Back in 2011 Karren Brady predicted what West Ham’s first game at the London Stadium would be like – she couldn’t have been further from reality.
“We have spent the last three years consulting with supporters and involving them in what you see today – a stunning Olympic Stadium fit for purpose. We have kept our promises.”
Back in 2011, this is what vice-chairman Karren Brady predicted the feeling would be like ahead of West Ham United’s first game at what is now called the London Stadium.
Writing in her Sun column, quoted at the time by the Telegraph, Brady took a flight of fancy and imagined what the opening fixture at the Hammers’ new home would be like:
“In a way everything and nothing has changed at the same time.
“This is a community stadium on a grand scale and it has set the bar for the world to follow.
“To look at what we have achieved and even contemplate that the Olympic Stadium we know and love could have been demolished is enough to make you shudder.
“We can look back with pride on February 2011 and know that we all did the right thing.”
What Brady envisioned for West Ham’s new home could perhaps not be further from the truth, with fans invading the pitch and protesting against the owners in their latest visit there during a 3-0 Premier League defeat against Burnley.
That frustration from the home support was directed at owners David Gold and David Sullivan, admittedly, but it has hardly been a happy move across East London since leaving the Boleyn Ground in the summer of 2016.
Crowd trouble marred those opening fixtures at the stadium and fans have never taken to a venue designed for athletics and one that seems completely unfit for purpose for football.
Brady’s glorious vision for the future that she decided needed to be put in writing a little over seven years ago has since turned into a nightmare.
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