A Sky Sports pundit close to Jack Sullivan has stepped in to defend West Ham’s owners as pressure builds around restrictions to the club’s spending.
Jack Sullivan and his brother Dave are board members and, as things stand, in line to inherit their dad’s majority stake in West Ham.
Jack in particular has been cutting his teeth in terms of learning the ropes by running the club’s women’s team among other things at the London Stadium.
His billionaire dad David Sullivan is the Hammers’ main stakeholder.
Both Sullivan and mega rich Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky – West Ham’s second biggest stakeholder – have been coming under fire from fans over finances.
Supporters have been up in arms as the board continue to plead poverty due to Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Fans angry as West Ham plead PSR poverty
Frustrations have been rising among the Hammers faithful with Graham Potter in desperate need of funds to perform a much-needed overhaul in east London.
West Ham continue to insist they must sell in order to be able to buy.
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That has left many fans angry given West Ham enjoyed record turnover in the not-too-distant past.
Especially since it’s been less than two years since the club sold Academy graduate Declan Rice for a pure 100 per cent £105m profit.
Not to mention the fact supporters agreed to leave their beloved Upton Park for the London Stadium on the proviso it meant they would be able to compete with the best in terms of transfers.
A shocked West Ham boss Graham Potter. Inset, co-owners David Sullivan and Daniel Kretinsky and vice-chair Karren Brady.
A shocked West Ham boss Graham Potter. Inset, co-owners David Sullivan and Daniel Kretinsky and vice-chair Karren Brady. Credit: Getty Images/Malcolm Couzens/Glyn Kirk/Joel Saget/Craig Mercer/MB Media/AFP.
West Ham’s owners revealed they are trying to move players on so they can ‘start trading’.
Fans are concerned that will see Potter miss out on his top targets during one of the most important transfer windows in the club’s modern history.
David Ornstein called West Ham’s bluff about PSR recently, suggesting the club may be feeding fans something of a red herring over finances.
Prominent football finance expert Kieran Maguire also cast doubt on the situation being as bad as the Hammers are projecting.
Maguire described West Ham’s PSR claims as ‘odd’.
Further pressure was piled on last week when cash-strapped West Ham were given a shock new ranking on a European rich list.
Head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay is concerned West Ham will miss out on his prime target.
Jack Sullivan’s Sky Sports pal defends West Ham owners over PSR
Hammers fans have been venting about the situation on social media and fan forums.
But now Jack Sullivan’s Sky Sports friend has leapt to the defence of the West Ham owners over PSR.
Jack was the brains behind and co-presenter of a Sky Sports podcast called The Boardroom alongside Sky Sports football reporter Mark McAdam.
The Hammers are gearing up to sell the likes of Mohammed Kudus and others – with only Jarrod Bowen and possibly Aaron Wan-Bissaka considered untouchable.
McAdam says West Ham fans must get their heads around the PSR situation and accept it for what it is.
And he says Hammers fans need to look at the likes of Spurs and Aston Villa who are also required to sell players in order to reinvest.
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
“Well they (West Ham fans) won’t be happy (at having to sell players like Kudus in order to buy),” McAdam said on The Transfer Show.
“But I think West Ham fans understand the mechanics of the Premier League.
“The owners, the board, have invested very heavily over the course of the last few years in players. They’ve tried to sign the best they possibly can. They’ve invested in the squad, they’ve tried to go in different directions with head coaches and they’ve really tried to compete.
“And that’s resulted in a European trophy.
“However, it’s so difficult not only to compete but to sustain it and stay there and be competitive – you just have to look at Man United and Spurs this season in the Premier League to see actually it’s really difficult to continue that level.
McAdam tells Hammers fans to look at Aston Villa
“So if they need to sell some to reinvest and go again under Graham Potter, who is a new manager for them, then maybe that might be the right thing to do.
“Sometimes it’s just about recycling cash and trying to find a way to rejuvenate that squad.
“We’ve seen Aston Villa do it. Didn’t want to sell a lot of their players but had to because of PSR, but they did it and they managed to reinvest and bring new players in.”
West Ham fans will not be surprised to see a pal of the owner’s son defending the board.
But McAdam does make some salient points regarding PSR. Although Hammers fans would argue Villa are managing to sustain their level.
Just because West Ham are not in any imminent danger of breaching PSR and being sanctioned, does not mean they have much wiggle room over spending.
The Hammers have already braced fans for £80m losses in their next accounts.
In addition to that fact, West Ham have already borrowed against and spent all £69m owed to them for transfers after striking a deal with Barclays Bank last year.
That is why, after three years of being in the Premier League’s top six spenders and dropping out of Europe, the Hammers are now having to cut their cloth accordingly.
But perhaps it might be a blessing in disguise that the club are forced to be more prudent and diligent over deals – both in and out – given their awful recent record in many cases.