There were thousands of eyes rolling when West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady took aim at Newcastle United in her latest public outburst.
Brady is immensely unpopular with the masses at West Ham and it seems she has added Newcastle supporters to the list.
A major bone of contention for Hammers fans is Brady’s column with The Sun in which she regularly discusses intimate club affairs and details.
Indeed one such instance even cost West Ham the chance to sign a striker back in January when Islam Slimani was sent on loan to Newcastle instead (The Mirror).
In fairness Brady, like West Ham co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold has been more low key this season.
That was until the weekend when she took aim at Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez in her latest Sun column, branding both moaners.
She then went one further by launching a staunch defence of unpopular Magpies owner Mike Ashley.
Newcastle boss Benitez and Ashley held face-to-face talks over pizza when the Magpies owner took the squad out for dinner last week.
The gathering at the Rialto restaurant caused a stir among supporters and came in an effort to build bridges with the club sitting 18th in the Premier League and winless so far this season.
Brady told The Sun: “The best news on Tyneside is that Newcastle are not bottom of the league. But they are 18th, winless, with just four goals from seven games.
“There is fear of relegation in any club below halfway but with Newcastle’s recent days in the Championship — and having seen rivals Sunderland slump to League One — it must be acute at St James’ Park.
“The affection for “Rafa” is as strong as for any manager in the country. Feelings for owner Mike Ashley are close to unprintable, though it is hard to understand why?
“The man has invested £250million into the club for goodness’ sake and still most Magpie fans regard him as an outsider, a Home Counties product with no interest in their club other than to sell it at a profit (he wishes I’m sure!).
“Former boss and Toon hero Kevin Keegan goes further. He says Ashley has created an “empire of harm” but, hey, sometimes when you lose your job, you can be bitter. Like Mourinho, Benitez is a bit of a moaner. He grumbled consistently that Liverpool’s Tom Hicks/George Gillett ownership was mean with transfer cash, a practice he has loud-hailed in the North East.”
As you might expect Brady’s rant did not go down well with Newcastle fans.
But it also irked Hammers fans who are embarrassed such a high profile figure at their club is wading into the affairs of rival teams, even if Brady did laud Benitez’s managerial acumen in the column.
It is like groundhog day for West Ham fans when it comes to Brady.
Brady’s latest outburst certainly does not represent the feelings of most Hammers fans, many of whom wanted Benitez as their manager in the past.
West Ham and Newcastle have lots in common namely the support of a loyal, passionate fanbase despite going nearly a century between them without winning a major trophy.
It is time for Brady to stay out of the business of other clubs, refrain from making West Ham a public laughing stock and to stop embarrassing her own fans.
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