Are West Ham United set for the Championship?

I have a friend who is a West Ham fan and he is tearing his hair out as we speak. As a football supporter he has been through lots of highs and lows with his club. And this season has to be seen as a big low for the Irons and their fans.

Fear

He now has a fear that the club could end up in the Championship with perilous finances they may be in for a long slog back up to the top flight. My hope for West Ham is that they don’t become a club like Leeds and end up in League One.

They are a traditional club and those are very rare in these days of money being the be all and end all of football. Unfortunately for West Ham money will have a big say in what happens in the future of their famous old football club.

New owners David Sullivan and David Gold will be hoping to sort out the finances of the club as quickly as possible, but it seems that it could take years to sort out the financial mess left by previous owners of the club. It’s vital that they stay in the Premier League.

Fight

The worrying thing for West Hams fans is the lack of fight shown by their team this season. Hull in their first few games under former-West Ham star Iain Dowie have started to show more fight and got their reward yesterday with a 2-0 victory over Fulham at the KC Stadium.

That result put the Tigers level on points with the Irons, only below them on goal difference. However the Humberside club also have a game in hand and if they win their game in hand West Ham are in the dreaded drop zone.

Quality

I have been saying all season that West Ham won’t go down but the last week has got me doubting myself. They have far more quality in their squad than their nearest rivals. The heart of the team is made up of English internationals.

In goal they have current England keeper Robert Green. In the heart of their defence is England defender Matthew Upson. In the engine room there is former-England international Scott Parker and then up front Carlton Cole.

Those four players would be a good foundation for any side. However West Ham have suffered key injuries to players at crucial times. Striker Carlton Cole is vital for West Ham and is the focal point of their attacking play. When he was out injured they looked almost clueless going forward.

Italian Alessandro Diamanti has produced flashes of what he is capable of but hasn’t been consistent enough for a side in desperate need of inspiration. With just six games to go they need all their top players to start producing or their fans may well need to get out their A-Z of Championships grounds for next season.

Management

Italian boss Gianfranco Zola admitted after the Stoke game that he was considering his future. Some Irons fans will probably be saying its a few too weeks too late. Their last two home appearances have produced poor results against teams they really should be beating if they are to stay in the Premier League.

They haven’t won those games and it seems that morale is at an all-season low. I couldn’t believe they lost both of those crucial games and it’s difficult to see where their next win will come from. Zola is struggling to motivate his players and bring out the best in them.

It seems that the new owners are willing to keep Zola in charge for the remainder of the campaign. That means he will need to find results from somewhere. I just don’t think he is capable of producing the managerial motivation that’s needed to keep West Ham up.

Tough

And they visit Everton’s Goodison Park next Sunday.  The Toffee’s have won the last seven consecutive league games at Goodison. West Ham also doesn’t have the best of records at Goodison Park in recent years.

They will head to Everton hoping for a point but even that may not be good enough to keep them out of the relegation zone. It’s going to be a difficult six games for the Irons and their fans. I hope for their fans sake that they find their form, but not until after the game at Goodison!