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], neither coaches nor players earn £30,000 or £40,000 per week.
“If the EFL can’t work with the money we give them right now, what makes you think they’ll be able to work with another £50 or £100 million? They should learn to handle their finances better and quit spending unnecessary money. But they don’t want to since they’re trying to get into the Premier League.
“If we give the EFL what they want, in five years we’ll be back where we are now.
“Some EFL owners are wealthier than those in the Premier League.” Some clubs have faced difficulties due to owners who pursued promotion but eventually became dissatisfied.Then there’s my former club, Birmingham. They fired a good manager, John Eustace, as they were on the cusp of the play-offs to bring in a marquee figure in Wayne Rooney. It fouled everything up.
“Why should we subsidise their incompetence?”
Is David Sullivan correct, or are West Ham simply being 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.
In other West Ham news, Gary Neville believes the Hammers will replace David Moyes with a post that is “sought after”.
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