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The narrative among large sections of the West Ham United support is that, should Nuno Espirito Santo secure another season of Premier League football, this will be achieved in spite of those in the boardroom, including the departing Karren Brady.
It was confirmed on Tuesday morning that vice-chair Brady is leaving the London Stadium following 16 years of service.
The statement came less than 24 hours after West Ham United doubled the gap between themselves and Tottenham in the relegation zone; from one point to two following a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.
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Credit: Photo by LEON NEAL/AFP via Getty Images
Should the standings remain as they are currently, hiring Nuno Espirito Santo as Graham Potter’s replacement will go down as one of the more successful decisions made by a David Sullivan-led board in recent times.
But if Sullivan had gotten his wish, there is a very real chance that the Hammers would find themselves adrift in the bottom three, with Slaven Bilic a helpless, hangdog presence on the touchline.
Karren Brady played a key role in West Ham United landing Nuno Espirito Santo
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Brady courted plenty of controversy at West Ham – brutal chants aimed against her and the board were audible again at Selhurst Park – but the Edmonton-born Baroness deserves credit for Nuno’s appointment, and for curbing Sullivan’s worst instincts.
Hammers News confirmed one week before Potter’s September sacking that Karren Brady had met with Nuno Espirito Santo; holding talks that would result in the 52-year-old’s appointment only a few days later.
Brady remained firmly behind Nuno, too, when results nosedived at the beginning of 2026.
Now, Brady obviously took a lot of pride in the patience usually afforded to managers at West Ham. Potter only lost his job when things became truly untenable. Less patient clubs would probably have given Nuno the boot as well, especially following successive defeats by Wolves and Nottingham Forest which left the club seven points adrift of safety mid-season.
“West Ham is not a club that panics about its managers,” Brady told talkSPORT last year. “We tend to stick with them, tend to support people, stick with them and see it through.”
David Sullivan wanted Slaven Bilic instead of Nuno
It should not be forgotten, in the grand scheme of West Ham’s season, that David Sullivan was pushing for Slaven Bilic’s return while Brady was deep in discussions with the man who has put fate back in Hammers hands with five games to go.
Bilic, while a popular figure among the supporters, would have been an appointment driven by the heart rather than the head.
In Sullivan’s corner, a man who had not coached in the Premier League since his sacking by West Brom half a decade previously. In Brady’s, a guy who had just taken Nottingham Forest from the relegation zone into Europe.
“I was close, or whatever, but I didn’t get the job,” Bilic would explain to talkSPORT. “They got Nuno, who is a top manager, who did a great job at Wolves, not to mention Nottingham Forest.
“He is a top manager and I think they are going to be OK this season.”
No hard feelings from Slaven Bilic’s perspective, then.
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Credit: Photo by Izzy Poles – AMA/Getty Images Simon Jordan thinks the Hammers ‘will miss’ Baroness Brady
Since kick-starting their survival battle with a 2-1 win in North London on January 17, Nuno has masterminded a 15-point swing over 17th-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Karren Brady is unlikely to receive much of the adulation should West Ham remain on the right side of the dotted line. But when former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan called Brady the ‘intellectual capacity’ behind an often-erratic West Ham ownership, talking Sullivan down from his Slaven Bilic-themed ledge is probably the sort of thing he was referring to.
“Lots of people didn’t like Karren, and lots of people admired her. I fall into the category of both,” says Jordan. “She is a very strong character. She will be missed by them!
“Karren was always in all of the meetings, whether it was the Premier League or Football League meetings. Karren was always there. She was the intellectual capital. She was as smart as paint. She’s cunning; she has attributes that some people would say are challenging to deal with.
“But she talks about resilience, overcoming adversity… they will miss her. How they fill that gap, I don’t know.”
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