EPL side West Ham has "moved to defend" Vice-Chair Karren Brady after
her comments at the Leaders Sport Business Summit, according to James Benge of the London EVENING STANDARD. She "drew the ire of some supporters" on Wednesday for appearing to say that West Ham had "no culture" before the arrival of co-Owners David Sullivan and David Gold in '10 and was not a place where "something was expected" of players and staff. Brady: "There were two interesting things about the club. One, it had £100 million worth of debt. Two, it had no what I would call culture. At football clubs we don’t make anything, we don’t manufacture anything, we don’t really produce anything other than more players. So getting the culture right, being a place where something is expected of you, having discipline, planning and process and strategy. That wasn’t there." West Ham has "looked to clarify that Brady was not questioning the heritage of the club" but discussing its "corporate culture." In a series of tweets, West Ham said, "Indeed she was explaining that our strong, world-renowned heritage is what sets us apart as a club and outlining her view that the rich tradition, heritage and culture of West Ham United is what makes the club and its supporters so special" (
EVENING STANDARD, 10/6). HITC's Katie Feehan reported West Ham fans on Twitter targeted Brady after "completely misunderstanding her remarks" about the club having "no culture." Brady claimed the move to London Stadium was part of the drive to "get culture right" at West Ham.
This "summation of her comments angered fans who took it to mean she was attacking the supporters of the club" and many took to Twitter to "vent their frustration."
In "response to the barrage of abuse targeted at her twitter account, Brady took to twitter herself to clarify what she actually said" (
HITC, 10/5).
