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07 Aug 2026 22:12:01
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05 Aug 2026 19:55:00
We've been quoted as being one of the favourites for promotion and our first signing is a 34 year old defender, I just hope he turns out like Dawson.
06 Aug 2026 07:33:50
Suppose, if there is no money (now they tell us), it's expected that we will be scraping around for free agents.
05 Aug 2026 17:35:53
SSN reporting we are in advanced talks with 34-year-old Joel Veltman from Brighton.
05 Aug 2026 18:12:40
Star player, what more can you say, there is no limit to WH ambitions.
05 Aug 2026 18:47:06
He ain't brilliant, but played about 26 games for Brighton last year, and we are actually in the Championship not the Prem.
05 Aug 2026 18:58:56
He's no Disasi.
05 Aug 2026 20:30:06
It's not the most inspiring deal ever, but where we are now, and the fact we clearly aren't going to spend money in this window, im ok with this. Vastly experienced player and covers a couple of positions, CB or RB.
05 Aug 2026 11:57:27
Forget. All this "I will build you a new stadium" business, this is propaganda talk, by Staveley.
Cost of a new stadium over one billion, plus land and a ton of other stuff, you're talking about 1.5 billion!
Frankly I don't care who the owners are, because they have seemingly, in the meantime, forgotten about Football.
We are short all over, nothing's happened
Whilst haggling over the ownership goes on, the team needs a big injection of players
05 Aug 2026 11:14:19
Very, very rich people are very, very rarely altruistic.
Just sayin'.
05 Aug 2026 16:44:46
Agreed, you don't usually end up with that much money unless you've been a right b****** in business, obvious examples excluded, musicians, film industry, sports people!
That's my opinion & we don't have to look far to see a good example. š¤£šāāā
05 Aug 2026 11:10:05
I'm beginning to wonder if the January window will be more important than this one.
05 Aug 2026 12:00:33
That's kinda where my head is at, Markro. We just need to be in with a shout come Jan, and hopefully kick on after.
05 Aug 2026 11:08:07
The fun of the fair continues with Staveleyās offer to buy Sullivanās shares, generously valuing the club at Ā£600m.
Might be worthwhile Staveley and Kretinsky actually talking it out.
She sees the property development opportunity and apparently has the right contacts to make it work.
Surely that would increase the value of the club hugely to Kretinskyās benefit.
Them fighting it out does nobody any favours, especially just before the season starts.
05 Aug 2026 13:40:40
According to one of the other posters on here, if they buy the club and the stadium, then that is their private property to sell when they want. I am not so sure that is correct. I would have thought it would be West Ham's, maybe they would own the land.
I do feel that both are after the land and real estate. Staveley is being open about it, whereas DK is keeping stoom, but I think that is why her surprise bid upset him so much, as that is his long term plan.
Hopefully they can work it out and work together.
05 Aug 2026 18:26:04
WH are renting the stadium, they own nothing now except Rush Green facilities.
04 Aug 2026 23:24:57
What I do not understand about the transfer situation is managers/directors of football should already know who they require for their teams to progress. Nuno does not appear to know. Potter wanted Fernandes, Summerville, Diouf and Herman. All of which have been a success - to a point. Whereas, this year - again, we appear to have gone back to the scatter gun effect with no-one signing.
Players go on holiday as soon as the season finishes, again I realise this, but surely Nuno must have known players he wanted in from 15th June 2016. It just seems odd.
Many players are released from 1st July 2026. An example is Trippier. He would walk into our side.
05 Aug 2026 00:29:33
Posted on Monday. Who was in the original plan, and how have WH gone miles away from it?
04 Aug 2026 19:24:01
Some interesting view and posts on the ownership today.
Question guys: My view is the ownership battle is influencing our transfer buisness negatively, if that is the case (hypulothectically of course) and we did no further buisness where would we be in the league come January when window opens again with ownership sorted and investment a real possibility so funds avaliable?
I'll put my positive hat on for once.
I think we would be in the top 8 and with funds avaliable make a real 2nd half promotion push (if thats how it plays out). Infact it could even work in our favour with prem clubs looking to offload to generate funds for themselves.
Whatever happens though if we get rid of the midget Sullivan it'll be fantasitic.
04 Aug 2026 21:20:44
Amen to that mate.
04 Aug 2026 22:45:27
Just to clarify, I haven't flip flopped. I still think we need new signings. I just hope we can stay somewhat in the race until we can invest in January. Also, I said at the start of the window the loan market could be really important. Now, if we could get a winger in and one other on loan, that would help immensely!
05 Aug 2026 00:34:15
See your thoughts, I really don't know. West Ham have gone so far away from their original ideas. The way we stand today, I just see us as average in this division. Are we ready? No, we're not. Plenty others are, that's the problem.
04 Aug 2026 16:20:36
So basically Kretinsky sold some of his shares so he could buy all of Gold's shares, therefore not taking him over 50% share. If he went over the 50% he would be forced to buy Sullivan's shares (how that works I donāt know). This is just what Iāve read. Could Staveley buy Sullivan's shares? That still wouldnāt see her as majority shareholder, as Kretinsky would have just under 50%.
I just donāt want Staveley to buy another championship club and for that club to really go forward, but then again we donāt know what Kretinsky is going to do with us. Letās hope whoever is our main shareholder does the right by us.
04 Aug 2026 17:38:37
She could offer Sullivan the same price for his shares but I imagine that greedy c@@@ would want a higher price but yes that is a possibility and Kretinsky could let her be chairman so she gets a salary too
04 Aug 2026 19:34:41
I've also read that Kretinsky doesn't want her in the boardroom.
{Ed001's Note - I had to read that twice then. My first thought was thinking you were accusing Kretinsky of being a bit Sullivan-esque. Then I reread it and realised it was board not bed!}
04 Aug 2026 20:04:27
I get the feeling if that happens we will be saddled with a rich owner who doesn't actually want to progress the club by investing his money, as he hasn't in all the time he has been here.
Still, we've got Nuno. š
04 Aug 2026 20:28:47
Hammer D, if Kretinsky stops Staveley from investing in the club, and then does nothing to improve us, he will get the same treatment as Sullivan. Simple as that.
04 Aug 2026 20:33:15
I thought he invested 100m when he first came in, which Sullivan wasted.
Also, it's not as simple as him being able to just put money in when he wants; other shareholders have to agree, and tbh, why would he with how it was wasted previously. Sullivan would have resisted anything that weakened his control.
Apparently Staveley is going after Sullivan's shares. If agreed, then it would force another pre-emption process, where those shares are offered to existing shareholders.
Kretinsky could buy even more, completely bypassing the issue of him having to buy Sullivan's shares at a hugely inflated price, as he would have if he went over 50%.
Is this his plan all along? Maybe he would be happy to work with Staveley but with him as majority, but then would Staveley want that?
Should be interesting to see how it unfolds.
04 Aug 2026 20:50:31
This is all getting too complicated. Who would you rather have as our owner, Kretinsky or Staveley?
04 Aug 2026 21:42:22
Personally, both of them in partnership. If that isn't feasible, either is sooo much preferable to B&S...
04 Aug 2026 22:53:20
She still apparently owes Newcastle Ā£750,000.00, so where is she getting this money from? Also, she is more interested in the land surrounding the LS, so wouldn't trust her in the slightest. Rather keep Sully than her, and that is saying something, as I can't stand him.
04 Aug 2026 21:19:22
I could be wrong Al but I don't think Kretinsky has ever put any money in. Possibly around Covid as it was necessary to prop the club up. But the whole board had to. Sullivan has lent money but always made far more back than he has lent in the first place. Tripp Smith gave an interest free loan. And with new rules now that is not possible to do interstate free loans from board members.
Stevie as for who would I plump for, Amanda Stavely for me as I think she would do her best to get the team with the best manager and football to progress us and deal with the stadium upgrades. One thing I will say if it is just one or the other then either will be a vast improvement on the poisoned dwarf and whatever happens hopefully he will get his money and get as far away from us as possible
04 Aug 2026 21:48:34
Both aligned with the same vision for the club, its not too much to ask after over a decade of that poisonous midget.
Hard to say really we don't even know who the consortium is behind Staveley. She was trying to buy spurs not too long ago so they must be mega rich and ambitious.
Dk could be more stable slower growth but no one really knows. Its all about that land they could use it to line their own pockets or they could use it to build us up, probably both.
05 Aug 2026 00:37:12
Staveley can refer to 3 different consortiums. They are all deep pockets people.
05 Aug 2026 07:17:56
WHTID, after all he has done to this club, and dragged us down into the gutter, you would rather keep Sully than go with Staveley, and someone has actually clicked the thumbs up.
I give up. š
05 Aug 2026 09:00:56
Hammer~D, just take a look at Staveley's history and then comment before you get carried away. She still owes Ā£750,000.00 to Newcastle. She owes 3.4 mil to Victor Restis after a failed business venture. These people are after the land, they will buy the land and stadium and then rent the stay back to WH at hugely inflated prices from what we pay now.
They will buy us and the stadium and a couple of years down the line will sell us but keep the stadium and land. They are after one thing and one thing only, make money at any cost. You think Sully has done dodgy deals. Wait till you see her lot perform. So, before you start celebrating, Hammer~D, try doing some research.
05 Aug 2026 09:11:51
Also, Hammer~D, read Sean Whetstone's article on WHTID; it explains in depth what she is up to. Her wealth is only Ā£110 million. Read what happened to Burnley when they were taken over by a similar, so-called business person. They went from debt-free to being in over 100 million in debt, just because of the loans taken out to purchase them.
05 Aug 2026 09:53:41
FairPlay WHTID, I didnāt actually know that. She has been open about wanting to buy the stadium, whereas DK hasnāt. He keeps his cards so close to his chest that nobody ever sees them. Everyone thinks he is a supreme businessman who turns around failing companies and makes them profitable. Not true. He took over the Post Office when it was in trouble, massively hiked the prices of stamps, and nothing has changed; it still loses money hand over fist. He couldnāt care less about the Post Office and its customers, and if it collapses, because if it does he still owns all the real estate, it must be an eye watering amount when you think of where big offices are up and down the country, and I feel he will do exactly the same as what Stavley has openly said she would do.
I didnāt realise that if the consortium buys the stadium it is their property and not the property of WHU FC. That is what I assumed, and I imagine Iām not the only one.
Having said all that, I would still rather have either of them as opposed to our grubby little chairman. As for Sean Whetstone, I donāt know much about him, but have heard he is just a mouthpiece for the Sullivan clan.
05 Aug 2026 09:58:43
Also, as I have said before, I am not a money man. But what I do know is, when deals are done, say a property sale is agreed, due diligence needs to be done to prove that potential buyers can buy something or other.
So I saw the money owed to Newcastle, but the other large amount owed, surely she would be disbarred from doing any deals.
04 Aug 2026 15:55:09
Is anyone else gutted by the sale of Freddie Potts? Feel like this one has gone massively under the radar.
I fully expected him to cement a first team place in the middle of the park this year.
Was it a case of the move being a very good one for him personally? Or did the powers that be feel that at 23 he wasnāt going to improve beyond his current level?
Shame - I feel Ā£10M is buttons, and I always like to see East End lads in the team, wish him well.
04 Aug 2026 16:17:41
I would've kept him for next year at least, and re-evaluated depending on whether we get promoted or not. Whether he is good enough for the Prem is one question, but he is definitely good enough for the Championship, having already had a good season for Pompey there.
04 Aug 2026 17:56:49
IG, what I have heard is that it was solely a financial decision. Basically, as he has come out of the academy, outlay is zero, sale 10 million, therefore a profit on the player of 10 million, whereas with most of the others, JWP, Magassa, we could potentially make a loss.
I'm with you in that I would much prefer him to stay. He showed glimpses of being a really good player, although he did lose his way a bit. But he would be fine in the Championship. I get the feeling he doesn't see eye to eye with Nuno.
04 Aug 2026 14:15:12
Iāve seen Kretinsky has sold 2% of his shares to another Czech businessman, that now allows him to purchase all of Gold's shares without going over the 50% threshold (whatever that means). So where does this leave Staveley?
05 Aug 2026 00:40:17
Don't think she was expecting that, Sullivan will want a bigger sum than his shareholding boils down too, that will be shock number two, the dwarf will rinse her, if she wants the shares
04 Aug 2026 11:13:38
Iām out all day till late night, when I get back hope we have made some progress!
04 Aug 2026 14:24:42
I hope so as well, joyful, but can't see it.
04 Aug 2026 09:44:23
My opinion for what itās worth. First WH are after some players that, likely wonāt come to WH, and second, some are not up to the standard needed, a hotchpotch if you like.
The whole original idea was to get proven Championship players in, to mix with the remainder of last year's team, what happened I donāt know, but we have gone well off course.
WH had a plan to go after two strikers that topped the list Vipotnik and Haji Wright, both would come for the right bid.
Next was Sorba Thomas, goal scoring winger, makes loads of chances.
At the back, Disasi returns, or take a Chelsea loan, for a quality CB they have plenty, if that fails, buy Harry Soutar.
The creative part was never decided completely but the favourite was Engels who may or may not come.
Originally, it was thought that if we bought in two strikers, let Taty go, heās still moaning.
It was never cheap, but chances are would have got us promoted. And Sky money pays for all that and more on our return.
All that went out of the window, why?
04 Aug 2026 10:00:36
The stately bid is what happened, which means Kretensky can't or won't invest, I've seen different conspiracy theories about Sullivan orchestrating the whole thing, so he remains a major shareholder or his shares increase in value, blah blah.
I only really care about what's on the pitch, and this, in the background, is clearly hampering us, and, in all likelihood, will not get sorted in the next 4 weeks before the window shuts, but it needs sorting until we can move forward.
04 Aug 2026 10:46:32
In reality it shouldn't. At present she owns nothing, and I may not even come to anything.
From the day following the Fernandes sale, the plan should go into operation. Staveley wasn't even heard of at that point.
What is the benefit of any investors, if we stay in this division? None at all, for me this is turning into a mess.
04 Aug 2026 11:30:22
Im no financial expert this is what I understand and am happy to be corrected but we are in debt the player sales have gone some way to clearing that, not all the debt was cleared and therefore we still would need investment to sign players.
Kretensky said he would invest once he had acquired enough shares to become majority share holder he cannot invest before this point as other board members would have to invest the same amount or their shares would diminish in value so would vote against this particular course as we know they don't want to invest. Now weather goldgot wind of stavelys bid incoming or not and hung on to hers shares I don't kn9w but she has not sold kretensky the shares she said she would via the joint statement that was made
The only one here who can't lose is the midget he either retains majority control or his share value increases as Stavelys bid was way above what kretensky had agreed with gold
Like I say this is how I see it i'm not sure if all is correct and am happy to be corrected by someone who actually knows
04 Aug 2026 14:13:41
Hi Robbo. I donāt think you are right. Like you, Iām no financial expert and only get my info from a few websites.
But where there is a difference is that Kretinsky has always said he doesnāt want to be the majority shareholder. He may want to be the main shareholder, but if he goes over 50% that makes him the majority shareholder, and when he joined the board there was a clause in it that said he has to buy out David Sullivan's shares at a fixed price agreed back when he joined about 6 years ago, which is a very high figure. This was reported in The Times.
He could have bought the Gold shares, but he wanted the price to drop; he didnāt want to pay what Staveley is prepared to pay. But now he will have to pay that price. If he buys all the shares, that takes him over the 50%. I think he is trying to do a deal with another Czech billionaire who will automatically buy 2% of those shares, which takes him back under the 50%.
I originally didnāt have much to say for DK; he has never helped us when we needed it and could easily have done so.
But when Sullivan took a backward step he took on a much more statesman-like role; he said the right things and got decent prices for our two decent players and managed to persuade Bowen to stay. So I thought he was decent and maybe I was wrong. But Iāve changed my mind again. He is not a football person, he has no interest in the fans, only his bank balance. His big footballing decision was to continue with Nuno, and even those who supported him a lot last season could see there is no way he should have kept his job. Now we are stuck with him. I think Staveley, whilst also her main interest is making money, has a history of taking the fans with her and trying to accommodate their wishes.
I get a lot of my info from Hammers Chat (Geo, not the forum), and there is a good 40 minute podcast or video he (Geo) has just put on the net regarding this exact question. Just go to Hammers Chat and select videos.
04 Aug 2026 14:40:26
Kretinsky's offer was lower because he only wanted to buy 16% of Gold's 25%, making him majority shareholder. Gold wants to sell all her shares, that's where Staveley comes in. I don't think Sullivan is allowed to increase his shareholding with what is happening with him at the moment, so I think Staveley's offer is legit.
Kretinsky will still have first offer on the shares if he matches or betters Staveley's offer.
04 Aug 2026 15:36:59
Hi Hammer, no idea if im right or wrong, was just trying to make sense of it out loud really!
I like Geo, he's a good guy. I watched the video, and they are right about one thing: the timing couldn't be worse if we want to get promoted at the 1st attempt. What has motivated that timing, I have no clue.
04 Aug 2026 15:37:24
Kretinsky has now sold 2% (ish) of his shares to a fellow Czech businessman. This will put him in a position to match Staveley's offer for all of the Gold shares without going above the 50% ownership point, which would have triggered the automatic buyout of Sullivan's shares.
Kretinsky is an extremely canny operator.
It's a shame he can't work with Staveley to invest in the club and secure its future.
Staveley would be interested in buying the stadium and redevelopment. She has the connections and the clout to get a lot done, but she clearly put Kretinsky's nose out of joint when she made the Gold deal.
We'll see, I guess.
04 Aug 2026 15:31:32
If Kretinskys shares go over 51% he automatically has to make an offer to purchase all of the other shares in the club making him the only investor. It has just been reported that he has just cleverly sold 2% of his shares to an associate leaving him with 25%. He can now purchase all of the Gold shares which would give him 50.1% but not trigger the clause making have to buy all shares outright.
Apologies if any of this info is incorrect but I'm fairly sure its right. I like Stavely but it would be messy having her consortium, DK and the poison dwarf. DK and Stavely majority shareholders would surely be our best outcome ultimately.
04 Aug 2026 16:53:35
Ska man, you are wrong with most of what you have written. There is a difference between main shareholder and majority shareholder.
To become majority shareholder, he needs over 50% so that he has more shares than everyone else's added together. I believe he currently has 27%, so adding 16 just makes 43%. As Dadder and Markro have said, he has now sold 2% of his shares, meaning he has 25% and can now purchase the Gold shares, which means he could have 50% but won't be the majority shareholder because he needs over 50%.
But, as he has sold his 2% to an outsider, those shares are subject to the same offer to other shareholders as Staveley's were, so could possibly drag out a couple of months, and Sullivan could buy more shares. Most doubt he will, but he is a bloody minded fool. He has been warned to stay away from home matches, but has already indicated he has no such intention. As Robbo said, it is terrible timing, but it shouldn't affect our ability to buy players; it ain't great, but I hope they don't use it as an excuse not to buy players.
04 Aug 2026 16:56:17
Dabber Maybe stavely will buy Sullivans shares at the price he wants š then we can rid ourselves of that scumbag
04 Aug 2026 17:23:09
Hi Hammer, I think it will affect our ability to conduct transfers, as we are still in debt and nobody in their right mind would invest a significant amount whilst there is a question mark over ownership.
04 Aug 2026 17:40:55
You could be right, Robbo. I would hope most can see it is something that will be resolved one way or the other.
04 Aug 2026 17:43:05
I think you are bang on the money, Rob. I think it's holding up purchases. Where my rose tinted glasses come in though is that it benefits none of these investors for us to stay in the Championship, therefore you'd hope that sensibility would prevail and somebody would sanction purchases or add to the war chest.
04 Aug 2026 08:19:26
Why are we so set on chasing Engels?
If Celtic wish to hold out for Ā£25m then there must come a point where Gus Hamer at Ā£5m to Ā£10m becomes a lot more appealing, and Sydie Peck at Ā£10m surely.
Also just heard we are in talks with Burnley for Broja and using Scarles as a make weight!!! This has to be an April fool joke coming late???
04 Aug 2026 08:50:33
I hope not, Broja has never scored goals at any level. Awful player, another clogger to add to the rest of them, we already have.
04 Aug 2026 09:17:51
Mac, you are very good at spending other people's money.
I would wager you are the guy who won't spend the extra Ā£1 of his own money in Sainsbury's to get the Fox's Bisquits, and sticks the regular ones in the trolley, but is happy to overpay millions for Sydie Peck.
04 Aug 2026 09:50:52
Broke nooooooo.
We have been down this road many a time. Many here really wanted him, but as Robbo said, he failed at every level, can't even get in the Burnley side. Scarles hasn't been too good of late, but he has shown real ability before, so he should be capable.
04 Aug 2026 09:56:49
I have to say selling Potts for 10m then buying Peck for 10m doesn't make much sense, Mac. We have to believe there is a bigger strategy being played out behind the scenes. The power tussle won't be helping matters, but it only helps Stavelys consortium if we stayed down, all the other shareholders will want promotion.
We have 4 weeks yet and bought Fernandes at the last minute last year and he integrated fine. Keep the faith, matey.
04 Aug 2026 16:20:47
As I said, I'm mainly concerned about the team on the pitch. The fact this is obviously dictating transfer policy at the moment is the reason I brought it up. The concern from myself is, if we are not signing anyone because of this, then we won't sign anyone, as the window will be closed by the time it's sorted.
04 Aug 2026 08:13:18
Wrexham signed Preston captain for Ā£3m and this is why its good to have knowledge of the players in the league your in.
04 Aug 2026 09:14:21
What do you know of this player? You must know something to be banging the drum. I personally have seen very little to suggest we should be signing this player.
04 Aug 2026 09:18:40
Yeah, and it's a bloody big drum. Wanna try it!!!!
04 Aug 2026 12:29:55
So back to the original question, what do you know of this player? You've chosen to ignore it so my spidey senses are telling me you know nothing!
Deja-vu, this sounds like when you really liked the business Wrexham had done, which at the time of posting was zero.