Could West Ham Soon Be Up For Sale?
I picked this little snippet up from the West Ham Mailing List…
Yesterday on the BBC World Service they dedicated some time about the plight of the Icelandic banks - and (as) it was the ’sports segment, they commented on how ‘West Ham United’ could be in serious trouble next season . Gudmunnsson (whatever his name is) may be for force to sell off his ‘luxury’ item - such as West Ham United - for a cut down price, if things get much worse. They implied that, such was the dire situation for the said Mr G - that many of the high priced players such “Freedy Ljundberg’ etc- would need to be sold off and not replaced. So …..I doubt we’ll be getting any ‘Ambitious Manger’ - in the
foreseeable future!! Let alone any ‘inspiring players’. Another season of dire relegation battles beckons !!
I have no idea how bad the credit crunch has affected Gudmunnssonm’s Landsbanki bank, but if things get worse it is eminently possible that he would be forced to sell off non-essential businesses like West Ham. I suspect we’re a long way from that, but it certainly means that we’re not going to be signing any £15 million players in the foreseeable future, and that the wage bill will need to be reduced.
April 13, 2008 at 11:07 am
Can’t see why they would want to sell the club. After all they they are astute businessmen and see the club as a long term investment, but to maximise their profits they need more ‘bums on seats’ and therefore a new stadium as quickly as possible. It’s now pretty obvious that Curbishley is not the man to take us to the next level and I personally think that the employment of Nani as Director of Football was a significant step towards replacing Curbishley. I think he will be out of the door before the start of next season. Nani will also be given the task of getting rid of the dead wood.
April 13, 2008 at 11:09 am
Can’t see why they would want to sell the club. After all they they are astute businessmen and see the club as a long term investment, but to maximise their profits they need more ‘bums on seats’ and therefore a new stadium as quickly as possible. It’s now pretty obvious that Curbishley is not the man to take us to the next level and I personally think that the employment of Nani as Director of Football was a significant step towards replacing Curbishley. I think he will be out of the door before the start of next season. Nani will also be given the task of getting rid of the dead wood.
April 13, 2008 at 11:28 am
This is absolute nonsense… Complete garbage…. The credit crunch has been looming upon everyone for months and if the 799th richest man in the world and his even richer son (both billionnaires, yes, billionairres) are going to be ffected by this, to the extent where they have to sell off a relatively miniscule asset in West Ham, then we’re all doomed.
April 13, 2008 at 11:40 am
Oh the joys of being a West Ham fan! I’ve just investigated the situation and it seems to be similar to what happened here last month. Reuters are saying that it’s do with unscrupulous dealers had made a stab at bringing down Iceland’s financial system. Just rumours we hope then.
All that aside though, i agree with down to bare bones, i think curbs is out, any managerwho loses more games than he wins should be in danager, the worrying thing is that curbs doesn’t seem to have a clue how to win or motivate players after 28 games.
I think a combination or dream team of Billic and Di Canio wouldbe what we are looking for!
April 13, 2008 at 11:42 am
I’d very much doubt that West Ham would be high on Gudmunnssons list of assests to sell in a recession, football clubs have traditionally powered through economic downturns. People turn to their teams when their luck is down.
West Ham in the premier league is probably one of the safest assets Gudmunnsson owns.
April 13, 2008 at 12:06 pm
From their website…
Peace of mind
We are part of Landsbanki, one of the largest quoted financial services providers in Iceland. Here are a few key facts you might like to know about Landsbanki:
* We were founded in 1886 and have been operating in the UK since 2000
* We are a large and diversified financial services provider active in retail and corporate banking, investment banking, capital markets services, asset and wealth management for private banking customers and deposit taking in over 17 countries including the UK, Ireland, USA, France, Holland, Luxembourg and Hong Kong
* We had total worldwide assets of €33.4 billion that included assets exceeding £5 billion in the UK and liquid assets of €8.9 billion (as at 31 December 2007)
* We made a stable pre-tax profit for 2007 of €520 million
* We have a liquidity and capital position amongst the strongest of any bank in Northern Europe
* We have no direct or indirect exposure to the US sub-prime mortgage market or structured credit obligations like CDO’s, CLO’s and SIV’s
* We have strong credit ratings from the leading international ratings agencies - Moody’s and Fitch
We also subscribe to the Banking Code and you can also rest assured that with Icesave you are offered the same level of financial protection as every bank in the UK. You can find our registered address and regulatory details here. All of this means that when you save with Icesave you can rest assured your savings are in a safe place.
So, they look pretty liquid to me. I wish all this financial jitters would stop.
April 13, 2008 at 1:51 pm
No need for panic!!!! hes loaded dont worry about that,these bankers are clever they wont loose out,but if we need to cut the squad here they are
1.neil
2.boa morte
3.spector
4,mullins
5,dyer,always injured
6,zamora, tryer
7,cole,tryer
8,solano, good free kick taker,thats its
April 13, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Is this true? Will we really be sold off next season? WHy doesn’t BG make a statement about west hams future? The fans are owed that much at least? He hasn’t said one word since he bought out Eggy. There must be some truth in this otherwise he’d back up all those plans that they had when they took over surely? It’s heartbreaking being a west ham fan, we were all expecting things to go forward, now i feel we are only going to go backwards. Championship here we come next season then who knows? If we have to sell half the team, how can we expect to stay up!!! But I’ll support you ever more.
April 13, 2008 at 3:07 pm
we are not being sold its the bbc talking utter c..p
April 13, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I to dont think curbishley will be there next season.Ive been all for him pushing us forward and seeing the curbs out mob eat humble pie,but even my patience has run out.Fed up of hearing about injury excuses and tired of seeing the team not turn up.
April 13, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I am guessing that we are not owned by an Icelandic Bank but rather an Icelandic billionaire. Banking problems are well known world wide and I guess if he was using it to obtain funding they might increase his rate or even ask for early repayment but my guess would be he has more money tucked under his mattress than he owes and one business decision runs totally seperate to any others he has made.
Of course it would help if he said a few words occassionally but then be careful what you wish for as the Liverpool owners do not know when to shut up.
I close with a question WHY OH WHY is Boa Morte playing (even at the club still) and we loan a young player like Reid out when we are ” giving the young kids a chance”?
Alan can you hear me???
April 13, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I work in the banking industry and cannot see any reason BG would be in any real danger of needing to sell assets, let alone the ‘tiny’ amount he has invested in us!
I would agree with some of Chris’ list (for recommended departures) with one definite exception and one possible exception:
Neill - depends if he stops jet-setting to play useless friendlies for Australia and therefore gets back to the level he started with.
Zamora??? You obviously werent at the Pompey game, Chris! Ok, he faded after 30 mins but not before he’d created more chances than the rest of the team put together for the entire 90mins. I’d expect him to be a little rusty/tired after being out for a little while and he was, but he contributed more in his time than Ashton will EVER do in a west ham shirt. Bobby cares, you see. Ashton looks like he’s waiting for the bus (out of Upton Park) and gave the centre backs far too easy a time. I watched him stand right next to Campbell on a couple of occasions and not even bother to jump and challenge him! I’d sell Ashton in the summer and keep Bobby - if we can ever get Bellamy back fit or persuade AC (or his replacement) to allow Bobby to play with Sears then the couple of balls that Z played across the penalty would be in the back of the net rather than having Ashton watch (standing still on edge of box!).
Solano - I hope thats not how hes been playing all the time weve had him?!?!?! He had a terrible game against Pompey - could barely find a west ham player and blew a number of good positions. Can we get him to retire (again) too or sell him aswell?
April 13, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I have been a supportter of Curbs but am also beginning to geta little sick of his tactics (playing LBM in pref to my dad or anyone else with two legs???) and moaning about injuries!
I agreed when he bought Bellamy (even with his injury record & track record of playing for Wales and then being crocked for his club) as I thought it was a risk worth taking.
But buying Parker and Dyer as well was just sheer stupidity on a number of levels. My fave being that Dyer is … well, quite frankly dire! ANd thats even before considering that he is the modern day Darren ‘Sicknote’ Anderton.
Not to mention AC ditching AP’s extensive medical team and replacing them with…. well, nothing really. What are AC and his team doing that makes us pick up so many muscle injuries?
April 13, 2008 at 4:26 pm
ffs its nothing more than stupid talk there is no danger of us being sold,i for one am not going to worry just because some c..p gets spewed out by the bbc,absolute paranoia
April 13, 2008 at 5:01 pm
I heard that BG’s personal fortune has been reduced from 1.2 billion to a mere 1 billion. Add to that his son’s money and I don’t think we’ve got too much to worry about.
Someone should go round Essex Hammers house and make sure he’s ok….really quite worrying, we’re off back down to the championship? Come on mate, cheer up!
April 13, 2008 at 6:22 pm
With all due respect John I go everygame home and away and watch reserves,and my sons in the academy ,not trying to be a swell head just being as honest as i can to a fellow hammer,but you said it yourself Zamora created things,I dont want him creating things we want him scoring goals!!!and hes just not a 20 season man, in a good season he would probably score 10,same as cole their just good tryers,Ashton would score more if given the service he knows where the goal is,and also you cant surely be serious on starting sears!hes not ready,we need to buy a proven striker with pace and they cost dough!!!who I dont know thats not my job,yeah ashton looks pissed off,but wouldn’t you playing with LBM.
April 13, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Zamora
Bowyer
Neill
Mcarteney
Mullins
Cole
Davenport
Quashie
BOA MORTE
… should go i cant see them taking club 2 the next level.
Parker
Ashton
Dyer
Bellamy
Faubert
Noble
Sears
Green
Etherington
Solano (i suppose) etc.
… should stay plus get
Sidwell
Left Back
Right back (Foriegner preferable) Sagnol
striker (powerful or quick) Di natale maybe
holding midfielder (experienced)
April 13, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Regarding Zamora, I agree with Chris. I see the all the games at home and a lot away and he isn’t a top premiership player and never will be. Of course he gives us everything and does score important goals but he isn’t a patch on Ashton, whatever season he has had. Remember he has been injured a long time. Now I am no fan of Redknapp but I cannot see how we have improved in the last 8 years. We seem to have gone backwards. I really cannot see how Curbishley will take us forwards and if he continues to play LBM and Spector ahead of others, then he it is difficult to support him. However, why shouldn’t we start Sears? All of our other top Academy players were playing regularly at his age.
April 13, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Most people might think What!!!!!but If I was curbs I Would put a cheeky bid in for Fulhams Mcbride, he might not be everyones cuppa! but he knows where the goal is,going for a foreign strikers so hit and miss,just ask southgate..alves 12mil no way!!!!
April 13, 2008 at 8:22 pm
sorry guys I know his american!!!but you no what mean.
April 13, 2008 at 11:59 pm
[...] Could West Ham Soon Be Up For Sale? I picked this little snippet up from the West Ham Mailing List… Yesterday on the BBC World Service they dedicated [...] [...]
April 14, 2008 at 8:50 am
Perhaps we should club together and be ready to bid,
He already appears more interested in saving money than investing in new players,
I feel that the word is going around the financial circles,so dont be suprised,I am already disappointed with his performance.
New owners for next season anybody?
April 14, 2008 at 1:35 pm
This business came up on PM on Radio 4 a couple of weeks ago. What is true is that iceland government was complaining of being ‘attacked’ by speculators but if it was, it seems the speculators have pulled back. The expert they had on said even given the speculators shananagins, Icleand’s underlying economy was strong and would only be affected in the very short term, if at all. Iceland is a pretty solvent country; it made a bomb out of the break up of the former Soviet Union and is busy investing all over europe, mostly in retail. Much of the capital that they have used for instance to buy up about a third of the British High Street through the investment group Bauger, is backed by the nation’s pension fund which is enormous. As others have commented, both BG and his wonderfully named son ‘Thor’ are billionaires and are unlikely to find themselves on skid row any time soon. Even if they did, any premier League club with the potential to put 50,000 + bums on seats week in week out is not likely to find itself without suitors for long- especially one located in London that I understand is debt free since the buy out.
April 14, 2008 at 2:30 pm
new owners? ffs sort it out
April 14, 2008 at 2:33 pm
We are not up for sale and are not going to be,will this sort of talk and bitching at the hammers from newspapers ever end
April 14, 2008 at 4:03 pm
good peice kev!!!!!
April 14, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Thanks Ian, this must be the worst bit of scare mongering you have managed to post so far, Its all ballcocks! WHUFC are not for sale, he isnt broke and thats that
April 14, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Hardly debt free club; I understood BG loaned WH over £100 mil for which he gets back at least £10 mil interest payback each year untill the debt is paid. So it may well suit BG to keep this going for a while!!
BG is no lover of WH its just buisness for him, so as long as he gets his return OK I think he’ll stay with us.
What will happen at the end of this season; what would you do if you wher BG with his back groung? First is WH buisness going along the right direction by making money, whats the potential for making more money by getting in Europe, does he have real confidence in Curbs - does he buy well, are the fans happy??? Hard to think BG is satisfied so I think Curbs will go and a European manager will come in. Will this be any better than Curbs? Your guess is as good as mine.
Seems strange that for some years now we fans would have been well pleased by Premiere mid table but not any more, maybe we are being unrealistic and should be satisfied with steady but boring progess.
April 14, 2008 at 8:03 pm
please change groung to ground!
April 15, 2008 at 3:30 am
ho for gods sakes,we have a new owner and what happens when a stupid newsclipping comes out…we take it to heart and start thinking doom n gloom.Isnt it about time we shrugged off this psychology from our past scars and move on
April 15, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Give Deano a partner who plays on the last man and you will see the best out of him. Chasing balls is not his game and at his best is when he has the ball at his feet. The problem with have is Cole & Zamora - both players who are not ideal partners for Ashton. Cole takes away the space Deano likes to play and Bobby doesn’t stick on the last man. Whenever Freddie Sears comes on you see Ashton become more effective, and as soon as Bellamy is fit next season you will see the start of an awesome partnership. So lets hope Curbs goes and not Deano…!
On the financial front its all the papers scaring people, the media seem to like doing it. I’m sure if BG had problems we would have a list of potential buyers.
April 16, 2008 at 8:43 am
The main player is the son not the dad and he has billions to play with.
This is a long play by the Ice Men, not a short play.
Utter bollocks again by the dead tree press.
April 17, 2008 at 1:15 am
i dont believe anythign the bbc says about football