas of what was rundown east Manchester, some of the poorest areas in the EU, and attracted the vast new Co-op arena.
It is everything that the London Stadium complex in Stratford could be, but isn’t.
None of this helps the future of the London Stadium, in the short term. One day, maybe, West Ham, but there seems very little encouragement from the politicians at County Hall or Westminster.
I hate to bring politics into this, but London and Westminster are Labour-run now. It’s no secret that West Ham’s owners have been Tory donors and they have in Brady, a Tory peer. Negotiations must be entertaining!
Kretinsky’s position has been the subject of social media speculations for some while. Would he want out because of an impasse with Sullivan over ownership, and at what price? Its only recently that various financial media have been discussing this situation.
What does Kretinsky get out of this deal, apart from a very expensive seat at the stadium? Does he really want to buy us anyway? He’s managed to present himself as a respected entrepreneur and has acquired Royal Mail. He’s also seen his personal fortune boosted by £13billion over the past year or so.
But if he does want to sell his stake, who will buy? If he does want the club, will he meet Sullivan’s asking price?
His initial cash injection into the club helped Sullivan and Gold reclaim their loans to West Ham. Not much has happened since. Sullivan is still there and Kretinsky is alleged to have had approaches from other clubs who would like some of his fortune.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Coufal just wants talks over a new contract. Such is life in football.
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