It is March 2018 and the scene is the London Stadium. West Ham United have been beaten 3-0 at home by Burnley. Long before supporters would consider the idea of hiring Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager, let alone sacking him, the crisis has grown greater even than the one that grips the club today.



On that day, Fans invaded the pitch, David Gold and David Sullivan left their seats in the directors’ box early to avoid abuse and West Ham were only three points clear of the relegation zone with eight games to play under manager David Moyes. Relegation was a real possibility. It couldn’t go on. So Gold and Sullivan, taking advice from Moyes, brought in some experts to look at how the club was being run from top to bottom. What they found astounded them.



The findings showed that there were not enough full-time staff in key positions, that there were no real processes or structure and that there needed to be a massive overhaul behind the...