West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady made an absolute hash of an appearance on a Sky Sports podcast hosted by Jack Sullivan and Mark McAdam.
The likeable McAdam co-presents the regular podcast with David Sullivan’s son, usually providing an insightful and enjoyable listen… until now.
Unfortunately, this episode featured Apprentice star Lady Brady, who has been overseeing the day-to-day running of West Ham for quite some time.
During the podcast, Brady’s comments on Graham Potter—whom she was instrumental in recruiting—and the imminent football regulator made for compelling listening.
However, when she spoke about the success of the move to the London Stadium, it was hard to take her seriously. Her recollection of the relocation sounded more like propaganda than an honest assessment.
Brady insists the stadium move has elevated the club, allowing us to compete at a higher level, and claims that Hammers fans have been major beneficiaries.
I’m massively paraphrasing, so you’ll have to listen to the podcast and decide for yourselves. Still, her defence of West Ham’s rented home was ill-timed at best.
Her staunch defence comes at a time when frustration with the stadium seems to be at an all-time high. Promised transport links have failed to improve the matchday experience, and despite the Elizabeth Line providing 23 more trains per hour, stop-and-go exit procedures are slower than ever.
The London Stadium
The concession ticket debacle has priced out many fans who are unable to climb to significant heights to reach the cheaper seats.
Overzealous stewarding has discouraged instinctive reactions and celebrations, while a wall between home and away fans has killed the usual exchange of songs and banter.
The food and drink quality is horrendous, embarrassingly poor compared to venues like the Amex Stadium or Spurs’ new ground, and the sheer cost of a bite to eat is off-putting.
Add to that the fact that the seats are much further from the pitch than promised, making it difficult for fans to connect with the players. It’s now common to see away fans brazenly wearing their kits in the home sections, further frustrating loyal supporters.
Therefore, hearing Brady tell West Ham fans how good they have it felt particularly out of touch, especially when rival clubs like Everton and Spurs have moved to purpose-built venues that are genuinely exceptional.
Every year, Premier League fans vote the London Stadium the worst ground in the division—and with good reason. I’m just surprised that Brady has chosen to take this stance. I suspect season ticket renewals won’t be looking good
We, since dildos took over, were as everyone said.. assets to bleed…
Sold our old stadium, to rent.. (dodgy, or fortunate deal, that every tax payer in the country is paying for. Not just west ham fans).
Yes the club spent silly in the summer.. but the fact it is deemed as silly spending, shows how much our board are in lala land.
Villa, Forrest ok, have achieved heights last and this season. But how do you retain and maintain that level? Without investment?
We have been on the verge, but for lack of investing in the team when necessary, because stupid purchases by what I can see as nepotism, within the board.
Im not sure what people want tbh…Its a unique building ..Not built for football ..The clue is in the name..But in football terms it costs the club zilch.
The problem is what the club are doing with the revenue..They will argue they spiralling costs of players wages etc..However ..Other PL clubs who own their stadiums have similar expenditure..So is pretty obvious they are trousering the money .
I dare say some bean counter out there will disagree..
The ST debate is the real problem for me …The tourists love the venue its iconic and is a wish list for many to visit ..The club ..Tradition ..History sadly not so important.
I cant see a solution to this ..Its up to the individual ..If you love West Ham United FC…Then keep going to games..Staying away just opens the door to more tourists…The stadium is not going anywhere …It will always have punters wanting to visit whatever is going on inside..Baseball etc…..The owners knew this…It was an easy sell .
I know i sound like i love the owners …I dont…But i certainly love my fellow West Ham Brothers and Sisters…Keep going people….Defy the fuckers!
I know she winds up the old Upton Park season ticket holders but I can’t really argue with what Brady said. Factually she is correct, the move to the London stadium has elevated the club in many ways. We have double the amount of fans on a match day. The club has grown. Could we have attracted the international players we’ve got and had three seasons in Europe though if we’d still been at Upton Park? Possibly yes. We would have still been a premier league team with a big fan base. So maybe that part she got wrong.
I didn’t hear anyone complaining about the stadium when we were winning European games under the lights. Everyone seemed to be happy back then. Go on a losing streak and we start to hear all the same old gripes about the stadium which don’t get me wrong is understandable. The stadiums not perfect but we have to live with it and make the best of it. Knocking it down and rebuilding it as a Tottenham or Everton stadium is not happening any time soon.
Thank goodness we moved to Olympic Stadium. Just imagine how jealous we would be if we were now looking at the likes of Millwall playing here with our team bumping along in the Championship.
It’s a bit nieve to think Karen Brady would criticise the relocation to the Olympic Stadium as she effectively led the project. My anger is reserved for Boris Johnson who should have ignored Levy and others questioning the original tendering process which was based on us purchasing the site. If that had progressed then we would have had full control of facilities and conversion for football. I firmly believe we will eventually be able to buy as long term any Goverment is not going to keep sanctioning massive tax payers subsidy each year. In the meantime we make the best of it. Transport links are far better than other London premier stadiums from my recent experiences. Remaining at a fading Upton Park was not an attractive option so move on.
We’ll never be handed the stadium. While Sullivan and Brady are at the club . Reason being politics ones a conservative baroness the other a donor to the same party . While we have a labour mayor and government. GSB should have remained neutral while involved with west ham United if they wanted the stadium like Terry brown did .