Online Reporter
With debts reported north of £100m, crashing out of the Premier League was predicted to be total Hammergeddon.
Yet so far this summer there is a bizarre feel-good factor in East London — with fans already snapping up a staggering FIFTY THOUSAND season tickets. That is 4,000 more than they sold last year in the Premier League.
And it has completely smashed the Championship record for ticket sales — beating the previous best of 37,000 set by Newcastle in 2016.
In fact, only Manchester United — and possibly Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham — will pull in bigger home crowds across the entire country this season. Quite some going for a second-tier club.
So why are West Ham fans flocking back to watch their team take on Lincoln and Preston rather than Arsenal and Manchester United?
Ticket prices have been reduced by 10 to 30 per cent, and with 24 Championship clubs this covers four extra games compared to the Prem.
The top non-hospitality ticket — the 1966 West Premium —costs £1,200 (£52.17 a game), a £520 reduction from last season but still the highest in the second tier. The cheapest costs just £310 — or £13.48 a match! Only Lincoln (£273), QPR (£275), Bolton (£279) and Blackburn (£299) cost less.
West Ham’s average attendance last season of 62,347 — beaten only by Manchester United —was swelled by football tourists. These numbers will likely take a hit offering only Championship football. But prices alone aren’t driving ticket sales.
First co-owner David Sullivan stepped down as chairman to focus on fighting serious historical misconduct allegations made by several women in a joint investigation by The Times and BBC Panorama. Sullivan was unpopular among fans, who accused him of selling the club’s soul by moving from the Boleyn Ground to the London Stadium in 2016. He was long the subject of fan protests and boycotts. Another huge development was Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky becoming top shareholder after buying 16 per cent of late David Gold’s shares from daughter Vanessa, taking him to 43 per cent — dwarfing Sullivan’s 38.8.
Crucially — with the Gold Family Trust still holding 9.1 per cent — the parties entered a voting pact, giving them ultimate 52.1 per cent power at West Ham.
Relegation usually causes a dressing room exodus, but keeping manager Nuno Espirito Santo and captain Jarrod Bowen has given instant belief and stability.
This time last year Nuno had just led Nottingham Forest into Europe for the first time in thirty years, missing out on the Champions League by a single point.
He took over a complete mess last September —a result of shocking recruitment under Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter.
Only after bringing in January recruits Taty Castellanos, Pablo Felipe, Axel Disasi and Adama Traore could he properly compete — and had they averaged the 25 points taken from their last 17 games, they would have finished seventh and qualified for the Europa League!
That was sensibly acknowledged and the Portuguese coach was asked to lead the charge straight back to the Prem. Let’s not forget, Nuno led Wolves to the Championship title in 2018 with 99 points. — Sun.
