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The EFL Thread

Interesting article about takeover shenanigans at West Ham....

Staveley versus Kretinsky:

Who will win battle in boardroom for West Ham?

As former Newcastle United investor vies with ‘Czech Sphinx’ to seize control, Gary Jacob looks at what the power struggle means for the Championship club’s promotion hopes


For West Ham United, the next month promises to be one of the most crucial in their recent history. On the pitch, they are equipping themselves for their first season outside the top flight since 2011. Off it, a complex boardroom battle is playing out for control of the club.

David Sullivan’s resignation as the co-chairman in June, following a Times and BBC Panorama investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, which he denies, has left a power vacuum at the top. Daniel Kretinsky, the Royal Mail owner dubbed the “Czech Sphinx” who has owned a minority stake since 2021, was in pole position to seize control.

That was until Amanda Staveley entered the fray. The former Newcastle United investor agreed last weekend to buy a 25.1 per cent stake from the late David Gold’s family for £150 million — which values the club at about £600 million — and she could potentially gazump Kretinsky.

It will be fascinating to see which of the leading characters in West Ham’s Game of Thrones are at the London Stadium on Saturday for the Carabao Cup firstround tie against Portsmouth.

There is certainly optimism among supporters that West Ham can bounce back quickly from relegation. They have sold more than 50,000 tickets for the cup tie and a similar number of season tickets for their Championship campaign, which begins away to Burnley eight days later.

Since Sullivan’s resignation, Kretinsky has been running the club with the aim of an immediate return to the Premier League. Jarrod Bowen, the West Ham captain, opted to stay having listened to Kretinsky’s vision for the club on a visit to Prague. The club have sold well, banking £160 million by offloading Crysencio Summerville, Mateus Fernandes and Freddie Potts. Further transfer fees could be generated by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Todibo, Niclas Füllkrug and Edson Álvarez.

So far, West Ham are yet to make a signing but the club have stressed that their transfer plans are unaffected by potential ownership changes. Nils Koppen was hired as director of player recruitment to move towards a more data-led approach, and the Celtic midfielder Arne Engels and the Sunderland winger Simon Adingra are among their targets.

West Ham’s gamble is that by retaining most of last season’s squad and making a good start, they should get their neck in front early. Most fans will care more about matters on the pitch, but those who want a change from Sullivan’s stewardship are likely to get their wish — with the caveat that the 77-year-old may become kingmaker depending on how the parties play their cards.

Kretinsky, worth an estimated £8 billion according to The Sunday Times Rich List, is a methodical operator.

He is the majority owner and the president of Sparta Prague in his native Czech Republic, but has largely taken a back seat at West Ham since buying a 27 per cent stake for about £168 million in 2021, leaving Sullivan to run the club.

Staveley has been looking to get back into football since leaving Newcastle United in July 2024. She was the public face of Newcastle’s Saudi-backed takeover in 2021 and, with her husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, became a director and minority co-owner. Since leaving St James’ Park, she has been linked with a bid for Tottenham Hotspur.

Staveley told Bloomberg this week: “Whatever club we take, there will be a big property play as well. We won’t just do a football-led.” That seems to be code for developing land in or near the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London.

In exchange for a land deal, her consortium would probably have to buy the London Stadium on a long lease. The stadium owner, in effect the mayor of London, would remain the freeholder. The mayor has said for years he would be open to discussing serious offers as the ground loses about £20 million each year, which London taxpayers cover. At present West Ham have a 99-year rental agreement from 2016, worth £4.4 million a year.

Staveley was hosted by London Stadium officials at a recent pop concert. It has been speculated that she may go further by building a new ground near the present site, which would appease supporters unhappy with the 2012 Olympic Stadium. That idea ignores the obsession with an Olympic legacy — never mind the vast cost. Available land near the stadium has been earmarked for development so it may be a case of now or never.

Staveley’s consortium includes her husband, their firm, PCP Capital Partners, and Ashland Forest Capital Partners, a relatively new American private investment firm. It is unclear how they would fund any takeover and any development.

Before the recent allegations, a deal had been set up for Sullivan and Kretinsky to share ownership, each with the same holding of about 41 per cent. Kretinsky agreed to purchase shares owned by the Gold family to increase his stake. Sullivan would likewise raise his holding from 38.8 per cent. Gold’s descendants agreed two prices depending on whether West Ham stayed up or not. They had been trying unsuccessfully to sell since David Gold’s death in 2023, including to Americans and technology groups.

The proposed deal collapsed when Sullivan resigned. Kretinsky stepped in and agreed to buy 16 per cent from Gold’s family, which would have taken his stake to 43 per cent. He became joint-chair alongside Vanessa Gold, David’s daughter, who would have been left with 9.1 per cent.

Staveley was also approached about buying Gold’s stake, perhaps with a view to gaining control. She agreed to buy the full stake for £150 million, which was more attractive because Gold’s family could dispose of the full holding — and at a higher sum than had been agreed with Kretinsky. If Staveley then bought out Sullivan, she could take majority control of the club.

Kretinsky responded by selling more than 2 per cent to Jakub Havrlant, a Czech entrepreneur and investor. This means Kretinsky would not own more than 50 per cent if he buys Gold’s full stock. Under a previous shareholder agreement in 2021, going above 50 per cent may trigger a clause that would force Kretinsky to buy Sullivan’s stake at an inflated price. The process to buy the Gold shares could last two months.

Sullivan has lost control of the club but can still pull strings. He is open to selling his shares at a lofty price. It is hard to think that Sullivan, Kretinsky and Staveley could work together, should they all be left with chunky holdings. The question is, then, which two of the three could pair up for the betterment of the club? Perhaps Kretinsky could leave Staveley to run West Ham as one of his investments? Or do Kretinsky and Staveley want outright control? The Game of Thrones finale left some disappointed. West Ham fans would settle for stability and a return to the top flight.

Daniel Kretinsky

Czech billionaire has reduced his stake to 24.8 per cent, which would allow him to buy Vanessa Gold’s 25.1 per cent stake and not trigger a clause forcing him to make an offer for the rest of the club.

David Sullivan

Sullivan, who owns 38.8 per cent, stepped down as co-chairman after allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies. He bought the club with David Gold in 2010.

Amanda Staveley

Former Newcastle United investor has agreed a deal to buy Vanessa Gold’s 25.1 per cent stake for £150 million. If she then bought out Sullivan she could take majority control of the club.
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melbcityguy said:
Obviously I go for boro pretty excited with the look of this lankshear fella got him in on a five year contract as well
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Quite a big transfer deal for us to...

Around £10m rising potentially to £20m.

He became the first player to break the EFL's new 10 second substitute rule too by slowly walking off while applauding the home fans.

The player being subbed off must exit the field of play at the nearest boundary line within those 10 seconds, otherwise the sub coming on has to wait a further minute before coming on!
 
Football us life said:
Quite a big transfer deal for us to...

Around £10m rising potentially to £20m.

He became the first player to break the EFL's new 10 second substitute rule too by slowly walking off while applauding the home fans.

The player being subbed off must exit the field of play at the nearest boundary line within those 10 seconds, otherwise the sub coming on has to wait a further minute before coming on!
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Do you watch most matches live ?
 
Also I see the Australian Peter Cklamovski is now managing Salford City in League Two after working in Asia for a while.

Small club but with seriously wealthy owners including David Beckham and Gary Neville plus some of Becks' American billionaire pals....

Cklamovski has worked with Ange Postecoglou as an assistant and I suppose is of a similar footballing philosophy.

We will have to keep.an eye on how he goes at Salford City...
 
Football us life said:
Also I see the Australian Peter Cklamovski is now managing Salford City in League Two after working in Asia for a while.

Small club but with seriously wealthy owners including David Beckham and Gary Neville plus some of Becks' American billionaire pals....

Cklamovski has worked with Ange Postecoglou as an assistant and I suppose is of a similar footballing philosophy.

We will have to keep.an eye on how he goes at Salford City...
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For a team with such star power, money and knowledgeable football royalty behind it, Clamovski seems an underwhelming choice. You could argue that his previous managerial gigs in Japan apart from Tokyo FC were negatively affected by Covid, and his recent success as Malaysia manager was destroyed by the 7 fake heritage/naturalised Brazilian, Spanish, and Argentinian players which resulted in 3-0 losses instead of wins(which was not his fault), but its still quite a baffling appointment.
 
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JS96 said:
My predictions

Championship
Promoted: West Ham, Wolves, Southampton
Relegated: WBA, Bristol City, Lincoln (begrudgingly)
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Been following it less this year - qualified for Europe instead of finishing a projected 20th, so looks like I don't need to follow it much anymore. Hoping Boro go up and I have a feeling one of WHU/Wolves will bottle it. I see West Ham away being like Villa in 2016 and us in 2017, its like a cup final for half of league.
 
Boro manager saying Lankshear is the cleanest finisher he's seen. Boro look raw now but perhaps they'll have another spark. EFL podcast went through their good players and McGree wasn't even mentioned because he's always injured.
 
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