Inside the chaos at 'rudderless ship' West Ham: A silent co-owner and gripes about Karren Brady, transfer market gambles, key roles vacant at 'circus' club, doubts over Jarrod Bowen's leadership and why staff are furious about the Christmas party

‘If Netflix ever wanted to do a series about the Premier League’s most dysfunctional football club, they should base themselves at West Ham United for a couple of weeks,’ one insider explains, without a hint of sarcasm. ‘It would be must-watch TV.’

On Saturday, the Premier League’s most dysfunctional football club take on Tottenham Hotspur (no laughing, please) in a match which could prove pivotal, not only to their season but their history.

West Ham are a mess. They go into the derby seven points from safety, staring an unthinkable relegation in the face. Unrest among the fanbase is rife. To put it simply, they have had enough of the regime of David Sullivan and his lieutenant Karren Brady . They have had enough of duff managerial appointments and duff signings and they would appear to have a point.

After David Moyes came Julen Lopetegui , a flop. Then came Graham Potter , another flop. Now it is Nuno Espirito Santo . Should he go the same way – and the initial signs are not great - it will, in all likelihood, be three strikes and out. Lincoln City, rather than Liverpool , could be visiting the 60,000-capacity London Stadium next season. Let that sink in.

At the recent, important clash with fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest , a deflating home 2-1 defeat, fans took to holding red cards emblazoned with ‘No more BS’. It was a more polite form of protest than some of the songs now regularly being sung about the two chiefs. Nonetheless, the message was clear.

Recent activity has failed to move the dial. While the jury remains out, the two signings of Pablo Felipe from Portuguese club Gil Vicente and Lazio’s Taty Castellanos, at a combined cost of up to £47million, have caused further concern.

West Ham are in dire straits and the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo as manager has done nothing to stop their slide towards relegation

At the recent home defeat by Nottingham Forest, fans took to holding red cards emblazoned with ‘No more BS’ in anger at how the club is being run

Neither have played in the Premier League . Both also happen to be clients of Jorge Mendes... as is Nuno. The fear is that Sullivan is making the same mistakes. Showing blind faith in a manager and an agent. Others coin it in while the Hammers are left to pick up the pieces.

There are also grave fears from those in claret and blue over what relegation, a first since 2011, would mean. This is meant to be the club with the highest valuation outside the Big Six. But there are no would-be buyers now and that situation is unlikely to change should they fall into the second tier.

The underlying worry is that West Ham will follow the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City, and the stay outside the promised land will turn out to be long-haul rather than short-hop. That the next era is very different from the last.

As it stands, 76-year-old Sullivan holds the largest stake in the club with 38.8 per cent. There had been hope that Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire who owns 27 per cent, could come to the rescue, especially following the death of David Gold (whose family own 25.1 per cent) three years ago. But that has not happened. Indeed, some believe the signs have been there for some time.

When the Hammers qualified for the Conference League final in 2023, it was to be played on the doorstep of the new investors in Prague. Some staff within the club thought this was the perfect opportunity for some positive marketing and PR. A chance for them to showcase themselves and their aims for the club.

‘They were nowhere to be seen,’ says one source. ‘They went to the game and that was it. We thought they might do interviews, fan events, even tour guides of the city but literally nothing happened.’

Some believe that the group got a foot inside the door following their 2021 investment, peered inside and decided that a slice was enough, thank you very much. There is a perhaps more cynical view that taking a stake in West Ham was smart positioning ahead of their 2025, £3.6billion move for the Royal Mail, and that holding a large chunk in a Premier League club would do them no harm when seeking to be entrusted with one of the country’s major institutions.

And so, the rot continues. It is now at a point where even the golden boy appears to be suffering. Some within the club believe that making Jarrod Bowen captain has done more harm than good, by placing an unnecessary burden on the striker.

The signings of Pablo Felipe from Portuguese club Gil Vicente and Lazio’s Taty Castellanos (pictured) at a combined cost of up to £47million have caused further concern

Some within the club believe that making Jarrod Bowen captain has done more harm than good

‘He’s a talisman, not a captain,’ says one. ‘All of a sudden it looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Writing an open letter to fans – that shouldn’t be his job. Yes, he cares, but he should be left to concentrate on scoring goals, not trying to win the fans over and apologising for the sins of others.’

The insider believes there is a lack of accountability within the playing squad, created by the loss of leaders without replacements being found. ‘Dec (Rice) went to Arsenal, which was fair enough because of the money involved. Aaron Cresswell left, Danny Ings has gone and now it looks like they are sidelining James Ward-Prowse who is one of the best professionals in the club.

'They have got rid of all these big personalities – and you could say they had their reasons for doing that – but they’ve not replaced them and it’s left to Jarrod, who’s great but not a leader, and he shouldn’t be in the position he’s in.’

One of those leaders, Mark Noble, is now upstairs. It would be interesting to hear the thoughts of Mr West Ham on what is going on but he has not spoken publicly about the club's plight.

The leadership vacuum on the field, according to multiple sources, is replicated off it. And this is where the Netflix documentary could come into its own. The claims are of a staggering turnover of staff and multiple instances of talented individuals going to work elsewhere because of a toxic environment.

‘It goes all the way to the top,’ explains one source. ‘You tend to only communicate with David via email. Karren, who has had more than £16m in salary in 15 years, is meant to be the vice-chairman and in charge of the day-to-day running of the club and yet she’s only in her office a couple of days a week. Nobody knows who is steering the ship.’

Sources close to Brady point out that she works for the club in a full-time capacity, across multiple locations, and carries out her duties in full.

Brady’s right-hand woman, Tara Warren, left abruptly in December after 17 years at the club. The news initially emerged only after an update was filed with Companies House. It is understood Warren’s relationship with Brady had soured.

'Karren Brady is meant to be the vice-chairman and in charge of the day-to-day running of the club and yet she’s only in her office a couple of days a week,' says one West Ham source

It would be interesting to hear the thoughts of the club's sporting director Mark Noble on what is going on but he has not spoken publicly about the club's plight

Warren denies this claim and insists her exit was amicable, simply coming at the right time. She had been responsible for marketing, communications, commercial, digital, data and corporate affairs.

Nathan Thompson, the former chief commercial officer, appears to have stepped into the breach. ‘Nathan is a commercial guy who has worked his way up and it feels like he’s been asked to do a very big job,’ one insider says. A very big job without help in key positions.

The club is currently operating without a director of communications at a time when you would imagine that may be quite an important role. Such is the lack of communication that it is understood that some employees only found out the previous incumbent was arriving when the news was posted on a WhatsApp group for comms workers across the Premier League by an individual from another club, who had innocently welcomed him into his new role.

It can also be disclosed that Paul Taylor, the director of creative, content and marketing, left earlier this week having only arrived in July. His predecessor now has a similar role at Championship club Charlton Athletic.

‘This is not a serious football club,’ explains one source. ‘These kinds of things do not happen elsewhere. To have two big roles like that go the same way tells you how dysfunctional the place is. It’s a circus. They should have a turnstile outside the office.’

The list of the talent drain is a long one. There is a former head of commercial now at Rangers, a head of marketing now at Silverstone, another head of marketing at adidas, a content head at Budweiser. ‘Too many people leave because they just can’t stand to be there,’ the source adds.

One of the frustrations is that those in power do not appear to act on advice or, in some cases, ask for it at all.

In July, the controversial decision to scrap many of the concessionary ticket prices was announced. It triggered predictable outrage among supporters. Sources have claimed that the move was signed off only shortly before the announcement, and was done without seeking fully the views of staff – who would have been able to offer sound advice.

West Ham supporters protest at the way their club is being run around their game against Newcastle in November

The club have not replaced big characters such as Declan Rice, who was sold to Arsenal

Morale among staff is said to be at an ‘all-time low’, and was not helped by the recent decision from above that there would be no Christmas Party.

The thinking was that with the team mired in a relegation battle, it would send out the wrong message. Instead, staff were handed gift vouchers (which they had already been given in previous years).

‘So you have staff who love the club, who have worked hard all year, being told they won’t get a Christmas party because it’s a sh**show on the pitch, which is hardly their fault,’ explains one irate insider.

‘You couldn’t make it up. The workers, who bleed claret and blue and graft every day for the love of the club, can’t have a party because a lot of overpaid idiots, who don’t give a monkey’s and get millions, have stunk the place out. It tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of the people at the top.’

Is there mitigation for all of this? West Ham did win a European trophy a few seasons ago and this is the club's longest spell in the Premier League. Those are indisputable facts. They also offer the cheapest adult’s and children’s tickets in the top flight, despite the move on concessions.

There is an acceptance within that poor decisions have been made on both managers and on players and that they have failed to spend money wisely – but that the money has been spent and that all of the above has been done with the best intentions.

More moves are anticipated within the current transfer window as they seek to pull off a mission impossible to avoid the unthinkable.

Recent performances have hinted at hope. Against Forest they were unfortunate and while QPR are from a tier below, there were signs of life in the extra-time FA Cup victory. There are 17 games and 51 points to play for and if – and it is a big if – they can instil a siege mentality then the London Stadium can become a fearsome place to visit.

Empty seats are dotted around the London Stadium. The British tax payer will have to foot more of the bill for the ground should West Ham go down

Speaking of which, there will be another group outside the Hammers fanbase desperately hoping they can achieve the seemingly impossible.

Under the terms of the ludicrously club-friendly 99-year lease deal signed off following the 2012 Olympics, relegation would see the rent that the Hammers have to pay lopped almost in half – despite the fact they would play a minimum of 23 home matches in the Championship rather than 19 in the top flight.

Who would pick up the additional £2m bill? The British taxpayer.

Another plot twist for that Netflix smash hit.