Former West Ham United star Craig Bellamy talks with passion when discussing his old club.
Survival does not mask what has been another torrid season for West Ham on and off the pitch and supporters want big changes from unpopular co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold if not a change of ownership altogether.
The Hammers have been in disarray this season and supporters are furious over what they feel are a string of broken promises regarding ambition, transfer spending and the much-heralded move to the London Stadium.
Their anger was highlighted by the protests which spilled onto the pitch during the 3-0 home defeat to Burnley in March.
More than 52,000 fans shelled out for season tickets in the first two seasons at the London Stadium – second only to Manchester United.
But the vast majority of them are disillusioned with the club and feel the owners have sold the club’s soul and killed it’s identity in recent years following the stadium move.
Now former star Craig Bellamy has revealed what the owners must do to rediscover the club’s identity in a passionate discussion about his old club on Sky Sports’ The Debate.
“(West Ham is a) good club, good supporters, really good supporters,” Bellamy said on The Debate.
“As a team (this season) they were all over the place, too easy to play against. A change needed to happen, David Moyes then secured that got it tightened up, done very well with (Marko) Arnautovic … but it’s where do you go now with the team as well (that is the big question for the owners).
“Listen West Ham fans will get with you, they just want to see a direction. They want to see it and if they’ve got to be patient for the next two or three years and they’ve got to build a team (they will).
“That’s got to come from the owners, then if you have a director of football or a CEO or whoever you have involved in your football decisions leading on to the manager. The director of football would say (to the owners) ‘What do you want us to do now? Where do you want us to go?’
“‘Shall we go and buy some of the best young players who are out there and that means we’ve got a strategy, an identity’.”
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