Safe

  • by Staff Writer
  • Sunday, 25th April 2010

West Ham United are assured of a place in next season's Premier League - barring an unprecedented collapse - after Burnley lost at home to Liverpool this afternoon.

Yesterday's results - West Ham beating Wigan 3-2 and Hull losing 1-0 at home to Sunderland - left Gianfranco Zola's side six points clear of the relegation zone and seven ahead of Burnley who, prior to this afternoon, had three games left to play.

Maximum points from those remaining fixtures would have given the Clarets 36 points, two more than West Ham at present. However second half goals from Gerrard (2), Rodriguez and Babel at Turf Moor ensured that Burnley could now no longer overhaul United and they become the second club to be relegated from the Premier League, following Portsmouth whose fate was comfirmed a last weekend.

At present West Ham have a goal difference of -18 to Hull's -41, meaning that West Ham may still become the third and final team to go down - but only if City win their remaining fixtures and West Ham lose both theirs whilst Hull manage to eradicate a goal difference inferior by some 23 goals.

The lowest amount of points a West Ham team has accrued since the inception of the Premier League was in 2006/07 when Alan Curbishley's side ended the season on 41 points, finishing 15th. Four years earlier Glenn Roeder's side (18th) were relegated on 42 points, two years after Harry Redknapp's final squad finished the 2000/01 season in 15th place with the same number of points.

The worst total points accrued over a full season in the club's history came in the 1931-32 season when the Hammers were relegated from the old Division One with just 31 points. Post-war the lowest total came in the 1977-78 relegation season when John Lyall's side ended the campaign with just 32 points - which was also the last time a West Ham side ended the season with less than 36 points (Gianfranco Zola's current squad have 34 at present).

The overall lowest total points in the club's history came during the Great War, when a West Ham XI played 22 games, winning 10 but still only totalling 24 points (1915/16).

* Something to say about this story? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.



More News