{"id":659399,"date":"2026-05-09T07:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T07:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/659399\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T07:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T07:41:08","slug":"west-ham-on-brink-a-decade-after-david-sullivan-announced-his-big-club-feelings-west-ham-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/659399\/","title":{"rendered":"West Ham on brink a decade after David Sullivan announced his \u2018big club\u2019 feelings | West Ham United"},"content":{"rendered":"

When David Sullivan was pressed on why West Ham bothered to move to the London Stadium, the lack of substance to his argument offered a window into the club\u2019s dysfunction. \u201cI just think we feel like a big club,\u201d Sullivan said in an interview with the Guardian<\/a> in December 2017. \u201cNot a tinpot club. When players come to look at West Ham, they look at where you play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look deeper, though. Analysing the club chair\u2019s answer nine years on, the conclusion is that this is an owner whose desire to win is cancelled out by his listlessness. Feeling like a big club, after all, is not the same as being a big club. It is a decade since West Ham departed from Upton Park, their tinpot home, and told their fans that doing so would take them to the next level. \u201cA world-class stadium with a world-class team,\u201d was the infamous sell from Karren Brady, the recently departed vice-chair<\/a>, to which the best retort may be that line in the club\u2019s recent accounts \u201cforecasting a liquidity shortfall in summer 2026\u201d, as well as the \u201csevere but plausible scenario\u201d of relegation causing an even bigger financial crisis three years after victory in the Conference League<\/a> was followed by the \u00a3105m sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal.<\/p>\n

West Ham\u2019s co-chair David Gold and David Sullivan with vice-chair Karren Brady after the move to Stratford was announced in 2011. Photograph: Tony O\u2019Brien\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Does this feel like the behaviour of a big club? It is more that of a mid-sized one whose shortcomings and dated thinking were exposed the moment they decided to leave their beloved mid-sized home and offered nothing but vague talking points when it came to the practicalities of challenging the elite. West Ham should feel ashamed when they gaze up the table and see Brentford, Bournemouth and Brighton challenging for Champions League qualification. Those are clubs with proper structures and clear identities, allowing them to punch above their weight. What they lack in size is made up for in expertise. They play in smaller grounds than West Ham, whose stadium holds 62,500, but they are more organised, more intelligent and more adept at squad-building.<\/p>\n

Of course, West Ham have been competing with Tottenham this season. The only problem there is that no one had Spurs as relegation candidates. That was an unexpected but welcome bonus for miserable Hammers but even that lifeline is starting to slip away. Last weekend brought a potentially crucial shift in the battle to stay up, Spurs plunging West Ham back into the bottom three with a commanding win over Aston Villa, and there is a realistic prospect of the fight ending before the final day.<\/p>\n

With Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Crystal Palace almost out of reach, West Ham will need a miracle if they lose to Arsenal on Sunday and Spurs beat Leeds at home on Monday night. The gap between the sides would stand at four points \u2013 as good as five if goal difference is taken into account \u2013 and would mean Nuno Esp\u00edrito Santo\u2019s team dropping into the Championship if beaten at Newcastle on Sunday week.<\/p>\n

It is not over yet. West Ham slumped at Brentford last week, poor finishing and bad defending leading to a 3-0 defeat, but they have been on a good run since mid-January. Nuno, who made a terrible start after replacing Graham Potter last September, has belatedly instilled spirit and one piece of encouragement is that West Ham are unbeaten in six home league games before hosting Arsenal.<\/p>\n

Tomas Soucek powers a header past Jordan Pickford in West Ham\u2019s victory over Everton in the most recent game at the London Stadium. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

This is a huge game at both ends of the table. Arsenal head to Stratford on a high. Through to the Champions League final at the expense of Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, Mikel Arteta\u2019s side are closing in on a first league title since 2004 after Manchester City\u2019s stumble at Everton last Monday. This is a banana skin, though. West Ham have form when it comes to disrupting title challengers. They derailed Manchester United in 1992 and 1995 and have taken crucial points off Arsenal three times in the past three years.<\/p>\n

It would be classic West Ham to rise to the occasion again. It is a game that could suit Nuno, who is skilled at setting up a low block and waiting for opportunities on the break. With Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville on the wings, West Ham have ways of hurting Arsenal. Then again, Arsenal ran out 6-0 and 5-2 winners on their past two trips to Stratford.<\/p>\n

The league leaders, who are in the rare position of Spurs fans wanting them to win, should be too focused and strong for opponents who have conceded 61 goals in 35 games. Arsenal have the players to overpower and outnumber Mateus Fernandes and Tomas Soucek in midfield. Rice was outstanding against Atl\u00e9tico. The England midfielder takes no joy from West Ham\u2019s plight but has warned his old side that he has a job to do.<\/p>\n

There is no option but to be ruthless. Rice does not owe West Ham anything. Instead his return is a reminder of their recruitment failings. They would be in a much better position had they not spent the money from his transfer on a bunch of misfits. They built a slow, ageing squad. It is not a surprise they have tumbled down the table and into financial difficulty.<\/p>\n

Declan Rice and David Moyes hold the Europa Conference League trophy after their win in the final against Fiorentina in 2023. Photograph: Daniel Leal\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Missed opportunities and West Ham go hand in hand. There is a poignant sense of timing to the reunion with Rice falling 10 years to the day since West Ham\u2019s final game at Upton Park, a pulsating 3-2 win over United.<\/p>\n

Slaven Bilic\u2019s side were up to sixth after saying farewell to the club\u2019s home of 112 years by snatching victory with a late header from Winston Reid on a wild May evening. Dimitri Payet had the season of his life. There was cause for optimism. West Ham wanted to feel like a big club. With Sullivan running the show, though, they had no idea how to be one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When David Sullivan was pressed on why West Ham bothered to move to the London Stadium, the lack…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":659400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-659399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=659399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=659399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=659399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=659399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}