West Ham had “no culture” before David Gold and David Sullivan bought the club, according to Karren Brady.
Gold and Sullivan purchased the club in January 2010, by which point the Hammers were battling relegation from the Premier League.
They finished 17th under Gianfranco Zola that campaign, but were relegated to the Championship the following season under the tutelage of Avram Grant, who was appointed in summer 2010.
Sam Allardyce guided the club to promotion in his first season in 2012, and the club have been in the Premier League since.
Brady, who joined as vice-chairman when Gold and Sullivan purchased the club six years ago, has discussed the early struggles in establishing the Hammers as a force.
“There were two interesting things about it,” she told the Leaders Sports Business Summit. “One, it had £100m worth of debt.
“Two, it had no what I would call culture. At football clubs we don’t make anything, we don’t manufacture anything, we don’t really produce anything other than more players.
“So getting the culture right, being a place where something is expected of you, having discipline, planning and process and strategy. That wasn’t there.
“If you’re always driven by money, you lose your traditional values and what you’re there for,” she added. “The stadium and the league are not what makes a club. It’s the people who support it. Protecting their traditions and their values and their integrity in their own brand is very important.
“We have this great stadium and much better prospects and facilities than in our old stadium but we charge a lower price. We offer a more dynamic product at an inferior price. It’s been so well received and it comes back to our values and our culture.”
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