West Ham's manager, players and board must all share blame for club's Premier League relegation predicament

West Ham's manager, players and board must all share blame for club's Premier League relegation predicament

It is at this stage of the season when a familiar but often bankrupt saying gets trotted out in assessing the relegation battle. ‘Too good to go down’. Ostensibly, if there is a club down in the relegation zone to fit this theory, it is surely West Ham.

Toughing it out: Football Writers' Association's Player of the Year Scott Parker will do all he can to keep the Upton Park outfit up Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Jeremy Wilson 8:53PM BST 06 May 2011

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On the pitch, West Ham have the Premier League’s Player of the Year and a squad containing six England internationals.

Off it, they have vastly experienced owners, a manager who came within inches of winning the Champions League and, at a fraction of the cost of building a new ground, have secured a move to the Olympic Stadium.

But, at just about every level of the club, West Ham’s season is threatening to become a story of being too bad to stay up. Telegraph Sport assesses the failures that have left the club in such a perilous position.

The manager

The jury was out on Avram Grant after he worked at Chelsea and then Portsmouth in such exceptional circumstances but, following a miserable season at West Ham, it is poised to reach an unfavourable verdict.

Assessing his impact at Chelsea was always difficult given the quality of the players at his disposal.

Grant is always quick to mention that he guided them to their only Champions League final but, against that, he is also the only Chelsea manager since 2004 to end a season without a trophy.

At Portsmouth, Grant can point to the FA Cup final but also relegation with a squad who, for all the club’s problems, contained considerable quality. West Ham has surely been the most authentic test of his managerial skills and the table does not lie.

Grant has now spent 66 of the football seasons’ last 70 weeks in the relegation zone. Few expect him to survive beyond the end of the season.

Indeed, given that co-owner David Sullivan firmly believes that any manager must have a “fear factor”, the appointment of Grant is difficult to understand. This, after all, was the man known as ‘Uncle Avram’ at Portsmouth.

Yet while Grant might not be the most fearsome personality, he is certainly dignified and dogged. He was again upbeat on Friday and dismissive of pundits who have criticised him.

During a team-bonding meal this week, he said that the criticisms of one former West Ham player — thought to be Julian Dicks — had been used as a motivational tool.

“We spoke about what people say and do not say; if they need to speak or not,” said Grant. “I told them the story about the fish – ‘why is it on the table? Because it opened its mouth’. Sometimes ex-players forget what they are doing.

“Our target this season was to stay in the league, then build a better future for the club, and I still think we can still reach the target.”

The players

With a squad containing Scott Parker, Matthew Upson, Robert Green, Carlton Cole, Kieron Dyer and latterly Wayne Bridge, the international experience is considerable.

Add in the quality of Robbie Keane and Thomas Hitzlsperger, as well as solid Premier League performers like Gary O’Neil, Luis Boa Morte and Mark Noble, and it is possible to argue that West Ham have the makings of a squad that should challenge for Europe rather than be consumed by the threat of relegation.

Injuries have clearly debilitated the team this season but, equally, there have been notable failures. Questions can justifiably be asked about the recruitment of Pablo Barrera, Winston Reid and Lars Jacobsen last summer and certainly Benni McCarthy in January 2010.

Too many ageing or injury-prone players have not justified their wages and the flabby excess that was accumulated under the previous Icelandic owners has not been completely worked off.

“When the [January] window closed, you are thinking ‘I’ve done enough — this is a good squad of players’,” said co-cowner David Gold. “It’s only in hindsight that you look back and realise in actual fact you hadn’t.”

Major changes can be expected this summer regardless of whether West Ham survive, with Gold admitting that it is not fair or realistic to expect England internationals to stay if they are relegated.

Parker, who remains a major doubt for Saturday's must-win match against Blackburn, and Green are expected to leave, while Upson, Dyer, Danny Gabbidon and Jonathan Spector are out of contract. There is an option to buy Robbie Keane if West Ham stay up, while the loans of Bridge and Victor Obinna will expire.

If they are relegated, the club plan to merge their best young players — the likes of Noble, Jack Collison and Freddie Sears - with proven goalscorers at Championship level, such as Watford’s Danny Graham or Cardiff City’s Jay Bothroyd.

The board

From their treatment of Gianfranco Zola when he was manager to their collective absence at Sunday’s crucial away game at Manchester City, the key boardroom figures at West Ham have sparked controversy since taking charge of the club last year.

The size of the task they inherited should be acknowledged.

After the collapse of the Icelandic economy and some of the lavish spending under previous owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, West Ham were left with debts and liabilities of £110 million. That inherited financial backdrop has hung over just about every decision that the two major shareholders, Sullivan and Gold, have made.

Yet, increasingly, both the decision to appoint Grant and then stick with him after a dreadful start to the season looks like the key mistake.

Some of their public pronouncements over the past season have also been questionable. There was an official "save our season" game as early as November, while the recent admission that West Ham are likely to get relegated and that no show at Manchester City hardly conveyed a message of confidence in the team.

In fairness, Sullivan and Gold have also been candid about their own mistakes. Grant said on Friday that they were under more pressure than him.

“We have failed to deliver and the bottom line in football is that it’s a delivery business,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan and Gold, who personally visited the training ground on Thursday, are clearly at West Ham for the long haul. The expectation is that they will increase their joint stake from 62 to 82 per cent this summer. They also have a three-year option on buying the remaining shares in the club.

The one obvious boardroom success has been the way vice-chairman Karren Brady skilfully spearheaded the Olympic Stadium bid.

Legal challenges permitting, it was a victory that, in the long-term, could be more significant than anything that happens this season on the pitch.
Telegraph.feedsportal.com