The contrast couldn’t have been sharper: Mohammed Kudus thriving for Spurs while West Ham laboured against Sunderland.
The Ghanaian starred in Tottenham’s opening [Premier League](https://www.claretandhugh.info/premier-league-bio/) win of the season, and on the very same morning Karren Brady was on TalkSport explaining that Kudus had to be sold for PSR reasons.
West Ham’s vice-chair appeared in what felt like an exercise in damage limitation. But as I’ve long believed, these mainstream media appearances by Brady and [David Sullivan](https://www.claretandhugh.info/david-sullivan-bio/) are never really aimed at Hammers fans. They’re designed to reassure the wider football audience—the “Match of the Day” crowd—of the board’s supposed competency.
Still, there were some revealing nuggets buried in Brady’s remarks. When asked: “Do you think you need pace in midfield?” Brady replied:
“I think anyone who watches us would know the answer is yes! We are working to get this sorted.”
At that point, I’d have loved someone like Henry Winter or Shaun Custis to push back and ask what exactly the club have been waiting for. Instead, Brady was given an easy ride. When she mentioned PSR, there was no follow-up about why the club’s finances were in such poor shape—this from a supposed business expert who has cultivated her reputation on BBC’s The Apprentice.
The rest was the usual clichés and platitudes: no one hurts more than the board, and Graham Potter is building a wonderful culture. Standard spin.
In truth, the lack of pushback from TalkSport wasn’t surprising—they seemed grateful she’d shown up at all after the 3-0 humiliation against Sunderland.
But let’s be clear: this was damage limitation aimed at everyone but West Ham fans. Not the kind that results in new signings, just the PR-friendly “we care, and we’re working tirelessly” line. Meanwhile, we’re left watching Kudus shine in a Spurs shirt rather than the claret & blue navy and gold of West Ham.