They say there is never a dull moment at West Ham United and so it has proved on the eve of the new season.
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West Ham have been thrown into chaos with seven days until the start of a new campaign after the hugely controversial sale of Grady Diangana to West Bromwich Albion.
The homegrown winger was expected to form a key part of David Moyes’s plans this season after shining on loan at West Brom last season.
Indeed Diangana had looked in superb form for West Ham in pre-season too.
Owners light the blue touch paper with Diangana sale
But unpopular co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold lit the blue touch paper by sanctioning a sale – believed to be for just £18 million – they describe as ‘in the best interests of the club’ (whufc.com).
Hammers fans have been venting their fury all week.
And things took an ugly turn for Sullivan and Gold when captain Mark Noble criticised the board’s actions on Twitter – read full story here.
What came next was even more unprecedented.
In a show of support for Noble, much of the West Ham squad – even down to youth team players – ex Hammers and key football media figures publicly backed the captain.
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Declan Rice, Jack Wilshere, Robert Snodgrass, Arthur Masuaku, young academy prospect Ahmed Diallo and many more either liked Noble’s post or commented on Diangana’s departure.
Sky Sports’s Jeff Stelling, former Sky pundit Rodney Marsh and talkSPORT presenter Natalie Sawyer praised Noble for speaking out.
Boyhood Hammer Ray Parlour slammed the owners in a segment on talkSPORT.
West Ham legends Trevor Sinclair, Jimmy Walker and John Hartson gave the post their backing. As did striker Jordan Hugill who was recently shipped out to Norwich.
YouTube star and West Ham fan Spencer Owen chimed in as did a host of other big names on Twitter.
While the situation is clearly not positive ahead of a new season, many West Ham fans said they felt ‘uplifted’ at seeing the players, supporters and media UNITED against the way the club is being run.
It comes after years of frustration with the ownership and many in the media defending Sullivan and Gold’s stewardship – often without accurate or full knowledge of the true situation.
Noble gets high-profile backing… and plenty of it
Such was the outcry, West Ham and the hashtag GSBOUT – Gold Sullivan Brady Out – were two of the top 5 trends on Twitter last night.
West Ham boss Moyes will surely have to address the situation when he next faces the press in the build-up to the opening game against Newcastle.
Diangana may have just become an unwitting hero. A symbol of the turning of the tide for West Ham fans in their fight for new ownership.
Here are a selection of comments from the West Ham backlash to the sale of Diangana.
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