Sullivan & Gold Issue Non Sequitur In Response To Fans' Complaints

So, West Ham renege on an agreement to reward their most loyal fans with a 20% discount on the price of season tickets for the coming season and, in an effort to head off criticism, Sullivan & Gold issue a statement telling us how much they are putting in to the club to buy players and pay down debts.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but the two things are not related in any way. Sullivan & Gold knew what they were getting into when they bought the club, and if things have not gone exactly to plan then they have to be held accountable. They sacked Zola and appointed Grant. Sullivan signed Mido and co. They cocked up the appointment of O'Neill.

But that's assuming things haven't gone to plan. Last season I posted how relegation might actually suit the owners, giving them the opportunity to offload high wage earners and restructure the club's wage structure. And what's happened? Whereas the highest paid player was on £80,000 per week plus, we return to the Prem with Nolan on £40k per week. If Carlton is to be believed, his salary was halved because of relegation and you can bet your grandmother's life savings that Diop, Faye, Carew and co were on a relative pittance compared to the squad players they replaced. The parachute payment was still in place, ticket prices didn't drop and fans showed up in their droves despite the dire quality of the football for much of the season. In fact, the owners are now complaining that promotion to the Prem is an EXPENSE rather than a revenue generator. Dear God, it's financial Armageddon if you go down and financial Armageddon if you go up. We will be told how expensive the move to the OS is next!

But all this is irrelevant anyway. A commitment was made to the fans by the club and that commitment should be met. Sullivan and Gold are multi millionaires, the loyal fans they are ripping off may be struggling to meet the cost of supporting the club they love. To phase the discount over 4 years is unacceptable, not least because some of those fans may be dead in 4 year's time. And anyway, part of the deal in moving to the OS is meant to be that ticket prices will reduce.

And finally, Sullivan and Gold have the cheek to boast that season ticket prices have been frozen for the last three years! Bloody hell, last year we were in the Championship! That's like replacing Heston Blumenthal with Macdonalds for a wedding function and charging the brides' parents the same! The season tickets are owed a 20% discount for that alone!

The point of the picture? Look at the title!