Paul Weller was a fibber. ‘The public gets, what the public wants’ he once wrote. Well the majority of the public wants to see Tottenham Hotspur relegated. It’s increasingly looking like it’ll be us dropping down a division.
Up until early January, as I’ve written before, we deserved it. A broken team, low on morale, belief and ideas. But somehow we managed to slowly produce a run of solid form. Axel Disasi inspiring on the pitch. Paco Jemez off it. Add in to the mix a capitulation in N17. What was seemingly impossible was looking good.But life as a West Ham fan is never easy. Just a week ago an injury time win against Everton, raised belief, spirits. But in the Midlands, somehow Spurs scraped a win at Molineux. Their first since December. This weekend, while we were stuttered in the face of woodwork and refereeing issues, Aston Villa handed our rivals a gift.
The easiest three points they’ll gain all season in the face of a gutless and toothless performance by Villa. A team needing the points to cement of a top four spot left everything off the park. Were I a conspiracy theorist, it would signal the only people who don’t want our foes to go down are the Premier League.
Who seemingly believe that Tottenham are a big club who didn’t inexplicably try to jump ship to a European Super League not so long ago.
So if we, as looks likely, do capitulate. What happens In the aftermath? Wholesale changes in squad set up. Realistically the big earners would depart. A reliance on the core of youngsters who been in and around the first team. No permanent signing of Axel. Likely no Jarrod Bowen.
Nuno, on an estimated £4.5million a year, will be a departure. Some will be pleased by it, citing a negative mindset, dubious substitutions. But he has in the post Lopetegui and Potter chaos, fashioned a best run of league form since the European qualification era. And every single boss we’ve had has bewildered with changes.
Off it there’s the obvious financial meltdown. Less attractive to sponsors and commercial partners. Matchday income down. TV money down drastically. The sad reality is that job losses will happen. Behind the multi million pound deals and salaries of those grabbing headlines, real people, earning real wages, with real problems will be the biggest victims of failure on the pitch.
The boardroom power struggle we are seeing develop will likely reach a conclusion. But that is a different article for a different day.
With a new team, new leadership, will come new game issues. Bouncing back to the top flight is not guaranteed, look at Leicester. Ten years ago Premier League champions. Next season League one. Reputation means nothing on the pitch.
However our standing, a new stadium for many clubs in the second tier, will see us be a ‘Cup Final’ fixture. A chance to bring big numbers to the London Stadium. Put one over on the big boys. Rub salt in the wounds. We saw it when we went down at the Boleyn Ground. In a bigger arena, fuelled by media focus and the rise of social media hype, we’ll be bigger targets.
Failure to get up quickly will exacerbate the problems. No longer with the Upton Park home advantage it will be tougher. The more the stint in lower league extends the worse the situation gets. All the issues laid out above get amplified and deepen.
We’re hoping a new dawn will come off the pitch, then on it. But in the Championship we will need not only a new dawn, but new focus, approach and unity. We’ll need to stick together, be patient, be rational and be honest with ourselves. A long hard, slog lies ahead. There’ll be the good sides. Away days, taking over towns and having fun on the road. The harsh reality is that it the future doesn’t look pretty.
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