WEST HAM have been relegated from the Premier League, while rivals Spurs survived to fight another day.

The inevitable came on the final game of the season, when both teams won, which meant rivals Tottenham retained their two-point advantage.

Things would have been different if West Ham had managed to take points from the preceding three games or indeed others during the season.

It was all too little too late for the Hammers, but the problems started long ago. 

The club began the season with Graham Potter as head coach. He lasted only five games before Nuno Espirito Santo came in. Many thought he would turn things around, but it all took too long.

The club spluttered along until Christmas. A crucial time over the festive period and the New Year saw West Ham take just one point from a possible 12 over four games. They should have been looking for at least 10 points against Fulham, Brighton, Wolves and Nottingham Forest (three at home). 

Things finally came together with a last-minute win against Spurs in February. It then looked like West Ham might escape.

The problems, though, go back at least two seasons to summer 2024, when David Moyes left the club. Moyes had done a fantastic job over five years, twice saving the club from relegation, then securing qualification for European football. In 2023, West Ham won the Europa Conference League. Yet one year later Moyes was out of the door. The team finished ninth and got to the quarter-final of the Europa League in that final season. 

West Ham then entered a period of disastrous recruitment, starting with manager, Julen Lopetegui (note to the owners should have been that not all Spanish managers are Pep Guardiola). Things did not go well. Players were bought late at inflated prices. 

West Ham dispensed with Lopetegui halfway through the season. Enter Graham Potter, a respected manager. Things went no better, with the club narrowly escaping relegation. Recruitment was better last summer, with Mateus Fernandes, Callum Wilson, Kyle Walker-Peters, El Hadji Malick Diouf and Mads Hermansen all being successful in different ways.

But results dipped and Nuno arrived.

Ironically, the call to get rid of Moyes was because allegedly fans did not like the style of football. Yet, there was no discernible difference in style with Lopetegui. Potter’s team played some of the most boring, negative football ever seen at West Ham. And Nuno’s style is very much like Moyes, direct, long balls and constantly looking to the flanks.

The club has been badly run, underachieving on a regular basis. How can much smaller clubs like Brentford, Bournemouth and Brighton do so much better? Mainly because they all have excellent recruitment and do not see constant upheaval as a way to run a football club.

Now, West Ham face life in the Championship, with that huge Olympic stadium to fill.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is not happy, there are four more home games in the Championship for which the London taxpayer will pick up the policing and other bills.

West Ham need a reality check. It is a club living on past glories. Every game sees the adulation of former greats like Bobby Moore, Trevor Brooking and Billy Bonds — they were great servants to the club but that was all a long time ago.

The club needs to move forward, rebuild, recruit properly, and start creating new history. Many fans appear to want new ownership. While the current owners helped save the club 16 years ago, they have arguably lost their way in recent years. Change from top to bottom should be the order of the day, starting now.