The club are embarking on what will be a period of renewal as they look to overcome the long standing financial difficulties affecting the club.
An £80 million debt hangs over them; a product of the lavish days under Icelandic ownership when a number of players were signed on large transfer fees and wages but subsequently failed to produce on the pitch; Lucas Neill, Kieran Dyer and Freddie Ljungberg to name just three.
And owner David Sullivan says the club has the worst financial outlook of any in the country. Their predicament is particularly galling when you look at the lack of quality they got for their money. Julien Faubert, Luis Boa Morte – the club’s playing staff is a particularly serious joke. And one of the better players to have come to the club during that period, Carlos Tevez, left the team with a £21 million compensation debt to Sheffield United as a result of their relegation, which came at the price of West Ham’s survival, largely inspired by the Argentine, whose economic rights were owned by a third party.
Overall, it paints a rather murky picture of the financial situation at the East London club. The move to the Olympic Stadium will go ahead after next year’s games and may bring in extra revenue, but the Hammers will be planning to be back in the Premier League by then. First of all they need to select a manager capable of taking a club in crisis back into the Premier League. Chris Hughton springs instantly to mind. Tony Mowbray could be a decent choice as well, as his flowing football philosophy would go down well at Upton Park.
On the pitch, what little quality there is at the club – Scott Parker, Rob Green and Thomas Hitzlsperger, will be allowed to leave – and the rebuilding will commence.
But the club must beware. Eliminating the structural deficit the club has built up is essential, but so is getting back into the Premier League. The indulgently high wages some players are on can be cut by getting rid of Boa Morte, Benni McCarthy and the like. But a select group of players should be kept. Scott Parker is unlikely to stay, and it would be impossible to keep him – the same goes for Hitzlsperger. But Green, James Tomkins, Mark Noble, Freddie Piquionne and Demba Ba form the basis of what could be an excellent Championship team.
The danger of sinking into Championship obscurity is very real. Lose all their good players and West Ham will be a financially imperilled club with a League One squad. Keep the bulk of the talented players whilst losing those who have essentially relegated the club and they may have a short stay in the second tier.
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