Olly Roberts

Top of the league, bottom of ambition

As West Ham coasted to a 4-1 victory over FA Cup holders Leicester City on Monday, the nature of the result exemplified two things. First, that the Hammers are good at football now. Not just good actually, but great. The football was fast-paced, free-flowing and faultless at times. The work rate was unceasing — the commitment unwavering. Indeed, by the end of the game, chants of “olé” permeated around the ground. It was, for the first time in a very long time, the famous “West Ham Way.”

Secondly, this match, in particular, showcased how the tumultuous relationship between fans and the London Stadium could still be salvaged. Despite the perpetual feeling that the Boleyn Ground will never truly be bettered, the Leicester game suggested, perhaps, that this could be a new home after all. The atmosphere was deafening, domineering and distinguishably different to normal. A far cry from a hindrance to the players as some TalkSport presenters proclaimed nonsensically it would be.

And yet, as West Ham sit top of the Premier League table after two games, many fans have never felt so disheartened. The reason for this is explicit. Fans recognise that this has the potential to be a historic season for the club. A chance to challenge for European silverware. An opportunity to narrow the gap between us and the self-proclaimed “Super League” clubs. A moment to absorb the type of football we have desperately craved for so long. Meanwhile, the owners quite frankly, couldn’t give less of a shit.

By some miracle, David Moyes exceeded all expectations last year. Even with next to no financial backing and a squad so small we rarely filled an entire bench, we qualified for the Europa League. Moyes made Craig Dawson look like prime Bobby Moore at times –– Jesse Lingard was resurrected from a career which appeared on the brink of collapse –– and Declan Rice grew into one of the world’s best holding midfielders.

This in part, combined with the fact the country was in national lockdown for much of the season, numbed the intensity of protests against the board, which had occurred the year prior. But for the majority of fans, though our perception of Moyes shifted to one of belief and admiration, the feelings towards the owners did not.

For all of last season it felt like David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady were doing their utmost to scupper any hope of progression. They sold promising youngsters including Grady Diangana and Josh Cullen, much to the dissatisfaction of the first-team squad. They sold record signing Sebastien Haller for half the price they’d signed him for and failed to spend a penny on a replacement. They sold Robert Snodgrass, released Jack Wilshere and seemingly did all in their power not to sign Said Benrahma on deadline day. David Sullivan even revealed to Jim White that he’d prefer to lose an EFL cup tie because the travel costs were too taxing. I can only imagine his horror at finding out the price of European away days this season.

So on to this year. Moyes, so frustratingly loyal to the owners and reluctant to express his discontent, insisted he wanted his business to be done early. Now, with a matter of days left in the transfer window, we are the only Premier League club with no permanent signings and have a squad smaller than the one we finished with in May. A solitary backup keeper in Alphonse Areola is the only signing of note. Contract renewals are also decidedly unforthcoming –– even to Rice, who has declined a new offer after being offered less money than a perennially injured Andriy Yarmolenko.

As Man United completed the signing of one of the world’s greatest ever players in a matter of hours, our fans repeatedly refresh Twitter waiting for the latest excuse on our own lack of transfer activity. As things currently stand, the club are still waiting to complete the signing of Moyes’ first-choice centre-back target, Kurt Zouma –– a suspiciously similar “medical issue” preventing the club from financing the deal right now.

What’s become increasingly apparent is the lack of desire to invest any money at all in recent times. Is this because there’s no money to be spent, or rather, is it simply because they’d prefer not to spend it?

To quash any argument that the former is true, there most certainly is money to be spent. That much has been reiterated by the owners themselves. What started as a £70 million budget at the start of the window has become £45 million now –– though this will soon decrease further if history is anything to go by. The extra funds that will be gained from European football this season, coupled with the fact half the squad has been sold, means there is at the very least, enough in the bank to facilitate one actual signing.

Why else are they so reluctant to spend then? Most likely, because they plan on selling up soon. It’s become increasingly clear they’re no longer emotionally invested in the club and would rather use their porn pounds to consolidate their dildo dynasty. There is no loyalty whatsoever. Don’t forget GSB owned Birmingham City before West Ham and there is no more love for this club than there ever was for the Blues. In truth, Karren Brady has ostensibly shown more faithfulness to Alan Sugar than she ever has done to us.

And so, for a couple of seasons, there’s been a growing disinclination to spend. Now with PAI’s bid to buy the club public knowledge, there is every chance they’ll be gone for good in the not too distant future. From their perspective then, why spend at all? What's the point? Wait a bit longer and this inherited debt is no longer theirs to worry about. Lull fans into believing they care with obligatory loan deals for players, where any future fees can be passed on to the new owners. A foolproof system.

This PAI bid has therefore come at the worst possible moment. Right at a time when West Ham are one injury to Michail Antonio away from considering Mark Noble as a centre-forward option.

It would be some consolation if this takeover bid meant improvements to the club in the long term. Yet, PAI somehow appear to be even less inspiring than GSB. At least our current owners announce their news on the nation’s biggest sports radio station. Philip Beard, meanwhile, opted to reveal the nature of his bid to, no disrespect intended, a guy who sells pillows and was on The Apprentice. Moreover, his most vocal supporter was Rio Ferdinand –– a player who actively encouraged his former club Man United to sign our best player. Even worse, Beard suggested in a statement that we couldn’t even manage to fill Upton Park, despite the stadium being renowned for having one of the best atmospheres in England.

Of course, there will continue to be those in the media that urge our fans to be more grateful. That the club has spent x amount on transfers in the last five years. That they’ve taken us from the Championship to European football. But when you look beyond the surface, the fans’ reasons for feeling disgruntled become more obvious. Do the owners want to see the team succeed as much as we do? No. Do they care about being in Europe as much as we do? No. Would they do anything for this football club as we all would? No, they most definitely would not. So why on earth should we continue to stand for it?