David Sullivan and Karren Brady are waking up to a savage put-down and it serves as a warning to West Ham boss Graham Potter.
Even David Sullivan and Karren Brady themselves they’re not always flavour of the month with West Ham fans.
In some circumstances, that is putting it mildly.
The Hammers have won their only major trophy in the last 45 years on Sullivan and Brady’s watch.
West Ham have recorded their record Premier League points total and qualified for Europe three years in a row for the first time in their 130-year history under the majority owner and his vice-chair.
But at what cost?
The move to the London Stadium still divides West Ham fans nearly a decade after moving there from the club’s beloved Boleyn.
Many supporters feel something was lost in that stadium move that has changed the club. And not for the better.
On the flip side, Sullivan and Brady would argue it has enabled them to compete with the top six in recent years.
Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images
Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images
When things were going well under David Moyes, it took the heat off the owners.
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But a dreadful 18 months for West Ham has seen the natives start to get restless once more.
The Julen Lopetegui and Tim Steidten debacle has made for a completely wasted season.
West Ham are just fortunate it was wasted and not disastrous as a result of the bottom three being so bad.
Graham Potter has come in having fought tooth and nail in negotiations to get a two-and-a-half-year deal rather than the six months West Ham wanted to offer originally.
Whether he sees that out – or earns an extension – will hinge on next season with fans giving the Englishman a pass for the remainder of this campaign.
But Potter should proceed with caution.
La Liga’s best issues brutal warning to Potter about West Ham
That’s according to La Liga’s best as a brutal warning is issued to Potter about his West Ham bosses.
There was no doubt Lopetegui needed to be sacked by West Ham.
In fact many fans feel the board waited too long to act, which resulted in a wasted season.
But there was also a lot of sympathy for the Spaniard given the way the club handled his departure.
News leaked West Ham were sacking Lopetegui. But they did not do the deed for another 48 hours as the ex Real Madrid and Spain boss was forced to take training as a dead man walking.
Given Lopetegui had put the Hammers first during the death of his father, supporters felt the whole episode lacked class.
Lopetegui has since said West Ham were wrong to sack him.
And he revealed he was given the news in a three-way phone call with Brady and Sullivan.
Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images
Pellegrini takes aim at Hammers chiefs Sullivan and Brady
Now La Liga manager of the month Manuel Pellegrini, who has done a superb job at Real Betis since being sacked by West Ham, has offered words of support for Lopetegui.
Pellegrini, who was one of the highest paid managers in world football on £8m per year during his spell with the Hammers, says he was not surprised how Lopetegui was treated.
The Chilean says the way West Ham handled his and Lopetegui’s departures is a damning indictment on the owners.
But he made a point of singling out the ownership, as he reserved praise for the “tremendous fanbase”.
Speaking on El Larguero, Pellegrini saw many parallels between his time in east London and that of West Ham’s shortest-serving permanent manager ever.
“Julen Lopetegui’s departure was very similar to mine,” Pellegrini said.
“It’s one of the clubs where I couldn’t finish my contract.
“A club that eventually calls you and fires you over the phone.
Former boss raves about ‘tremendous’ West Ham fans
“It’s a very popular club, with a tremendous fan base, for which I have a great affection, but unfortunately, other teams are above it and it hasn’t been able to establish itself as a club.
“I hope that with time it will do so because those fans deserve it.”
Pellegrini’s comments will serve as a word of warning to Potter about what to expect in the future if things don’t go well.
West Ham’s former manager is right about the club failing to sustain a place among the Premier League elite.
But that is of course easier said than done in what is widely regarded the best and most competitive league in world football.
It is arguably easier to establish a club of Real Betis’ size among the European challengers in La Liga.
Pellegrini is certainly making a fine job of it, though, with Betis level on points with one of his former clubs, Villarreal, in fifth place.