West Ham United owners David Sullivan and David Gold could have another fan revolt on their hands.
Next month marks 10 years since the duo took over the Hammers.
But instead of celebrating the anniversary, it could be used by furious supporters as a poignant milestone to protest against the owners in a bid to force them out of the club.
Supporters feel the club has not progressed under Sullivan and Gold.
And the Hammers faithful are sick of the duo’s lack of ambition, broken promises over transfers and the move to the London Stadium and the way the club is run in general from top to bottom.
Anniversary highlights lack of progress
Supporters are embarrassed by everything from recruitment to training facilities compared to other similar-sized – and in many cases smaller – clubs.
West Ham are officially the 17th richest club in world football in terms of income. Fans feel that is not reflected by the owners, though.
Supporters do their bit. West Ham have had the second highest number of season ticket holders in the country for four consecutive seasons – behind only Manchester United.
And the fans pack out the London Stadium every other week despite not having won a trophy for 40 years and the current malaise at the club which sees Manuel Pellegrini’s side on the brink of the relegation zone.
A large section of West Ham fans are discussing boycotting games, protesting and giving up season tickets on various fan groups, forums and social media.
Angry fan revolt on the horizon again
Angry protests which spilled onto the pitch during a 3-0 defeat to Burnley in March 2018 sparked what seemed to be a new era under Sullivan and Gold.
The duo withdrew from the limelight, finally hired a director of football to oversee recruitment, appointed a manager with pedigree in Pellegrini and backed him to the tune of £90million.
As many fans feared, though, it proved to be a one-off.
The Hammers have spent just £25million in the two windows since and it has showed on the pitch.
A lack of decisive action over Pellegrini’s future suggests the owners are willing to risk the club’s Premier League status rather than pay the Chilean compensation and then spend money prising a talented manager away from a club to come to West Ham.
Links to out of work David Moyes add fuel to those theories.
Owners face huge January to build or burn bridges
The owners now face a huge January.
It is often the worst time to conduct transfer business. But West Ham have no choice.
The squad is woefully short in several key areas. West Ham fans want to see the owners show true ambition, over an extended period.
That must start next month. Or else the resentment and uprising will start to make Sullivan and Gold’s lives very difficult indeed.
A boycott will draw attention to the situation but will not impact the owners financially this season as they already have the money from the season tickets.
But should tens of thousands of fans not renew next season that will be a very different scenario indeed.
Hammers fans want Sullivan and Gold to sell up.
But as demonstrated by Newcastle, that is a lot easier said than done sometimes.
The owners must use January to build bridges with fans not burn what remains of them.
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