Filed under: West Ham, Premier League, Football
You would have expected David Sullivan to be one for making speeches of epic proportions. After all, he is usually dressed in mock-military regalia and is never normally short for words in defence of his team, West Ham.Funny then, that the club's chairman would conduct an interview with The Daily Telegraph when he declared he would resist the urge to deliver a "Churchill speech" to inspire his players in their battle against relegation.
That might have prompted a sigh of relief from some players and also those supporters who wince at the prospect of club owners taking on the role of manager.
What was more damning was the public criticism of the team and apparent admission of defeat in stating the chances of beating relegation from the Premier League now stood at "25 to 30 per cent".
The club's joint owner confirmed as much when he explained the reason why he and his fellow members of the Hammers board failed to attend the trip to Manchester City.
Not a single member of the West Ham hierarchy made the trip to Eastlands and as Sullivan revealed the following day, the reason was simply that they couldn't stomach another defeat.
"The honest reason we were not there?' Sullivan told the Daily Mail. "Watching our poor away performances week after week and not having the ability to influence things has impacted on us. My family think I'm mad devoting so much time and money to the club.
"We couldn't influence the result (so) we donated the cost of the private plane to charity. We thought that would do more good."
And he added: "None of us (the directors) draw any salary or expenses from West Ham,' he said. 'We are not £20,000 or £60,000-a-week footballers.
'We only took 1,100 supporters yesterday. Like us, the bulk of the West Ham United supporters preferred to watch it on TV."
So no Churchill speech and a distinct absence of 'we'll fight them on the beaches' spirit.
He also has a point, whether you agree or not, in that perhaps his players are not motivated to get themselves out of the bottom three.
Nevertheless, the no-show was a shocking statement that sent out the wrong message to the club's supporters, manager and players. After all, if the owners have given up all hope, what should be expected from them?
In a time like this, a clubs needs every member pulling in the same direction to help them escape from trouble.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/05/03/premier-league-west-ham-man-city-david-sillivan-no-show/
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