Exactly how much different will West Ham United be under Daniel Kretinsky?
Well, the extent of those differences between the new era and the old David Sullivan regime remains to be seen, but the Hammers fans certainly like what they have seen so far.
Even before Sullivan departed, Kretinsky won the battle to keep Nuno Espirito Santo in charge. The ‘Czech sphinx’ is injecting £90 million into the coffers while increasing his share to 43 per cent.
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Furthermore, Kretinsky helped drive the pursuit of Steve Nickson. If hired, West Ham United will finally have a seasoned recruitment chief in charge of transfers.
And after insisting that he is determined to avoid an exodus of star players, The Times say that the likes of Crysencio Summerville, Dinos Mavropanos and Jarrod Bowen received a clear message from a man finally wielding his influence to the max; those who got the Hammers into this mess will be the men responsible for getting them out of it too.
Daniel Kretinsky impresses the West Ham United supporters
Decisive or delusional? Ambitious or a fantasist? Only time will tell if Kretinsky’s bite is as strong as his bark. But after so many years protesting against the Sullivan and Brady regime, a change is most certainly welcome.
“He seems to be making the right noises which must be a plus as Sullivan never engaged with the fans,” says one of Hammers News’ TalkingPoint users.
“At long last, someone who is investing,” another agrees. “‘DK’ means business.”
“Hopefully, he’ll be true to his word. If so, we will have an exciting spell in the Championship and let’s all lap it up.”
“Looks like a brilliant season coming up, nice one DK!”
Of course, a dramatic shift in mood is never too far around the corner when it comes to West Ham.
Maybe Manchester United finally make bids the Hammers cannot refuse for Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville. Maybe Wrexham nick Nickson. Maybe some of the club’s other prized assets hand in transfer requests and prove that ‘power power’ wins out over a bullish owner.
But if you asked many long-suffering supporters if they would accept relegation if it meant an end to the David Sullivan era, we suspect the votes would end up being a lot closer than some might think.
Kretinsky a ‘breath of fresh air’ after David Sullivan’s resignation
“At least [Kretinsky] is telling fans what the intentions of the club are, unlike Sullivan,” a fan writes on our Facebook page, the Czech billionaire’s willingness to communicate clearly earning him a lot of early credit.
“A breath of fresh air! There’s dialogue and a plan. Whether players stay or leave is down to them but he’s made it clear he wants to keep our best players and promotion is the goal.”
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“I hope we have someone at the helm who wants to make this club thrive…”
“Sounds promising. The guy seems interested for definite. All I can say is bring it on.”
“We have finally got rid of Sullivan from the club! Can’t we be optimistic for a change?”
Others, though, are a little bit more cautious. It is all ifs and hypotheticals at this early stage.
“If he sticks to what he’s saying, that will be great, and straight back to the Premier League…”
“We need action not words.”
“Just words at the moment. Need actions. Actions are louder than words.”
“Let’s just hope this is the new beginning we’ve all been craving, but we have to give it time to be implemented. Hopefully, the sleeping giant will awake”
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