Who’d envy Karim Virani his inbox? It’s a pretty tough ‘ask’ at this stage of the season, being parachuted in as interim CEO of a football club with fires being fought in several key areas – some in the public eye and others still thinly veiled and away from the public domain.
One of the most pressing items on the Karren Brady replacement’s ‘to do list’ will be to try and rebuild bridges which the acerbic and combative former vice chair bulldozed. Getting on better terms with fans might be too much to expect and may well outlast the ‘interim’ appointee’s role: Supporters have seemingly been protesting for most of the last fifteen years.
His may only be an interim appointment but he’ll still have the ears of the West Ham board: At least making the right noises and persuading the board to reach a resolution over the issue of the London 2029 World Athletics Championships bid would be a start.
It might also make West Ham supporters feel that their club is less out of step with public opinion and not involved in yet another off-pitch battle concerning their rented stadium home.
Hugh Brasher, the CEO of London Marathon Events, appealed to the club’s better nature with his widely reported words:
“I would ask West Ham: Do they have the heart and the soul to open the stadium? We’ve put in what we think is a really inventive bid to bring the World Championships here in 2029. So I don’t think it could have happened at a better time.
“You just have to get around a table, talk, but actually, first listen. Listen to what the issues are. West Ham, obviously, where they are in the Premier League is hugely important and there’s little point in having that discussion at this moment.”
Quite so. Staying in the Premier League is the priority but even just putting out a conciliatory statement confirming that West Ham will be – at least – ‘happy to talk’ as soon as the season is over – and the Premier League battle is concluded – would look better than the blunt, combative, refuse-out-of-hand position which the board previously adopted.
Reaching an amicable settlement (bearing in mind that the September 2029 period in question is mostly during a cursèd international break anyway) might even engender just a teeny bit of ‘feel good factor’ back for club and supporters who’ve been under the cosh all season and for whom the headlines haven’t got any easier recently.
If the international break covers most of it, surely we can show some compassion here for another sport
I disagree.. the club should not accomadate athletics. They would not do it for us.. we are the main tenents. At no point has anyine done us a favour… ever….Especially Seb Coe.