The Board (a poll)

A selection of the very best posts and/or most memorable threads on KUMB since the current Forum launched in 2002.

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Do you believe West Ham United's current owners/board can deliver success in the long term?

Yes
29
8%
No
295
78%
Unsure
53
14%
 
Total votes: 377

Scaloni Is The Messiah
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by Scaloni Is The Messiah »

Los Martillos wrote:A staggering 80 per cent of kumbers don't have faith in the current board.....that's a lot
I'm shocked it's that low given their behaviour this summer.
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davids cross
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by davids cross »

Bring back Reg Pratt :thup:
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thamesmeadhammer
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by thamesmeadhammer »

No from moi !

Can not see any sign that the board want to progress even with the Zola & Clarke combo.

Same old West Ham.........................Ruined by people who haven't an ounce of REAL passion about football in them.

Roll on AFC West Ham :lol: :lol:
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Puff Daddy
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by Puff Daddy »

I voted unsure. ~ I just simply don't know. It would be nice if they could find a way of communicating with the fans more, instead of just issuing bland one line statements occasionally, which leads to suspicion, frustration and resentment amongst the fans. A full statement of the current situation at Upton Park, viz the full financial position of the club, any proposed move from Upton Park, the future of our club, if any, should all the proposed writs against the club come to fruition and generally what is going on behind the scenes. To be put fully in the picture would be most welcome instead of using Scott Duxbury as their official mouthpiece to issue quip one liners to the fans over isolated matters. For instance, about two weeks ago he informed us, that we are near to agreeing a new shirt sponsor and this would be finalised, well today, in fact, but as fans used to chant on the terraces year's ago ~ "It's all gone quiet over there''
I am law
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by I am law »

Despite pausing for thought to consider Carnage's points, I voted no and did so without much hesitation.

I don't personally expect us to repeat Curbs' feat of a top ten finish, because we've weakened at the same time that other clubs have either stabilised, or greatly strengthened. I therefore see, regrettably, the following teams having better campaigns than us this year:

1. The standard top 4
2, Villa
3. City
4. Pompey (despite losing Saggy)
5. Everton (despite a shaky start)
6. Boro
7. Sunderland, and
8. (Even) Spuds.

That ignores presently Hull, Wigan, NUFC and even Fulham.

I seriously believe that we are back to where we were at first point of promotion, but, this time, we have a disparate, sicknote, squad, a manager with nil prior experience, and a practically bankrupt sugar daddy.

It will be a success for Zola to keep us out of relegation problems. As for the board; they have the anti-midas touch, in my eyes. Everything is slowly deteriorating.

:x
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carnage
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by carnage »

A staggering 80 per cent of kumbers don't have faith in the current board.....that's a lot
Thats not quite what the poll is asking though is it. :wink:

I think Zola was a good appointment, and i dont believe it was "the cheap option". If they were on the cheaop they wouldnt have got Clarke in from Chelsea and paid all that compo, Keen would now be assistant manager. There were monumental f*** ups when Eggy was given a free reign. I'd sooner they sort the problems out now and we have a sustainable Club for the future, not one living off mountains of debt. Money doesnt guarantee anything, Villa have spent 40 odd million this last year and probably wont win anything.
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by Trap1 »

The BG reign has been a disgrace that far outweighs the Brown era. The only investment this man has made is in a spiralling wage bill. The blame at this does solely lay with Eggert Magnusson, remember he was only the 'coca cola sign' according to our chairman. Rising ticket prices that make West Ham the poorest value club in Europe to watch, a club shop that is in total dissaray, discontented employees, lack of communication are typical of this incompetent board. But the real scandal is how Alan Curbishley was given just £6.2 million to fulfill the board's lie of European football.

Curbishley outs

NRC £8.5
Harewood £4.0
Konchesky £3.0
Anton £8.0
George £6.0
Zamora £5
Paintsil £1.3
Yossi £5.0
Tevez £2.0
Mears£1.0

In
Upson £6.0
Davenport £3.0
Quashie £1.75
Boa Morte£5.0
Parker £7.0
Dyer £6.0
Bellamy £7.5
Neill £1.5
Ljungberg £3.0
Faubert £6.0
Beharami £3.0
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by Trap1 »

Plus the debt under the Icelandics has more than doubled.
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mickfbrown
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by mickfbrown »

I cannot believe you have included George and Anton in those figures.

I supported Curbishley and he was treated shockingly by the board but for someone who is "one of us" his brand of football wasn't what we come to expect from a West Ham team.

We will put up with a lot as long as we are seen to attack teams especially at home but even when we are in midtable going nowhere he continued to play negative football.
Trap1
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by Trap1 »

mickfbrown wrote:I cannot believe you have included George and Anton in those figures.

I supported Curbishley and he was treated shockingly by the board but for someone who is "one of us" his brand of football wasn't what we come to expect from a West Ham team.

We will put up with a lot as long as we are seen to attack teams especially at home but even when we are in midtable going nowhere he continued to play negative football.
Well he was manager when it went through!!! :lol:

Will drop u a pm shortly mate, just sorting out a few things while on here.
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Memorial Ground
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by Memorial Ground »

On the subject of a spiralling wage bill, Trap, do you expect LN to be here beyond his current contract?
Last edited by Memorial Ground on Fri Oct 31, 2008 11:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
Trap1
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by Trap1 »

Memorial Ground wrote:On, the subject of a spiralling wage bill, Trap, do you expect LN to be here beyond his current contract?
No, unless it wants a massive drop in wages
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mickfbrown
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by mickfbrown »

No problem Trap !

We have been trying to shift Neill since the summer so the chances of giving him a new contract are nil.

Unless of course he will accept a massive paycut.
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by ToiletDuck »

does any football club have 100% support of the board?
although i feel slightly jaded by the situation (especially as i never got my share certificate AND i never will) unfortunalty as we are now mealy fans (no longer shareholders who can moan to the baord etc) the only thing we can do is support the team and hope that one day oh glorious day! we will be taken over by a utopian board who all have been hammers supporters as have all their family on both sides since the club was formed and have billions and billions of spare change to pump into the club while maintaining the academy and the clubs traditions (minus the selling of top players)

while we play support the team!
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King Guy
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by King Guy »

what's with all these pm's from Trap that all the ITKs are getting! :eh: i want one!
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by TheDude »

As much as i am unhappy about the current situation the club is in i feel that there is still more to come from our current squad and despite our recent form i do believe that they can push themselves harder. I don't think i'm alone here when i say i am genuinely happy with McCartney's replacement Ilunga, as at the time McCartney's departure seemed like a big blow to our squad. Cole seems to be in the form of his life, then you've got Bellamy and Parker who at long last have got a solid run of games in. Having Collins back has certainly been a boost to our defense but on the other hand you've got Faubert who still has a lot more to learn about his new RB position. All in all the team is starting to look stronger but what you have to remember is that the squad we have is very much 4-4-2 based so Zola/Clarke have had to piece the team together as best they can. However, it is not easy for the players to gain confidence with the recent run of results and ultimately this has hurt us.

As for the board and BG, well he's had a hard time over the last few months and the majority of his financial problems were out of his control except for his West Ham investment, which he seems to have a tight grip on at the moment. Yes, the handling of certain club matters hasn't been very good (BM fund petition, Duxbury and his blunders and the phantom new stadium plans) but a lot of the problems are overhanging ones that have been around for seasons (injury woes, Sheff Utd, too many players still at the club that we should have offloaded ages ago, etc.). What we desperately need is stability at the club, a couple of wins on the pitch or a run of 6 goalless draws whatever, it really doesn't matter how that stability is achieved but until all the overhanging issues are resolved that is never going to happen. All i keep telling myself is that we, as fans, need to be patient and see what happens over the next few months, who knows perhaps a good run of results will come or maybe Tristan starts knocking 'em in (i'm dreaming here i know lol) and by the end of the season we're in a UEFA cup spot and singing BG's praises!

I voted unsure btw
Last edited by TheDude on Fri Oct 31, 2008 12:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by Trap1 »

Forgive me UTJ but i would like to copy the lead story on this site, just in case the regulars to the message board miss it.

West Ham United's board have been given a vote of no confidence by supporters in a KUMB.com poll.

The poll asked whether supporters had faith in the current board, led by owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson to bring long-term success to the club. With around 300 votes currently in, an extraordinarily high figure of 80% have voted 'no' - with just 16 voters (at the time of writing) backing the board.

Some of the main criticisms levelled at Gudmundsson's team are:

Financial uncertainty
The status of Gudmundsson's personal finances and his ability to invest further in the club has been questioned in the wake of the collapse of Landsbanki. Just a year ago Gudmundsson claimed that the club were on their way to become one of England's top clubs with hopes of winning the Premier League and playing regularly in the Champions League - since when the only player signed for more than a nominal fee has been Valon Behrami. Suggestions that Gianfranco Zola will need to sell before he can buy in the forthcoming January transfer window have also worried some.

Playing squad
The board were panned for their policy of selling players capable of fighting for a first team place and replacing them with cheap, foreign imports. Some noted that our best defensive unit for years was broken up in the summer with the sale of Ferdinand and McCartney - since when the team have failed to keep a single clean sheet. The poor quality of replacements - such as David Di Michele, Jan Lastuvka and Walter Lopez - has also been questioned, whilst some claim that the squad is no better - if not worse - than when the Icelandics first purchased the club two years ago.

Personnel
Whilst the appointment of Gianfranco Zola has been generally welcomed (despite less than 4% of voters originally nominating him in a managerial poll), the board received huge criticism for their handling of his predecessor Alan Curbishley who supporters feel was undermined throughout the summer and given little choice but to resign.

Inconsistency
CEO Scott Duxbury, speaking in the wake of the sale of Anton Ferdinand to Sunderland claimed that the club had no need to sell and were simply trimming the squad. However non-executive director Mike Lee, talking about the sale of George McCartney on Five Live earlier his week admitted that 'we needed to raise money'. Duxbury also made statements in the summer regarding the Freddie Ljungberg pay-off that contradicted those initially made by vice-Chairman Asgeir Fridgeirsson.

Litigation
Kia Joorabchian, Terry Brown, Sheffield United and a group of players have all either sued or intend to sue the club since Gudmundsson purchased the club - not to mention the Premier League's world record £5.5million fine. The board have been criticised for taking West Ham United's formerly good name into the gutter.

Internal blunders
Merchandising, online ticket sales, increases in ticket prices and the BM6 range were all highlighted by fans critical of the way the club have handled their affairs in the last two years. There was also major criticism for the way the club handled the recent fans' petition (signed by more than 10,000 names) to have the Bobby Moore Fund logo placed on shirts - something ignored due to 'commercial reality' (some six weeks later the club still feature no sponsor).

Radio silence
The board were lambasted for failing to keep supporters up to date on schemes such as the propsed new training ground and stadium.

However it wasn't all bad news for the board; some fans praised them for the changes made in non-playing personnel, such as the introduction of new medical staff on the recommendation of the Roehampton report and the hiring of inflential backroom figures such as Steve Clarke and fitness coach Antonio Pintus.

Still plenty of food for thought however for Gudmundsson, as he prepares to enter his third year as owner of West Ham United FC.
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Arch Dandy
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by Arch Dandy »

Trap1 wrote:Playing squad
Some noted that our best defensive unit for years was broken up in the summer with the sale of Ferdinand and McCartney - since when the team have failed to keep a single clean sheet.
Without wanting to nit pick, we haven't kept a clean sheet in some 9 months (23rd Feb) so I'm not sure it's entirley the selling of Ferdinand and McCartney that is too blame for us failing to keep one since... or that they were the best defensive unit in years.
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by westlondonhammer »

mickfbrown wrote:I supported Curbishley and he was treated shockingly by the board but for someone who is "one of us" his brand of football wasn't what we come to expect from a West Ham team.
I'd look a little closer to home when it comes to the threatment of one of our own (not necessarily you)... Curbs was treated like a king by our board over the period of his time here compared to some 'his own people' who treated him like scum from the start imo

Anyway, I voted yes... I have seen enough over the last 2 years to convince me that they are going to bring to type of success I want to see to west ham (not necessarily immediate top 4, which is what a lot of people want (even though they are reluctant to admit))! Things may not have started perfectly and there have been a number of 'high profile' errors but when I look at things now, I am relatively happy! The infrastructure of the club seems to be much improved compared to how it was a few years ago, and if the club can make it all abit more self-sustainable over time than i can see them achieving all the goals they have set.
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Re: The Board (a poll)

Post by mickfbrown »

I was happy with the sale of Anton, I thought he should have been dropped and sold when he went to visit his sick grandma.....I also think that if Rio wasn't his older brother he would have been sold a couple of seasons earlier........Very over rated IMO and has the titus brambles about him for switching off at corners and set pieces.......

As for McCartney i was very disappointed to see him go especially when it looked like we had no replacement lined up but for me so far Ilunga looks better than McCartney.

We got good fee's for both players.

I like the way BG seems to be re-shaping the medical staff and the recruitment of Nani also the way we seem to be targetting young foreign players.

I don't like Duxbury and his other icelandic cohorts who seem to know nothing about running a football team..........

For me the jury is out on BG but I am happy for him to stay in charge to see what he is going to do.....

Better the devil you know......... :think:
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