The publication of West Ham United’s latest accounts has caused quite a stir this week.
West Ham supporters are deeply unhappy with the club’s lack of progress since their much-heralded move from Upton Park to the London Stadium.
A protest march against co-owners Sullivan and Gold and their vice-chairman Karren Brady was planned before the home game against Burnley this Saturday.
It came after groups of supporters joined forces over broken promises regarding the stadium move and transfer spending but has since been officially cancelled.
The club’s accounts were released this week driving even more debate over how West Ham are being run.
But perhaps the most galling figure and fact to emerge from said accounts was the meagre profit of just £8.7m made on the sale of West Ham’s beloved Boleyn Ground home.
Sold for just £38m – a drop in the ocean in London development terms in this day and age – West Ham reported the small profit on the club’s most historic and beholden asset to be less than what they paid out to Preston North End for little known Championship striker Jordan Hugill in January.
The move raised eyebrows at the time and was reported as a record fee received by Preston hence the figure.
Hugill – as many predicted – has barely kicked a ball for David Moyes’ relegation threatened side since signing.
And while it may seem unfair to single the striker out it seems fitting that his fee amounts to the same amount of profit the Hammers made on their famous old ground, a ground a large section of fans bitterly regret leaving.
Galling then to think that for the same money – and given the record profits announced, their own personal wealth and the cash swilling around the Premier League – Sullivan and Gold could have kept Upton Park as an asset on the books.
They could have kept it as a back-up if things did not work out at the Olympic Stadium or even worked on redeveloping it over time into a bigger and better ground like Liverpool have done at Anfield and Spurs have done with White Hart Lane. Even if the move to Stratford had worked out for the best, Upton Park could have been kept as an asset for future redevelopment reaping more financial rewards than the paltry £38m it was sold for.
It was seem romantic but history and heritage was all West Ham had, would holding on to it for just a few years really have been such a bad idea?
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