100 k a week – how daft is that?

The initial weeks of ownership are certainly as full of job as getting the Club ever was for G&S. There are several issues that must be addressed quickly.

Making sure that the players and coaches (and fans?) are happy
The primary task must be to give the present team the condition it needs to perform. Minimize the uncertainties, instill confidence and belief in the future. The new owners can do this by supporting the players and managing staff with energy, making them feel wanted, needed even (but not irreplaceable). Making them feel a part of something interesting – not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to be a part of the rise of West Ham. This makes sense for several reasons but foremost, as most industrial leaders know, if you can motivate people without doing it through the wallet the money can be used elsewhere. Don’t sign players the Manager haven’t asked for!

Make sure we have a squad that can avoid the drop
The above paragraph is totally contradictory to the “one player on 100k a week” statement. If you make a major point of bringing down the wage bill and cutting costs, and strike down at Eggy for spending £85,000 a week on a 30 year old Swede, how can one argue that giving £100 k a week to a 33 year old Dutchman on the slope is the right thing to do?

"We can carry one exceptional player, who would make a difference on that wage,
but generally we have to bring the wages down and in the summer we would hope to
sign younger players on a fraction of those wages. We have looked at a few
players in the Championship but the reality is that it is no good if they make
the grade in 12 months time, we need them to make the grade now. We have a
crisis and you have to have a different strategy to what our long-term strategy
will be." Sullivan says.

HEY, STOP IT! This is too much Eggy for me!
Nurture the team as a unit, not the cracks in the squad! There is no doubt in my mind that with a slightly deeper PL- hardened squad there will be no drop.
G&S wants to send a message rather than hire a footballer – “we are determined”! I think we will in reality see one or two fairly low profile signings that deepens the squad in vulnerable positions. McCarthy and a Young-oid defender sounds good to me!

Sort the CEO issue
Who calls the shots with Brady in as vice chairman? We know, but will Duxbury just play dead? Duckers, I’m sure, have a great and intricate contract. He can probably be a menace if he is made an enemy. He knows stuff that can be a burden if leaked and having to deal with that would take the focus and energy away from the real tasks. So he may well be around for a while or even given a nice office and title but little influence. Whatever the solution, it must be clear who does what and this must be handled as soon as possible. Actually it may allready have been sorted.