West Ham Zone View: Gold right to be ‘disappointed’
West Ham United have now been under the control of the two Davids, Gold and Sullivan, for 10 years now.
When they took over they promised progression and the club’s installation as a regular fixture in the Premier League’s top seven.
We’ve all seen that that’s not become a reality, with the Hammers mired in mid-to-lower table mediocrity for the majority of the past decade.
Gold himself, though, has at least admitted that he and Sullivan have failed in some of what they promised.
“I’ll start off by saying that after ten years I’m a bit disappointed that we have not achieved more,” he told talkSPORT. “I would have loved to get to a cup final and I’m still hopeful in my lifetime.
“I still say the best thing we’ve done since we’ve been here is take the club to the Olympic Stadium. I know there are a lot of fans that loved Upton Park, nobody loved Upton Park more than me.
“But of course there were promises we made that were hopeful promises; you can’t guarantee that your players aren’t going to get injured and therefore you’re not going to get into the top-half of the table, or into a cup final, or you’re not going to progress as you hope.”
Gold is absolutely right to be disappointed with his decade in charge. The lack of progress in cup competitions has been particularly dispiriting.
He acknowledges that his promise of progression on the pitch has not really materialised, although he’s seemingly blaming that on injuries more than anything else.
Yes, you can’t legislate for injuries. However, he needs to take some responsibility for all the poor transfers the club have made over the years. He has a say in that, and in terms of recruitment the east London outfit have undoubtedly failed.
In other West Ham news, Karren Brady has been singing the two owners’ praises amid the anniversary.