‘Predatory football coaches are despicable human garbage who snake their way in and abuse people’s trust’: Karren Brady’s diary
West Ham vice-chairman runs the rule over the headlines of the week in her SunSport diary
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THE vice-chairman of West Ham and star of The Apprentice has been deeply involved in another headline-grabbing Premier League week.
Harry Kane downed her Hammers last Saturday and could finally guide Spurs to a Premier League while Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson received some flak for visiting a strip club after England's win over Scotland, which the businesswoman believes is harsh.
Here Lady Brady opens up her diary to reveal her thoughts through another seven days in the English top flight...
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and gossip ahead of the January window with SunSport's daily LIVE blog.
Sat 19 Nov
LIKE any 20-goal-a-season striker, as soon as Harry Kane has a glimmer of a chance the opposition’s whole game plan can be undone.
It happens with Diego Costa, Sergio Aguero and Jermain Defoe and it won the Premier League with Jamie Vardy last season.
Kane was anonymous in West Ham’s match with Spurs and then, in two minutes before the end, transformed defeat into victory.
Boss Mauricio Pochettino is close to being accurate in his assessment that he is “one of the world’s best strikers”.
He could yet do a Vardy and win the title for his team.
Sun 20 Nov
THE hijacking of Jordan Ibe’s car and theft of his £25,000 watch is worryingly similar to the gunpoint threat to our striker Andy Carroll in his car.
Is this coincidence or a worrying trend of footballers becoming the victims of highway robbery?
If young men in ultra-posh cars are being targeted, then footballers are bound to be in the line of fire.
Indeed, such crimes could be aimed specifically at high- earning players.
Perhaps Palace’s Connor Wickham and Joe Ledley have the right idea driving Minis.
Mon 21 Nov
IF Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana visit a strip club on their England night off, so what?
I wouldn’t recommend travelling over 100 miles to watch anyone take their clothes off, but they didn’t do anything sillier than that.
Even Wayne Rooney’s late night at a wedding was unwise, rather than a serious breach of trust.
Now it seems the FA are going to use all the wisdom that has failed to come up with a top-class manager since Terry Venables to issue guidance on player behaviour to Gareth Southgate.
That’s if they ever tell him he’s got the job.
Tue 22 Nov
I WAS so moved listening as Paul Stewart spoke of the heartache of showing his family the newspaper story detailing sexual abuse he suffered as a child.
It was incredibly brave and I sincerely hope others who may have suffered in the same way find the strength to speak out.
It’s naive to think abuse has never happened in our game, because this despicable human garbage snake their way in and abuse people’s trust.
I sincerely hope they are found, punished and then rot in hell.
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Wed 23 Nov
A YELLOW card for the statue of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, shortly to be unveiled in Stockholm — he’s taken off his football shirt.
Whatever else the Manchester United striker is short of, it certainly isn’t his own self-importance.
Grasping a model of the sculpture, he said that, like Napoleon, he’s conquered every country he’s played in.
Well, he hasn’t done it for United in England yet. Indeed, recently he’s been about as lively as that statue.
Despite his United contract looking set to roll into a second year, the Swede, 35, hinted he will be marching on to the MLS in America soon.
While he’s there, he’ll be able to compare egos with president-elect Donald Trump.
Thu 24 Nov
FIFA continue to hound the poppy wearers of our islands.
Still itching to punish the FAs of England and Scotland for ignoring a ruling that their teams should not wear the poppy, they have now turned on Wales and Northern Ireland.
Their offence? Encouraging spectators to display the flower.
Why, they even spotted a soldier with a bouquet.
Now you may ask whether this is the Fifa infamous for corruption, greed and chaos, who stand by as the death toll of workers building stadiums for the Qatar World Cup soars.
It is. The hypocrites.
Fri 25 Nov
THERE isn’t a chairman in the country who likes to sack a manager.
After all, to do so suggests he was wrong to appoint him in the first case.
On the other hand it requires faith to stand by your man when the fans are baying outside your door.
So we come to Alan Pardew at Crystal Palace and Bob Bradley at Swansea, whose ailing sides meet this weekend.
Saturday’s result could see the ultimate penalty for either. The question for the chairmen is if a sacking will work?
That is the easy part — it’s the replacing with better that’s the hard bit.