Sullivan - Zola may resign

M5

From Sportinglife

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan claims Gianfranco Zola has "indicated" he may resign, but insists no decision has been taken on the manager's future.

Zola's position at Upton Park has come under intense scrutiny this season following the Hammers' brush with relegation from the Premier League.

The takeover of Sullivan and David Gold midway through the campaign prompted further rumours that the Italian could be axed in the summer.

Sullivan says the board have not reached a conclusion regarding Zola's future, but believes the former Chelsea star has been considering his position at the club.

"No decision has been made," Sullivan told the Daily Telegraph.

"He did indicate he might resign at the end of the season, but he might well have changed his mind.

"In interviews he has not committed his future to the club beyond the end of the season."

The Hammers are also braced for a summer upheaval after Sullivan revealed that he is prepared to listen to offers for every player, except influential midfielder Scott Parker.

He added: "Zola has repeatedly said he's a coach and doesn't want to be involved in the selection of players for the club.

"I'm sure he'd accept the departure of any player if we brought in a better one.

"We've had no offers for any players. This year's performances have not been good enough and some players will stay and others will go.

"We will do deals that make financial sense for the club."

Is that a nudge i wonder? "he might well have changed his mind"

cson

He'd be right to, the way those gob****es have treated him since they took over.

flahavaj

That chap has WAY too much to say for himself. Chairmen should be seen but not heard.

BigBenRoeth

In fairness I don't mind him saying that.
I like Zola and would rather see him leaving on good terms with everyone and maybe taking another job at the club,rather than being forced to leave or getting sacked.

Kristopherus

Well, Sullivan made his fortune from porn, so it would be no surprise that he would talk in riddles.

Dante

Kristopherus wrote: »

Well, Sullivan made his fortune from porn, so it would be no surprise that he would talk in riddles.

I don't know what kind of porn you watch...

Panthro

wonder could we get zola back in a blues shirt playing..
him alongside drogba at anfield this weekend, yowzer!:D

BigBenRoeth

papagormo wrote: »

wonder could we get zola back in a blues shirt playing..
him alongside drogba at anfield this weekend, yowzer!:D

Somehow i doubt it

Panthro

yeah...we'll wait for the transfer window i suppose,

ahh no i like zola, hope the managerial career works out for him

Kristopherus

DaaaaaaaaaaN wrote: »

I don't know what kind of porn you watch...

You should'nt be jumping to conclusions.........

Mr.Nice Guy

Sullivan is a disgrace. He has been undermining Zola since day one. If he doesn't want him running his club that's his prerogative but there is a right way to go about things. The man has no class and Birmingham are well shot of him.

BigBenRoeth

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Sullivan is a disgrace. He has been undermining Zola since day one. If he doesn't want him running his club that's his prerogative but there is a right way to go about things. The man has no class and Birmingham are well shot of him.

I disagree.
First of all,Sullivan hasn't been in the media as much as some would have you believe.
It's true he's been very outspoken though.
The first time he really caught people's attention was before the Birmingham game,when West Ham were in a terrible run of form,and he questioned Zola's ability....he later said the purpose of this was to spur the team on,and seeing as we won the game 2-0 I see no reason not to believe him.
The other most notable time he came to the media's attention was after the Wolves match.
He wrote an open letter to fans in which he called the teams performance "Pathetic" and "Shambolic".
Considering his team had been hammered 3-1 at home to a team that was really struggling and had a terrible away record I don't think its too extraordinary that he would come out and say something like that.

And now when he says Zola may resign,I don't see what's so special about this.
Zola has said before that he may resign in the summer so to be honest i don't see what the big deal is.

Mr.Nice Guy

BigBenRoeth wrote: »

I disagree.
First of all,Sullivan hasn't been in the media as much as some would have you believe.
It's true he's been very outspoken though.
The first time he really caught people's attention was before the Birmingham game,when West Ham were in a terrible run of form,and he questioned Zola's ability....he later said the purpose of this was to spur the team on,and seeing as we won the game 2-0 I see no reason not to believe him.
The other most notable time he came to the media's attention was after the Wolves match.
He wrote an open letter to fans in which he called the teams performance "Pathetic" and "Shambolic".
Considering his team had been hammered 3-1 at home to a team that was really struggling and had a terrible away record I don't think its too extraordinary that he would come out and say something like that.

And now when he says Zola may resign,I don't see what's so special about this.
Zola has said before that he may resign in the summer so to be honest i don't see what the big deal is.

Honestly I can't off the top of my head think of a chairman that loves the limelight more than him. If you're telling me West Ham have done well in some games because of the conduct of Sullivan I would have to disagree. I think they have done well in spite of him. Zola has looked a pretty forlorn figure the last couple of weeks and having a chairman mouthing off to the press when he wants to doesn't help matters. He has been a hindrance to West Ham imo.

He came in with a big fanfare and tried to pass himself off as some beacon of light for the futue but the only light he is interested in is the spotlight.

I don't believe a chairman needs to come out and make statements in public. My feeling is that Zola will go, Sullivan will then make a big thing about getting in a top manager and when adversity strikes this new boss he will come out with comments again to the press. This is what he does. I remember last May there was speculation before the season's end as to whether McLeish would be allowed to stay on at Birmingham. Now look how well they have done by having faith in their manager.

I stand by my view that the man is trouble.

BigBenRoeth

In fairness,what would we be saying about Sullivan (And Gold) if they remained silent when this whole mess was going on?

In all honesty I think football fans (myself included) are fickle,and will always find something to give out about.

LETS BE AVN IT

There is no way they will sack him , they have a history of not sacking and I think if Zola is made feel welcome he will stay.

Reganio 2

DaaaaaaaaaaN wrote: »

I don't know what kind of porn you watch...

My first is in my trousers and soon to be in you.

Davidth88

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Honestly I can't off the top of my head think of a chairman that loves the limelight more than him.

Possibly a certain Mr K Bates maybe ?

I actually would love to see him as Chelsea mgr however Carlo Ancelotti is doing a pretty good job right now .

He ( Zola ) is one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet , a real gentleman , and was the best player bar none to pull on a Chelsea shirt.

I have actually been watching WHU performances with interest this season hoping they would do well for him, however they have been pretty poor

I will strangely enough be at Fulham on Sunday

Neil3030

Davidth88 wrote: »

Possibly a certain Mr K Bates maybe ?

I actually would love to see him as Chelsea mgr however Carlo Ancelotti is doing a pretty good job right now .

He ( Zola ) is one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet , a real gentleman , and was the best player bar none to pull on a Chelsea shirt.
I have actually been watching WHU performances with interest this season hoping they would do well for him, however they have been pretty poor

I will strangely enough be at Fulham on Sunday

This is the problem. Too many people think that by being a nice guy and a former footballing great (neither of which I would contest), this instantly translates to him being a good manager. That simply is not the case. Were it not for the heroics of Parker, West Ham would be relegated this season without question.

I think Zola may have it in him to be a top manager, but he is a long way off. He needs to find his feet and perfect his craft in a lower pressure job, away from egotistical chairmen, capricious fans and an unscrupulous media.

Failing that, I think he would make a wonderful assistant manager - the Pako to a Rafa, the Galbiati to a Capello; i.e., a nice guy players want to perform for, complementing the big bad angry shouting guy.

Kiwi_knock

As a Birmingham fan I have seen what Sullivan can do to a football club. To be fair he does run a football club well, which can be put down to the powerful partnership he has created with Gold and Brady. His outspokeness is balanced out by Gold's moderation. Sullivan and Gold did create the basis for Birmingham's great season. Sullivan uses the media to criticise the club but rather strangely he does it for the right reasons. He thinks criticism helps the club and its players improve, which I can say that it worked for Birmingham. Sullivan severely criticised Franck Quedrue when Birmingham went down and the next season Quedrue was voted our player of the year. When he said at the end of last season that Mc Leish job was under threat it actually helped galvanise the team into getting behind Mc Leish and helping us to push on for promotion when our season began faltering.
While Sullivan is an annoying chairman and does infuriate the fans, his outspokeness does in some cases help galvanise the team. I think that he does not necessarily want Zola go but rather wants Zola to show he wants to stay and for the players to show they want Zola to stay.

Davidth88

Neil3030 wrote: »

This is the problem. Too many people think that by being a nice guy and a former footballing great (neither of which I would contest), this instantly translates to him being a good manager. That simply is not the case. Were it not for the heroics of Parker, West Ham would be relegated this season without question.

I think Zola may have it in him to be a top manager, but he is a long way off. He needs to find his feet and perfect his craft in a lower pressure job, away from egotistical chairmen, capricious fans and an unscrupulous media.

Failing that, I think he would make a wonderful assistant manager - the Pako to a Rafa, the Galbiati to a Capello; i.e., a nice guy players want to perform for, complementing the big bad angry shouting guy.

Actually I think you may have hit the nail on the head there .

I was actually thinking that WHU might be a nice ' training ground ' for the next CFC mgr ( apologies to WHU fans there )

Maybe a nice quiet 1st/2nd Div team may suit him better, or even his home town Cagliari