Former Birmingham owners David Sullivan and David Gold have completed their takeover of West Ham. Sullivan and Gold sold Birmingham City to Carson Yeung earlier this season and Sullivan confirmed the Hammers takeover this morning.
Karren Brady, who was managing director at Birmingham, will become vice-chairman at Upton Park but Sullivan insists they have a job on their hands if they are to turn things around.
“We will spell out the book we are taking over,” said Sullivan. “The imbalance in the squad and the crazy wages the Icelandics were paying that brought the club to its knees.”
Sullivan and Gold became the favourites to buy the east London club after rival Tony Fernandes, chief executive of AirAsia and team principal of the new Lotus F1 team, pulled out of the race.
The key to club's future may rest with the new owners' ambitious efforts to move the team to the new Olympic Stadium.
"We are West Ham fans, we have a seven-year plan to get them into the Champions League and turn them into a big club," Gold said today. "We hope we can persuade the government to let us move to the Olympic stadium which is in the same borough. It's a natural home for West Ham United."
Gold said manager Gianfranco Zola's position was safe despite the club hovering above the relegation zone after winning just four league matches this season.
London mayor Boris Johnson has been keen for a football club to take over the running costs of the stadium but the decision will have to be taken by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC).
A London 2012 spokeswoman said: "The OPLC are looking at the legacy of the Olympic Park, including the stadium. Everyone is clear that the stadium will have a running track in legacy but additional sporting use is a matter for the OPLC."
The takeover values West Ham at £105 million but the club has debts of over £100 million and Sullivan believes the club's future would be brighter if they could move to the Olympic Stadium.
Asked whether they would be happy to live with the track around the pitch, he told Sky Sports News: "Ideally no, but there may be a way we could lay the running track for three months or something. It may be cheaper to build a running track somewhere else. I don't think running tracks work, particularly behind the goal. The customers are so far back it doesn't work.
"We don't want to buy (the Olympic Stadium), we want to rent it. The Government promised to keep it alive for 30 years, it's going to cost them more to keep it alive. With us it's going to cost them nothing - we would pay all the running costs."
While it is far from probable the Hammers would be granted use of the facility, Sullivan believes it would be the best possible legacy.
"It is a priority for West Ham that we move to the Olympic Stadium, three miles from where we are now.”
Trevor Brooking, the FA’s director of football development and a former West Ham player and board member, welcomed the takeover.
He said: “It’s good something has happened and it needed to be resolved from everyone’s point of view.
“Gianfranco’s position will be all right hopefully — I think with the style of football they play all the fans will be very supportive of him staying.
“The proposed move to the Olympic Stadium is also interesting although having a running track has always been an issue with a football stadium.”
