West Ham owners David Gold and David Sullivan have been accused of turning the Hammers into ‘a cheap and tacky club’ by Jason Cundy.
The Sports Bar presenter didn’t hold back as he discussed the ‘absolute mess’ at the east London side, and says the Hammers’ current crisis is of Gold and Sullivan’s own making.
West Ham have marked their return to Premier League action with miserable back-to-back defeats.
After David Moyes’ side were beaten 2-0 by Wolves in their first match back last Saturday, they suffered another 2-0 loss at London rivals Tottenham on Monday night.
Ahead of the 2019/20 season, the Hammers had ambitions for a top ten finish and perhaps even a sneaky challenge for a European spot.
But now, after two defeats in just three days, their only hope will to be to escape another relegation battle.
Gold and Sullivan has come under heavy fire from supporters over the club’s supposed lack of progress since their move from their historic Upton Park home to the former Olympic Stadium in Stratford, so much so that Gold defended their reign as owners during an interview with talkSPORT earlier this season.
But their problems have not gone away in the months since, and Sports Bar host Cundy insists you can only point the finger one way.
“It’s a mess at West Ham, it’s an absolute mess,” said the former Chelsea and Spurs defender. “And this isn’t just something that’s happened in the last six months, it’s happened since they moved to the new stadium.
“The decline has been slow, gradual, and the two Davids – they are the ones that have got West Ham into this mess.
“The owners have turned West Ham, a brilliant football club, into a cheap and tacky club.
“They’ve gone from a brilliant old stadium, and I understand football has got to evolve and move on and they couldn’t stay there, but could they have rebuilt it, could they have extended it? Possibly.
“But they’ve now moved into this new stadium and they’re just tacky and cheap. That’s what West Ham have turned into, and that is not West Ham Football Club, they are not that, but they have turned into it.
“They sold the old stadium, they’re now renting… and look at where they are now. The two Davids predicted they would have Champions League football… it’s delusions of grandeur.
“By reappointing David Moyes they’ve admitted their mistake, but they’re bringing him back to a situation where they’re asking him to do it again!
“That showed a lack of real ambition – if you’re going to get rid of David Moyes, be a bit progressive, have some real vision about where you’re going to go… ‘oh I know, Pellegrini has won the Premier League and he’s out in China, we’ll bring him back’.
“That was a vanity signing, and they are the ones that have got West Ham into this mess.
Tony Cascarino reckons some West Ham fans would choose owners leaving over Premier League survival
“The games are there, they can still do it [stay up], but the mess at West Ham has been created by themselves.
“The money that has been spent has been mis-spent, there’s a load of loan players that have come in, old players have come in – this is not just what is happening this season, you’ve got look back over what happened since you’ve left Upton Park!
“This has been a slow decline and the trap door has been getting closer and closer.
“And there’s a constant here; it’s the guys at the top, and you’ve got to put [Karren] Brady in that as well. That’s where I point the finger.”
Jason Cundy made these comments on Tuesday evening’s Sports Bar – listen to a clip of him, above…
