West Ham relegated to Championship despite emphatic victory over toothless Leeds

As the minutes ticked away and the trap door widened, the home crowd made light of the misery and amused themselves by turning on the man who has done more than anyone to condemn West Ham to relegation. David Sullivan watched and squired. The West Ham fans showered him with abuse and nothing summed up the vacuum of leadership at the top of their club more than the sight of Sullivan leaving his seat in the directors’ box before full-time.

The 77-year-old was not there to face the music. Perhaps he needed a moment of quiet, space to work out where it has gone wrong. The answer, though, comes back to Sullivan’s outdated methods. Others have underperformed, not least Nuno Espírito Santo since taking over as manager last September, but ultimately this is Sullivan’s mess. He is the largest shareholder and it is hard to see anything changing until he hands power to someone with the vision to capitalise on West Ham’s potential.