Skip to main content

West Ham needs a re-set not a rebrand

The departure of Baroness Karen Brady from West Ham has seen other departures following, with Nathan Thompson, the executive director, stepping down with immediate effect. Financial director Andy Mollett will retire at the end of the season. Tara Warren, Brady’s trusted No 2, resigned from her role as executive director in December.

In light of Brady’s exit, sources with knowledge of the situation say Sullivan has no plans to step down and remains fully committed. The 77-year-old, who owns 38.8 per cent of the club, and Kretinsky who owns 27 per cent (via 1890s Holdings), are in the process of purchasing shares from Vanessa Gold — the daughter of the late David Gold. She inherited 25.1 per cent after his passing in January 2023. The deal is expected to be completed in a month’s time, which would bring Sullivan and Kretinsky to just over 40 per cent each. The pair also have a joint-option to purchase more of Gold’s shares.

“This must now be a turning point — not a rebrand,” said West Ham’s Fan Advisory Board. “Deep leadership issues remain at the club however. West Ham United needs leadership that respects supporters as stakeholders, restores transparency, and rebuilds trust through action, not words."

“Her (Brady’s) time at the club will not be judged by corporate messaging, but by the lived experience of supporters. On that measure, her legacy is deeply damaging. The move to the London Stadium was sold as progress. We were told ‘we had no choice, we had to move in order to compete’. For many, it has delivered the opposite — a dilution of identity, atmosphere and belonging. Many supporters will conclude that, in this respect, the club’s leadership has fallen short.”

The New York Times said that her legacy was ‘divisive’ but most fans had stronger things to say in the comments section.

One can understand why Brady felt the need to develop the persona of a hard faced business person in a masculine world, but it didn’t make her popular, nor did her insistence on being addressed as ‘Baroness’.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion.  Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs.  An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...
Post a Comment
Read more

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more