Ahead of West Ham United’s first visit to Millwall since 2011, the news that David Sullivan will not be in attendance at The Den appears somewhat ironic.
The West Ham shareholder and controversial former vice-chairman, who resigned from his key role and directorship at the club in June amid allegations of misconduct, has already ignored requests to stay away from home games at the London Stadium this season.
His presence at the Charlton Athletic fixture last month was described as “deliberately provocative” by the West Ham Fan Advisory Board, with Sullivan then in attendance for matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Derby County and Wrexham as well.
It comes as the 77-year-old has seen his shareholding in West Ham increase from 38.8 to 40 per cent as a consequence of Daniel Kretinsky taking advantage of pre-emptive share rights to firm up his post as majority shareholder.
The shift in the Hammers’ ownership has thwarted recent attempts by businesswoman and former Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley to obtain a 25.1 per cent stake in the club after a binding agreement was reached in August with Vanessa Gold, the club’s joint-chair.
West Ham’s existing board members subsequently blocked the deal by triggering their contractual “pre-emption rights” (right of first refusal).
From an on-field perspective, West Ham are on a four-game winning streak in their quest for a return to the Premier League following relegation to the second tier last season.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side – favourites to win the Championship – are top of the table on goal difference prior to the eagerly-anticipated clash at Millwall, where absence has not made mutual hearts grow fonder on either side of the Thames.
David Sullivan has attended multiple games already this season (Photo: PA)Has the positivity on the pitch tempered some of the anger at Sullivan’s seemingly intractable position, with supporters keen on a fresh start at ownership level?
At one point, it appeared Staveley, husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, and their vehicle PCP Capital Partners would become involved and potentially contribute to significant structural changes around the London Stadium. However, such a development appears to be in the east London long grass for now.
“I think if David Sullivan was going to leave he would have done so by now,” a club source told The i Paper.
“After everything that has gone on over the last few months and beyond, you might have thought that would be the case. But he tends to come along (to games) and simply has the air of someone who couldn’t care less what supporters think of him.
“You don’t get to where he is without making a few enemies along the way. There’s nothing new about that in business, but when you are a high-profile figure of a big football club where the fans, by and large, want you out, then it becomes an ongoing problem that can only be solved with Sullivan leaving.
“Sullivan knows all about his unpopularity – how could you not? This is someone, remember, who attends the London Stadium even when police and Newham council strongly recommended that he doesn’t, due to the potential of disorder.”
Despite supporters marching in their thousands from Stratford station to London Stadium last November, Sullivan remains unmoved.
“It’s almost as if he (Sullivan) regards himself as a Trump-like figure,” the source added.
“Completely self-satisfied and immune to everyone and all the public criticism around him. Yes, he has resigned from the board but he now has 40 per cent of the club shareholding, so in that sense it looks like, for the moment, he isn’t going anywhere.”
Kretinsky, owner of Royal Mail, has made all the right noises in relation to West Ham’s governance after Staveley’s consortium was denied a stake. The Czech businessman has been criticised by fans for his lack of regular visits to London Stadium.
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“Now that Kretinsky has an increased stake in the club, it seems like he has re-established a strong controlling position at West Ham,” added the source. “What he may or may not choose to do in terms of changing the infrastructure, for instance, aspects of the stadium, is hard to say. It may well be that Kretinsky believes that the London Stadium setup right now is fine.
“It was certainly interesting when Staveley showed interest in buying into the club and the fans were really enthusiastic when Vanessa Gold agreed to sell the majority of shares to her, subject to the pre-emptive rights. Of course, that didn’t transpire in the end.
“Ultimately, despite the issues around Sullivan, the big winner is Vanessa Gold. I think her heart has always been in the right place with West Ham, especially since her dad David passed. She was mindful of her responsibility.
“She has now just received around £151m to essentially sit back with what is now a token shareholding of about two per cent without much responsibility now.”
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