David Gold: West Ham United co-chairman dies following short illness

BBC Sport’s Simon Stone

To people inside West Ham, David Gold will be thought of fondly as a kind, gentle presence, always interested in the wellbeing of staff and keen to be kept updated on events around the day-to-day running of the club.

An East Ender and West Ham fan to the core, Gold – or DG to those who knew him – was visual, standing proudly at the London Stadium last September as the statue of Bobby Moore, Sir Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters was unveiled, watching on in May as the academy pitch was named in honour of skipper Mark Noble, who retired last season.

He would happily shake hands, say hello and wish people all the best. He was a frequent visitor to the Hammers’ Rush Green training complex, particularly in the David Moyes era, chatting over lunch with the Scot and his staff.

Gold loved West Ham. He always did. He always felt his actions were in the best interests of the club, even when he was so heavily criticised.

He did have a thick skin, as every club owner needs, but those who knew him say Gold genuinely wanted West Ham to succeed. At the end of last season, it was a huge disappointment to see the club fall at the semi-finals in Europe, when success was so tantalisingly close.

Gold rose from exceptionally humble beginnings, selling buttons from a stall outside his house to being chairman of a company that owned, among other things, the Ann Summers chain, which helped earn him some rather crude nicknames.

In business terms, he was a success story.

Clearly, there is another view.

Those West Ham fans who are committed to the ‘Gold, Sullivan, Brady Out’ campaign may not have Gold first in the queue for being responsible for perceived broken promises around the London Stadium move and then either bad or insufficient investment on the playing side, but they have still been vocal in saying the club would be better off under different stewardship.

Gold’s 25.1% made him the third highest shareholder in the club, behind long-time business partner David Sullivan and new investor, Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky.

It will now be fascinating to see if those shares remain with the Gold family or if they are sold – and where to.