Are West Ham a sleeping giant?

[Neymar]

1. My point was that our global fanbase was NOT built solely on the last 5 years, it was an add on.

This is true. And our global fan base was definitely bigger than west hams way before our recent successes. But, that global fanbase (ie. of pre 2000) is almost irrelevant. it may have been bigger than west hams, soton's etc. but the increase of our global fan base recently makes that past fan base basically moot. if west ham start matching our sporting success, they will have a similar global fan base to us in no time.

2. You make me wonder about you if you think west ham or Southampton have a similar domestic fanbase to us? You don't really think that do you?

relatively speaking, i think the gap between the domestic fan bases is similar between these clubs. ok, maybe southampton is a bit smaller. but west ham and Saudi Sportswashing Machine are in our ball park imo.

3. I guess I just don't see anything to suggest west ham are doing this organic growth thing, they've had a good transfer window where they're pushing FFP rules again (they can't do that everytime), and a decent, no more than that if your a champs league challenging club, couple of months. We've been **** and we're what 5/6 points behind them? That's not to mention utd who've now overtaken them, Liverpool who eventually will and then if us and Everton sort our lives out...

i agree they dont seem to be doing too much to challenge us now. but the olympic stadium is one step in the right direction for them. few more good decisions like that, combined with luck and some time, who knows. after all, thats what we (levy/enic) did over the past decade to get ourselves into the position we are in right now

 

[braineclipse]

West Ham could overtake us (and others) in time, of course. Stuff like that happens. I see no reason to think that they're a sleeping giant, that's something very different to me. More like Leeds (max potential higher than West Ham, currently knee deep in ****), Dortmund pre Klopp etc.

If a mid table or lower half West Ham were capable of filling the olympic stadium and make plenty of corporate cash along with that to greatly and significantly increase their turnover without first getting the sporting success I think they could perhaps be classified as a sleeping giant. As success would then kinda seem inevitable. As it is they're in a rather different situation from what I can see. The 5-10 year plan they must go through to reach our level (by most people's acceptance) would mean massive sporting performances over a long time without the budget to really do so.

If this is being suggested half a season after West Ham fans where chanting for Allardyce to leave let me just say that I think it's premature at best.

 

[braineclipse]

Yet to be seen if the Olympic stadium is a good decision for them or not. In as far as it was a decision at all. They were kinda given it by default after we insisted on no running tack and Leyton are a bit... Leyton. More taking advantage of a situation that presented itself than actually making something happen.

Remember Juve just paid significant money to move to a smaller stadium without a running track, closer to their core fan group and with better atmosphere because that was the sensible decision. I don't think it's a given that the olympic stadium is a good thing for West Ham.

 

[milo]

Yet to be seen if the Olympic stadium is a good decision for them or not. In as far as it was a decision at all. They were kinda given it by default after we insisted on no running tack and Leyton are a bit... Leyton. More taking advantage of a situation that presented itself than actually making something happen.

Remember Juve just paid significant money to move to a smaller stadium without a running track, closer to their core fan group and with better atmosphere because that was the sensible decision. I don't think it's a given that the olympic stadium is a good thing for West Ham.

The problem is that they cannot sell out their current,far smaller ground despite selling tickets for £1 to kids and advertising tickets for sale in the Standard every night.

Once the initial novelty has worn off, they are going to have a half empty stadium unless they are consistently competing for a top four place.

That said, I think that the bongo brothers will cash in as soon as the club move into the Olympic stadium. I think that this has always been a short term investment for them where they could see a quick return on getting a big stadium on the cheap.

 

[Gazza Dazzla]

That's the thing here, if they sell to a billionaire once in the stadium, that becomes a game changer, as we've seen with city. Its my biggest concern actually, as we've seen with Chelsea and city, after a while no one seems to give a **** that they're in their positions because of financial doping, west ham could join that group, a horrible thought!

But in no way does that make them a sleeping giant, would just make them a modern day Blackburn with more longevity.

 

[milo]

That's the thing here, if they sell to a billionaire once in the stadium, that becomes a game changer, as we've seen with city. Its my biggest concern actually, as we've seen with Chelsea and city, after a while no one seems to give a **** that they're in their positions because of financial doping, west ham could join that group, a horrible thought!

But in no way does that make them a sleeping giant, would just make them a modern day Blackburn with more longevity.

I think that some of the conditions that Levy got added to their use of the stadium will make them less attractive to a new owner looking for a fast track to success.

They don't get the income from any stadium sponsorship or other uses of the stadium. That will make it a lot harder to comply with FFP if they were looking to spend big.

 

[jts1882]

A sleeping giant no, as they never were a giant who went to sleep, but a potential future giant yes.

If you think about the factors that can lead to a club climbing the football ladder, they are well positioned. In no particular order

• A decent history with famous players.
• A large stadium with good corporate facilities, well located with respect to the City and Canary Wharf. The latter is why Levy was so keen on the OS.
• London location so potential to charge premium prices if they can build support.
• A support base that can grow, with potential to compete with us in Essex and expand into SE London and northern Kent.

The missing factor is an owner to take them to the next level and I think the above reasons make them very attractive to a prospective new owner. The stadium and London prices become more important now FFP supposedly limits owner spending. Not owning the stadium hasn't harmed City. If someone like Usmanov showed an interest they could become a serious threat. A few star players could help fill the stadium and we've seen how quickly the international support can grow.

 

[milo]

A sleeping giant no, as they never were a giant who went to sleep, but a potential future giant yes.

If you think about the factors that can lead to a club climbing the football ladder, they are well positioned. In no particular order

• A decent history with famous players.
• A large stadium with good corporate facilities, well located with respect to the City and Canary Wharf. The latter is why Levy was so keen on the OS.
• London location so potential to charge premium prices if they can build support.
• A support base that can grow, with potential to compete with us in Essex and expand into SE London and northern Kent.

The missing factor is an owner to take them to the next level and I think the above reasons make them very attractive to a prospective new owner. The stadium and London prices become more important now FFP supposedly limits owner spending. Not owning the stadium hasn't harmed City. If someone like Usmanov showed an interest they could become a serious threat. A few star players could help fill the stadium and we've seen how quickly the international support can grow.

The difference with City is that they keep the revenue from stadium sponsorship and non-matchday use of the stadium. West Ham have been prevented from doing that and that would be a big barrier to meeting FFP if they were to increase their spending on players.

I will be interested in seeing what the corporate facilities are like after the conversion is complete and how far away from the pitch they are. Given the good transport links and proximity to the city, this could make it attractive for corporate hospitality but they will struggle to get top price if they have not got it right.

 

[Rorschach]

The difference with City is that they keep the revenue from stadium sponsorship and non-matchday use of the stadium. West Ham have been prevented from doing that and that would be a big barrier to meeting FFP if they were to increase their spending on players.

I will be interested in seeing what the corporate facilities are like after the conversion is complete and how far away from the pitch they are. Given the good transport links and proximity to the city, this could make it attractive for corporate hospitality but they will struggle to get top price if they have not got it right.

If they get a disgustingly rich owner I'm sure they will find a way to pump money into the club. I imagine that a lot of the revenue that City record would not stand up to too much scrutiny. FFP have already caught them out on some things but I'd guess they didn't catch everything.

 

[milo]

If they get a disgustingly rich owner I'm sure they will find a way to pump money into the club. I imagine that a lot of the revenue that City record would not stand up to too much scrutiny. FFP have already caught them out on some things but I'd guess they didn't catch everything.

Possibly but I think that it does give them a little less scope to try and circumvent the rules.

 

[indianspur]

They have a strong squad this season, I see them keeping pace at the top till the end of the season. I think the 4th CL spot is up for grabs.

Fat Sam and West Spam in the CL.....would be hilarious if it happened.

 

[ballam]

OK- referring to West Ham as a sleeping giant was properly a bit strong but for some to say our support is massively bigger than there's is a bit naive IMO

You can't really put numbers on it but I would say our support world wide is a lot bigger than there's but in the London and the home counties I wouldn't say the difference is that great. I always judge the scale of a team's support by their away numbers and West Ham are definitely up there amongst the top 6/7/8

I just hope the move goes tits up for them as from the outside West Ham in a brand new stadium looks very investable

 

[CH1]

Some very interesting and balanced views on here along with some of the usual tripe from die hards who know no better.

I am curious though, what on earh (apart from being a spurs fan) qualifies us for the title ' a big club' Lets be honest, we havent done anything noteworthy for quite some time and yet we continue to talk about ourselves in the same sentence man U , chelsea et al.

In fooballing terms it could be argued that there are some seriously delluded fans out there. we need to take a long hard look a oursleves from the top down. Harping on a bout being a big club means nothing if we dont address some fundamental problems. People are starting laugh at us.