West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady has responded after being flooded with messages from frustrated fans demanding clarity on the club’s summer transfer strategy.
With no signings or sales on the horizon in a slow start to the summer transfer window, vice-chair Karren Brady has been forced to answer angry Hammers fans.
Hammers News has previously revealed Brady is now ‘more powerful than ever’ in the new West Ham setup.
Football correspondent Graeme Bailey lifted the lid on Brady’s increasing Hammers influence amid speculation she was leaving.
“And as you can imagine she won’t want to give that up anytime soon,” Bailey said.
Brady more powerful than ever at West Ham after Potter hire
It is fair to say the Baroness star has never been the most universally popular figure among West Ham fans.
Previously, though, it was indisputable that Brady had done a superb job turning around the club’s finances since arriving with David Sullivan and David Gold in 2010.
However, with West Ham insisting money is tight this summer due to PSR that is no longer necessarily true.
The Hammers claim £100m plus losses are coming in the next accounts.
West Ham have also ill-advisedly borrowed against and spent all £69m they are owed for transfers in a deal with Barclays Bank
It means Graham Potter – the man Brady chose pushed for to replace Julen Lopetegui – can only spend money raised through sales this summer.
Given that the Irons are in desperate need of an extensive rebuild to stop the rot of the last 18 months, that is a very worrying situation to be in.
Hammers fans have been venting their anger at the board over the transfer predicament and finances.
Brady responds to West Ham fans over transfer plans
Many can’t understand how Brady and two billionaire, savvy businessmen like Sullivan and Daniel Kretinsky have allowed this to happen.
Cynics believe the situation is not as bad as the club are making out and that the owners simply lack ambition.
Whatever the truth of the matter, the full summer transfer window is now into a second week and many of West Ham’s rivals have been busy.
Now Brady has responded after being bombarded by West Ham fans over the club’s transfer plans.
In a somewhat unprecedented step, Hammers supporters were invited to put questions on any issues directly to the vice-chair back in April.
For transparency, the club pledged to post the answers on their website and in the matchday programme.
Given the strength of feeling towards Brady from a large section of the fanbase – highlighted by a petition calling for her and Sullivan to leave – it was a brave move.
As predicted Brady was inundated with questions about transfer plans and ambition.
That’s understandable given the situation and the fact she was key to appointing Potter, who is close friends with her husband Paul Peschisolido.
Fans want to know if Potter is going to be backed with funds.
Brady: Not appropriate or beneficial to discuss transfer plans
Brady has discussed transfers in response but says it would be ‘inappropriate and unhelpful’ to go into any further detail.
“We received many questions relating to football decisions and player recruitment,” Brady admitted in the statement.
“However, the truth is that it simply would not be beneficial or appropriate – for reasons of protecting our objectives on the field – to reveal which players Graham Potter is keen to sign in the summer transfer window, which positions he is prioritising, or how much we will be spending!”
Hammers fans will see this as something of a cop out.
Because Brady could have addressed the issue by outlining the fact the club remains ambitious and would be backing Potter – if that was really the case.
The fact she has chosen not to use the statement to do that is very worrying indeed.
And it is the biggest indication yet that West Ham might be in for a very difficult summer.
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