Sullivan soundbites show lack of class

Many West Ham fans will be familiar with the work of Iain Dale, the political commentator and committed West Ham fan. Whilst I may not agree with his politics, I must commend Dale on a fine interview with West Ham's co-chairman, David Sullivan - the latest installment of which is available here.

In the interview, Sullivan admits to making mistakes during his time at the club. For example, he accepts that he and David Gold are just as culpable for the Hammers' abysmal performances under Avram Grant, as it was they that appointed him. Sullivan also acknowledges that the deal that allowed Demba Ba to walk away from the club for free in the summer was "one of the biggest mistakes of my life". 

There is also music to the ears of Olympic stadium sceptics, with Sullivan seemingly beginning to harbour some of the anxiety that Hammers fans have ever since it was announced by the Government that the stadium will only be available to lease, not own. For the first time, he seems to acknowledge that moving away from Upton Park is not necessarily a necessity, although the club will of course still be amongst the bidders to be the stadium's tenants when the deadline for submissions closes on 23 March.

Throughout the interview, Sullivan is extremely frank about the financial side of the club too. Whether it's talking about the £32m he has personally invested, or the £7m that the Benni McCarthy deal cost the club in total, Sullivan clearly sees no reason to keep the fans in the dark about the club's finances whilst also making a clear point that he has made huge sacrifices himself to keep the club afloat when it could just as easily have been opening its doors to the administrators and waving goodbye to 10 points. Who knows; the consequences of financial mismanagement under previous owners could even have been more dire than we care to imagine?

Whilst his openness is to be admired and certainly makes for a fascinating read, I can't help feeling it lets the club and himself down at times. For example, was it really necessary to have a dig at Scott Parker; the club's player of the year for three out of the four seasons he played there and at times, the man who seemed to be playing the opposition on his own? I think not. It comes across as crass and bitter, and for me, totally unnecessary.

This is the problem with Sullivan though: he seems to speak without a second's thought for what the consequences may be; he is a press officer's nightmare.  There are things in this interview that would be best left unsaid, such as the laughable bids for Carlos Tevez and Fernando Torres, or Sullivan's apparent xenophobia. I can't help feeling this does little for the club's image and in short, it smacks of a lack of class.

Sullivan has taken more of a back seat this season and I can't help feeling this is at the request of Sam Allardyce, who doesn't strike me as a manager that will stand again for interfering chairmen, or indeed anyone taking the media spotlight away from him. It's meant that West Ham have been in the papers for football reasons, rather than the soundbites that were once regularly released by the club's co-chairman. At a time when the club is on the cusp of an instant return to the Premier League, we could do with once again focusing attention on the pitch.

To read the Iain Dale interview with David Sullivan, please click here.