Following their injury-time defeat at the hands of Aston Villa at the weekend, West Ham find themselves sat second from bottom of the Premier League and heavily ensconced in a relegation battle for the second year in a row. With five games left to play, the Hammers face trips to Chelsea and Manchester City whilst their final three games are against relegation rivals Blackburn, Wigan and Sunderland. With bottom-placed Wolves still to play their game in hand, West Ham’s Premiership status is far from secure.
But where did it all go wrong for the East London club? Admittedly there have been plenty of changes on and off the field but this is a club that reached the final of the FA Cup only five years ago. With consecutive top-half league finishes in 2008 and 2009 and wealthy foreign owners at the helm the future looked bright at Upton Park. But unlike at Chelsea and Manchester City the foreign investment was not without its problems.
Eggert Magnusson and Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson had plans to transform West Ham into a top-four club when they took over in late 2006. During the January transfer window they sanctioned the signings of Matthew Upson and Luis Boa Morte with further big spending on Craig Bellamy, Scott Parker, Kieron Dyer and Freddie Ljungberg the following summer. But, with the collapse of the Icelandic Banks in late 2008, the clubs ownership was thrown into doubt. Then-manager Alan Curbishley was effectively forced out of the club following the unsanctioned sales of Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney and pursued successful legal action for breach of contract. With the club needing defensive reinforcements and an experienced manager to help the squad gel, they instead appointed an untried and cheaper alternative in Gianfranco Zola.
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Even after transfer of ownership to Icelandic Bank Straumur in the form of CB Holdings, the club was still left with a costly legacy from Gudmundsson. The likes of Ljungberg, Boa Morte and Kieron Dyer were all signed to expensive contracts but rarely contributed on the pitch. Even now, Dyer remains a West Ham player, albeit on loan at Ipswich Town.
Whilst Zola did narrowly help the Hammers avoid the drop, he rarely proved himself ready for Premiership management and new owners David Sullivan and David Gold replaced him with Avram Grant in the summer of 2010. Admittedly it was always going to prove a difficult task as he was presented with a weak squad and little money to invest as the new owners looked to steady the ship.
Fans still stand divided on Grant’s management style and type of football. But, given money to spend in the most recent transfer window, Grant has invested wisely in the likes of Demba Ba, Wayne Bridge and Gary O’Neill. With Thomas Hitzlsperger returning from long-term injury and Scott Parker’s heroic performances earning him February’s Premiership Player of the Month, there have been definite improvements at Upton Park.
But after an unsteady and inconsistent couple of years in East London perhaps it is all too late. Admittedly Avram Grant has divided fans but who could have done a much better job? Some fans have called for the likes of ex-Newcastle manager Chris Hughton but, faced with limited resources and plenty of off-field distractions, could he have been more successful?
Where has it all gone wrong at West Ham this season and who is responsible?
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