<\/p>\n
If Tottenham had not been in the relegation fight, a much brighter spotlight would have shone on West Ham\u2019s demise this Premier League season.<\/p>\n
A 3-0 final day victory at home to Leeds United was not enough to save The Hammers.<\/p>\n
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Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Tottenham\u2019s 1-0 victory against former West Ham manager David Moyes\u2019 Everton a little more than 10 kilometres away sealed their return to the Championship for the first time since 2012.<\/p>\n Spurs finished two points above their London rivals.<\/p>\n While Joao Palhinha\u2019s 43rd minute strike sent a wave of relief swept across north London, outrage descended on the eastern part of the city.<\/p>\n Instead of celebrating Valentin Castellanos, Jarrod Bowen and Callum Wilson\u2019s second half goals, West Ham fans grieved the downfall of their club.<\/p>\n Many opted to voice their anger.<\/p>\n \u201cSold our soul for this s***hole,\u201d thousands sang towards the directors\u2019 box inside the London Stadium.<\/p>\n Other shed tears and mourned where their bubble had burst.<\/p>\n There is no mystery surrounding West Ham\u2019s downfall.<\/p>\n The supporters were sold a dream, but given a nightmare.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a deeply fractured club, with an angry, disillusioned fanbase, a vacuous, corporate bowl for a stadium and a flawed, underperforming team heading for the Championship,\u201d The Athletic\u2019s<\/a> Tim Spiers wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cWest Ham are completely broken.\u201d<\/p>\n A decade ago West Ham left their home of more than a century in Upton Park for the Olympic stadium in nearby Stratford.<\/p>\n They were promised it was the move that would make them a big club.<\/p>\n Arsenal had departed Highbury for the Emirates ten years earlier.<\/p>\n Tottenham already had their plans in place to demolish White Hart Lane and build their new stadium, which was unveiled in 2019.<\/p>\n West Ham believed they had to follow suit – leave the past behind and step into a new era.<\/p>\n With London hosting the Olympics in 2012, the stadium was there for the taking too.<\/p>\n Unlike Arsenal and Tottenham, they did not have to build the new state-of-the-art stadium themselves.<\/p>\n West Ham instead have paid \u00a390,000 a week to rent the stadium, which also hosts one of World Athletics\u2019 Diamond League events annually, Major League Baseball matches as well motorsport, rugby and concerts.<\/p>\n The fact it is a multi-purpose venue has always irked fans, however.<\/p>\n When the Boleyn Ground had a close, intimate feel, the London Stadium\u2019s oval shape often left fans feeling like they are miles away from the action.<\/p>\n As a result, the noise generated in the stands did not reverberate on the ground with the same impact as at a smaller, rectangular stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really didn\u2019t have to be this way. West Ham have advantages that the majority of clubs across English football could only dream of,\u201d Spiers added.<\/p>\n \u201cLast season they generated \u00a3238 million in revenues, the ninth highest in the Premier League (and 20th across Europe).<\/p>\n \u201cThey can afford to pay wages worth a combined \u00a3172m to their players, the ninth highest in the Premier League (and 17th across Europe).<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past five years they have spent \u00a3654m on players, with a net spend of \u00a3317m in the past five years being, yep, you guessed it, the ninth highest in the Premier League.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they have the second highest attendances in the country with an average this season of 62,341 which is more than Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Spurs and the rest of the land, bar Manchester United.<\/p>\n \u201cOh and they didn\u2019t even have to spend hundreds of millions or even north of a billion to build their stadium, something which arguably held fellow London clubs Arsenal and Spurs back years. Instead West Ham rent their stadium, which was constructed for the 2012 London Olympics, in return for a few million a year (sometimes for next-to-nothing).\u201d<\/p>\n The only positive to come from relegation is that their rent halves in the Championship.<\/p>\n That clause of the deal led Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to urge Londoners to get behind the Hammers in the relegation fight, because second tier football means the taxpayer is out of pocket \u00a32.5 million a year.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019d say to Londoners who don\u2019t support Spurs is you should probably be cheering on West Ham,\u201d Khan said earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cThe previous Mayor, Boris Johnson, did the worst deal that can be imaginable.<\/p>\n \u201cAs far as West Ham are concerned, as a deal of the century where he basically gave them rent free, this amazing stadium for 100 years.<\/p>\n \u201cNow if West Ham are relegated, we, the taxpayers, we City Hall, could lose up to 2.5m a year.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what I say to Londoners who don\u2019t support Spurs is you should probably be cheering on West Ham, because the taxpayer will lose out if West Ham go down.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact that deal was done showed that West Ham were never meant to be in this position.<\/p>\n Some have argued that they are unlucky to be where they are.<\/p>\n In a 38-game season, only three teams have been relegated with a greater points tally.<\/p>\n Sunderland (1996\/97) and Bolton (1997\/78) were sent down with 40 points, while West Ham holds the unwanted record of being relegated with a total of 42 points in 2002\/03.<\/p>\n It is a cop out that many fans and pundits alike do not buy into.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t be unlucky after 38 games,\u201d Premier League all-time leading goal scorer Alan Shearer told BBC\u2019s Match of the Day.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact of the matter is you deserve to go down. They\u2019ve been really poor for long periods.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd eventually what happens at the top of the football club, I\u2019ve always said, it filters down onto the pitch.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s what\u2019s happened at West Ham. Not good enough defensively. Haven\u2019t scored enough goals. And ultimately, their recruitment over the years, I think has been really, really poor.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, no, they\u2019re not unlucky.\u201d<\/p>\n This season it was blatantly obvious where things went wrong.<\/p>\n Previous manager Graham Potter was sacked just five games into the season, having lost four of them.<\/p>\n Potter, who will be in charge of Sweden at the World Cup, had been under pressure for some time and arguably should have been moved on during the summer.<\/p>\n His winless run at home stretched to eight games by the time he was dismissed and he finished with only six wins from 23 Premier League matches in charge.<\/p>\n Discarded Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo came in, but the Portuguese manager failed to have an immediate impact.<\/p>\n They had accumulated just seven points – two wins and a draw – after ten games.<\/p>\n By the turn of the New Year, the Hammers had won three games and would need a drastic turnaround in form to avoid the drop.<\/p>\n The festive period was anything but, as Callum Wilson\u2019s 93rd minute winner at Tottenham on January 17 gave the Hammers their first win ten league games.<\/p>\n That 2-1 victory was a rare outing of Nuno\u2019s side making the most of taking an early lead – even if they did concede an equaliser.<\/p>\n In Nuno\u2019s first 16 games in charge, they dropped points from winning positions on five occasions. <\/p>\n The slip ups meant they yielded just 11 points from that run despite having the potential to nab as many as 22.<\/p>\n But the problems began a long time before Nuno was at the helm.<\/p>\n \u201cNuno talked about how West Ham\u2019s fate was not in their hands. But then he and his team and this club have sleepwalked to their apparent destiny in a monument to bad decisions, wastefulness and complacency,\u201d The Telegraph\u2019s<\/a> Jason Burt wrote from the London Stadium. <\/p>\n \u201cTheir fans deserved so much more.\u201d<\/p>\n As has been the case with clubs like Leicester City, who fell from being the most unlikely of Premier League champions a decade ago to suffering back-to-back relegations and being confined to League One next season, the poor results on the pitch have reflected poor decisions off it.<\/p>\n Since West Ham won the UEFA Conference League three years ago, they have seemingly botched almost every key decision they have made.<\/p>\n Declan Rice was sold to Arsenal for a club record fee of \u00a3105 million.<\/p>\n The money was not spent wisely and footage emerging online of Rice\u2019s disappointed reaction upon finding out West Ham had been relegated after leaving the pitch following Arsenal\u2019s champions celebrations was a real kick in the guts to West Ham fans.<\/p>\n \u201cIn recent years hundreds of millions have been wasted on players who have made little-to-no impact on the team, with the likes of Gianluca Scamacca (\u00a333m), Nayef Aguerd (\u00a330m), Maxwell Cornet (\u00a317m), Edson Alvarez (\u00a333m), James Ward-Prowse (\u00a329m), Maximilian Kilman (\u00a340m) and Jean-Clair Todibo (\u00a334m) all classed as failures,\u201d The Athletic\u2019s<\/a> Tim Spiers pointed out.<\/p>\n Now, those failures are set to lead to a purge of talent during the summer transfer window.<\/p>\n The club\u2019s financial situation almost leaves them with no other choice.<\/p>\n \u201cWest Ham posted losses of \u00a3104m for 2024-25, the worst in the club\u2019s history \u2013 a huge \u00a3161m (A$300m) deterioration in the bottom line, largely through poor player trading and a drop in revenue,\u201d The Telegraph\u2019s Jason Burt wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThose accounts detail a \u201cliquidity shortfall\u201d this summer (thought to be around \u00a3150m) for which \u201cmitigating actions will be required\u201d to pay the bills. West Ham are in danger of running out of cash and need to sell players unless the owners invest more. And now they are down.\u201d<\/p>\n Manchester United great Gary Neville believes whatever happens, club captain Jarrod Bowen must be an untouchable.<\/p>\n The 29-year-old missed out on the England World Cup squad, but scored nine goals and provided 11 assists in an impressive campaign for a relegated side.<\/p>\n In fact, it is the second most assists ever recorded by a player whose team suffered the drop.<\/p>\n Bowen was gutted after the final whistle against Leeds and did not provide an update on his future.<\/p>\n \u201cIt hurts, a horrible place to be in football. Relegation for a club like this, it hurts. We did enough today but throughout the season we haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can pinpoint many things but when you go out on the pitch, it\u2019s about players turning up week in and week out. Last season, we managed to wriggle out of it but we haven\u2019t this time; we have been there all season. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not something that has just happened. The last couple of seasons, we have been below the standards. We haven\u2019t done enough consistently to pick up the points.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have not been good enough and we have paid the biggest price. We thought maybe it was a one off-season, in the European season we finished 14th but no one remembers as we won a trophy. <\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t do enough on the pitch to grind out results. We have been leading games and dropped points, in this league, you have to fight and earn every point.\u201d<\/p>\n No West Ham supporters wants to lose Bowen.<\/p>\n But just as they experienced with Rice, they understand that the financial gain from selling a player, who scored the 90th minute winner in Prague against Fiorentina to give the club it\u2019s first European trophy in 58 years and its first major trophy since 1980, is too great.<\/p>\n They are less sure about keeping Nuno with his at times too negative tactics questioned, but Neville believes the manager and captain can be the cornerstone of a bounce back season in the Championship.<\/p>\n \u201cThe manager and Bowen are the two most important figures. I think they need to lock that in quite quickly,\u201d Neville said on his podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be amazed if West Ham\u2019s ownership haven\u2019t put a huge incentive forward to Nuno to stay. <\/p>\n \u201cIf they were smart, they would announce that in the next 48 hours. By the end of the week, you want to try and lock Jarrod Bowen in with a big contract to stay, which will be difficult because they are going to lose a lot of revenue this year. <\/p>\n \u201cThat then stabilises the dressing room potentially and stabilises the fanbase somewhat from where they will be tonight which is absolutely desperately disappointed.<\/p>\n \u201cThose two are really important. Lock those in. You\u2019ve also got Summerville, Soucek, Fernandes. I like the two centre-forwards, they\u2019re a handful. <\/p>\n \u201cThere are players there who will be sought after by other Premier League clubs. If you\u2019re West Ham, you\u2019re big enough club. You\u2019ve had enough years of Premier League revenue. You\u2019ve had European success. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about stabilising beyond this. They have probably planned for this for a number of weeks. You\u2019d have to, not just financially but also because of resources and personnel. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important they get some good PR messages out there quite quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n It will take a lot to remove the bad taste sitting in West Hams fan mouths right now.<\/p>\n They are lamenting the season gone.<\/p>\n They are lamenting the stadium move.<\/p>\n They are lamenting the decision to get rid of David Moyes a year after his delivered a European trophy – even if several groups of supporters wanted him out.<\/p>\n \u201cManagerial changes have been odd, from ditching the man who led them to that European triumph, David Moyes, to hiring Julen Lopetegui as his replacement (a man with a very different football philosophy) and pitting him alongside a director of football in Tim Steidten whose tenure went so badly he was once banned from the training ground,\u201d The Athletic\u2019s Tim Spiers wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cSteidten left in January last year but still hasn\u2019t been replaced, with co-owner David Sullivan effectively the de facto director of football in overseeing player negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n Moyes showed his class by sharing his disappointment for his former club in his press conference after Everton\u2019s defeat at Tottenham.<\/p>\n \u201cDisappointed for them. Because I think it\u2019s dead easy to talk about teams getting relegated. But you forget about what it actually feels like. And what it is for the people behind the scenes. <\/p>\n \u201cBut I think what you probably need to do, take a dose of medicine and get back. <\/p>\n \u201cWest Ham will be back in the Premier League. Get them back as quickly as they can. <\/p>\n \u201cGet them ready for when they come back and prepare them again. So, that\u2019s all. The only positive I can think now is that you need to just take your medicine and get on with it.\u201d<\/p>\n The club has tried to take responsibility publicly.<\/p>\n Shortly after the final whistle for the season, they released a statement acknowledging the \u201csad and painful moment\u201d for the club.<\/p>\n \u201cThe club wishes to sincerely thank every single one of our supporters for the constant and loyal backing they have given, throughout what has been an extremely difficult and disappointing season,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, we have not repaid that support. The plain truth is that we have not been good enough. We must now face the consequences of that failure with honesty, transparency and a determination to repair, refocus and rebuild.<\/p>\n \u201cWest Ham United is a football club whose unique identity is defined not by success or failure on the pitch, but by the values and traditions of our roots in east London, and by the spirit of the people who have Claret and Blue in their hearts. The Club acknowledges how challenging this season has been for them and knows it must take steps to restore a sense of pride, faith and belief.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we have done before, we will fight with everything we have to return to the top division of English football at the first time of asking. The hard work to make that goal a reality begins immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n Those words are a case of too little, too late, however.<\/p>\n Many West Ham fans will not be satisfied until the club is back in the top flight under a new administration.<\/p>\n They lay blame for this capitulation firmly in the hands of British businessmen David Sullivan and David Gold as well as baroness Karren Brady.<\/p>\n Sullivan owns a majority stake in the club and takes care of commercial and operational decisions.<\/p>\n Gold, who passed away in 2023 aged 86, was Sullivan\u2019s co-chair and now his family trust owns 25.1 per cent of the club.<\/p>\n While Brady stepped down last month after 16 years as vice-chair.<\/p>\n They were the trio that oversaw the London Stadium move.<\/p>\n It is what has defined their legacy with the club and many fans have never, and will never, forgiven them.<\/p>\n