David Sullivan attacks Birmingham City as West Ha United’s chief launches on a multimillion rant

admin | March 29, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

West Ham owner David Sullivan has chastised former club Birmingham City for their “incompetence” in voting against a new payment scheme to support the EFL.

The Premier League and EFL failed to reach an agreement earlier this month on moving funds down the pyramid, with the Hammers one of the clubs voting against the arrangement, causing fury in the community.

In an interview with The Sun (March 29), the former Blues and current Irons owner justified his choice, citing his former club as an example of why agreeing to the new rules would be unfair to Premier League clubs.

“The flaw in the system is the Championship,” he went on to say. “These teams are suffering financial problems because they spend too much in salary and agent fees, with some managers earning £1 million per year.

“If you look at Serie B [Italy’s second tier], the managers don’t earn that nor are players on £30,000, £40,000 a week.

“If the EFL can’t work with the funds we give them now, what suggests they can work with another £50m or £100m? They should manage their finances better and stop paying silly money. But they don’t want to because they’re competing to get into the Premier League.

“If we give to the EFL what they want, in five years we’ll be exactly where we are today.

“Some EFL owners are richer than those in the Premier League. Yet some clubs have got into trouble because their owners have gone for promotion but got fed up.

“Then there’s my old club, Birmingham. They sacked a good manager, John Eustace, when they were on the verge of the play-offs to bring in a flagship name in Wayne Rooney. It messed it up.

“Why should we subsidise their incompetence?”

Does David Sullivan have a point or are West Ham just stingy?

There is some truth to Sullivan’s assertion that clubs should be held accountable and manage their money properly, but these smaller clubs also require assistance.

Birmingham clearly brought in super-rich new owners and tried to be ambitious by bringing in Wayne Rooney, but it all went down the drain, and they should now face the repercussions of their actions.

Being bailed out by Premier League teams is unfair, but the money flowing down the pyramid is what makes the English leagues the most competitive and exciting in the world.

There must be an agreement reached between the leagues that benefits everyone, but West Ham should not be pressed to accept a deal that they do not believe is best for them.

Finally, Sullivan is both correct and incorrect; West Ham is being stingy, but that is their right, and Championship clubs must improve their financial management.