Blog first appeared on October 9, 2008...
I don't think we can be too surprised by what is going on at West Ham - it just shows what can happen when you get involved with big businessmen.
A wealthy foreign benefactor might sounds great to fans, but when they have money in shares, property or other investments, they are sometimes not as rich as you think. These people often don't have real money - it is always tied up in other things.
We have seen all too clearly that football is a business, and as we know businesses can go bust.
I sincerely hope it doesn't happen but it is only a matter of time until we see a big club in serious trouble - and by that I mean they could fold altogether.
I think the old style of ownership is the best way. You might not have had as much money, but you always knew where you stood.
Nowadays it is impossible to plan for the future when the club's finances are at the mercy of the financial markets.
No doubt it is a difficult situation for West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola.
He has walked into the job and seen circumstances beyond his control change everything. The shirt sponsors have gone out of business, the club has been fined over Carlos Tevez and now the owner's bank is on the brink of collapse.
I think Zola needs to bring in half a dozen new players but he will have to sell before he can do that.
He will have to ask himself whether it is worth cashing in on someone like Dean Ashton in order to bring in two or three players in other positions.
It is made harder because of all the money spent when Eggert Magnusson was there.
They overpaid for the likes of Luis Boa Morte, Craig Bellamy and Nigel Quashie, and are still shelling out massive wages.
It is like buying a fleet of cars knowing they won't fetch anything like as much when you flog them second hand.
That big spending spree might have kept them in the Premier League, but in the long-term it has left them with a timebomb.
The value of being in the top flight is so great that clubs will do almost anything to avoid relegation.
But you almost think it might have been better for West Ham to go down. That would have given them a chance to consolidate and reduce their spending - plus it would have got them out of this Tevez mess.
The FA has suggested a salary cap to curb spending, which appears good in theory, but I just don't think the clubs, the Premier League or the fans will stand for it.
If there are limits on how much players can be paid, they will simply go abroad.
It's all very well trying to control wages, but people won't be happy when they see all the top talent leaving this country.