Apologies in advance for the headline, now let's see if I can justify it. One week on, and there is still the puzzle of why Sullivan made his 25% salary cut statement on the eve of the Birmingham game, only to retract it 24 hours later. Sullivan claims it was a masterstroke of motivation and others optimistically claim that Gold has slapped his co-owner down, pointing out the stupidity of Diddy David's remarks. However, there is another possibility.
Let's look closely at what Sullivan said when he made his retraction. I quote,
"As for reality, you cannot impose a 25% cut in players' wages, you cannot cut their wages at all. They have contracts, so it cannot happen, you simply cannot enforce it however much you would like to."
Now that is pretty obvious, so why exactly did Sullivan appear to say the opposite 24 hours earlier? Well, in recent days there have been stories about offers pending for Behrami and Cole. Sullivan has already admitted that Upson will be sold to the highest bidder, whilst Green's hopes of an improved contract appear to have been quashed, making his departure almost certain. And the connection?
Well if the wage bill HAS to be cut by 25%, and you cannot reduce the wages of the players under contract, what do you do? Yes Einstein, you sell your top wage earners, solving the problem at a stroke!
And when it happens, of course, you put the blame at the door of the previous owners and the refusal of the players concerned to accept the proposed wage cuts! Sullivan comes out and says that this was the last thing he wanted to do, but he was left with no choice. He reminds us that he proposed a wage cut; he tells us again about the financial time bomb he discovered when he completed the purchase of the club; he talks about the selfishness of the players concerned, revealed when they rejected extended contracts on reduced wages; he protests, "We were offering them more money in the long run but they were only interested in short term greed"!
"What choice did we have?", Sullivan will ask, pointing to Mido's willingness to commit his future to the club for a fraction of the wages being offered to Cole. "Of course we are sorry to lose these players but the survival of the club was at stake."
It may not happen, but the scenario makes sense doesn't it?
17 comments:
Do you ACTUALLY support West Ham? You seem to revel in the proposition of misery. If this doesn't happen I expect you'll actually be upset!
Idiot!
or keep our decent players like behrami, cole, green and parker and get rid of dyer - 80k a week, faubert 60k a week, upson 80k a week and if anybody wants gabbidon, sears and other fringe players then fine. the wage bill needs cutting or there will be no happy ending but to say we will sell everybody that is half decent is madness. even if the two davids are in it for the money they are not stupid enough to sell everybody and get relegated and loose out on 40 million tv rights
Why do you suspect that? I very much hope I am wrong. Do you have a more plausible explanation?
Good point 2147, but will anybody buy Faubert or Dyer? They cannot force Dyer into retirement as much as they would love to and nobody will offer Faubert the same pay deal he is on at Upton Park, so why would he move? As you admit, Gabbidon is not going to top anybody's shopping list either. As for the fringe players, that doesn't solve the problem does it?
Boa goes, his contract expires. Then it is probably any 3 from 5 to balance the books. Hope I'm wrong!
Imagine thinking the worst may happen at the club you don't even support, you dirty spud you, I mean do the owners of West Ham have a track record of behaving in this way Have not successive owners invested in the club and of course they never sold our youth team (which was better than the Giggs Beckham etc Mancscum youth team which formed the basis of their super succesful era)I mean Rio begged to leave So it's not going to happen is it? you doom mongering spud
Oh and yes I have been in Spain trying to get some warmth into my bones The good news that comes my way is that I get to wear a McCarthy 17 shirt at the world cup and I will be getting reunited with my family whilst the clubs silver is sold AGAIN
No insults from me. Possibly you could be right. I think at least two top players will go, but hope I am wrong, and they have promised to give Zola money for new players in the summer. If new players come in at half the price of those that go and they are as good what's wrong with that!
and to think..Tony Fernandes wouldve come in and WIPED OUT OUR DEBT if the moronic Icelandics waited for his business partner to get off the plane before selling.
Now we are stuck with a pair of absolute pillocks.
Green will go, Upson will go, Behrami will go, Boa Morte will go, Gabbidon will go, Dyer will go, Franco will go, Ilan will go, Davenport will go, Sears will go.
Hines may go, Dixon may go, Kurucz may go, Mido may go.
Parker and Cole will be wanted, but can we keep them?
Wafer thin squad next year!
They need to save around £200,000 a week on wages (my guess at a 25% wage saving). Selling someone for £1m would obviously give us around 5 weeks operating at the 75% level. Selling just one big player for £15m would give us 75 weeks at the 75% level and that's not counting the saving on his wages, just the money from the sale. 75 weeks is a long time. Let me know if I made any obvious errors, but if all these numbers are there-abouts, is the situation not being made to look far worse than it actually is by Gold and Sullivan?
I really fear for this, Fanno! Let's hope that it doesn't happen! :(
We need support for the club and players at the moment, not speculation and negativity. Leave that to the Red tops!!!
@21:47 there was a recent poll on here and the majority doubted if he was a supporter, there is much speculation that he is actually a spud.......... he really should be writing for a red top as they have nothing positive to say about the Hammers and he'd fit right in.
0946, we are still awaiting an explanation as to how multiple voting was discounted.
I don't think you're that far from the truth with that article.
I really cant get my head around some of the comments on here! If you were a dirty Yid spud would you really have the time and inclination to set up this site and write the blogs??? i think not!
Doom and gloom is all WHFC is about at the moment and all it has for a long while, I was looking forward to celebrating the new owners arrival and the safety of the club but it just hasnt turned out that way. All we here is bollox from those two twats, a 1.5M strickers arrival (whoopie fuckin do), talk of wage reductions (that will definately want new players to come to the club)and just when you thought Zola would have the funds and opertunity to do thing right they have also deliberately put the feelers out about sacking him.
Finding it very dificult to be a happy hammer at the mo.
1234, you must be a Spud too! If you support West Ham, keep your head up your arse - it smells better than the whiff around Upton Park when the Royal Standard is flown to show that Sullivan is in resindence!
i find it difficult to believe some of you are not on drugs
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