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Don't kick Alan to the Curb at West Ham

The happy Hammers have been in indifferent form this year, but should Curbishley's head be on the block? Not a chance!

by Jon Knights on 24 March 2008

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West Ham have been an indifferent team in the Premier League. They've been involved in European competition and they've fought relegation. Managers, as well as heroes, have come and gone but West Ham battle on to keep the ever-important status of being a top-flight team.

'The former Charlton boss came straight in all guns blazing. The Hammers responded and, against a backgound concerto of their famous anthem I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles, they started to believe.'

Last season, the Hammers came within a mere footstep of doom as the club spiralled down the table and never looked to have the quality to stay up. With Alan Pardew in charge it all started so brightly, with the much-scrutinised "transfer" of Argentine superstars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano brining a real talent to the squad.

But somehow, it never quite worked and the pair seemed to end up doing more harm than good, upsetting the harmony at Upton Park. Tevez, although obviously committed to the cause, struggled to find the net, while Mascherano spent a long time warming the bench, managing only five first-team outings in the entire season.

Things didn't look good and West Ham started to appear on most punters' betting slips for the bottom three. They needed a miracle. Their stars weren't performing and, with all the money that had been invested, the team faced a crisis and a bleak future if their worst fears became a reality and they were one of the unlucky three come May.

Comments (3)

by Mark Phillips on March 24, 2008

Who is talking about sacking Curbishley? The fans were is almost unanimous agreement at the start of the season that middle-table finish would be a good result after last season's woes. And we are close to acheiving that and that also with half a squad on the treatment table for most of the season. Not only that, but Curbishley had a terrible run coming in as boss, after the impressive first win against ManU. Some of that was players not having their heads on properly, but some of it was Curbishley's lack of motivation. We've had the typical Curbishley post-xmas slump, which seems to be his trademark, and that is what is more worrying than anything. Can he break his own mould. Middle table is gonna make most of us fans happy as we watch the relegation struggle with rather more grateful detachment than last year. But what of the future? Mid-table is not going to be enough to satisfy most West Ham fans who think this club deserve to be top six. Enough said.

by john greenstreet on March 25, 2008

well said mark! You are quite right in that next season mid table will be unnacceptable but I think Curbs deserves at least one more full season and with a fit squad plus one or two good signings and with the brilliant academy players coming through I am confident he will achieve top 6 status along with either everton or spurs, maybe, and if he does not make it I think we all know that BG will draw his sword!

by stu on March 25, 2008

what utter cock - of course mid table next season would be acceptable, and the season after that, and so on... It's not so much where we finish that's important (as long as it is in the prem) but *how* we do it. We want to see the hammers annihilate the bottom teams at home, beat some of the top 4 (especially Chelsea and Arsenal), beat Spurs, and got on a good cup run. If we're watching good attacking football and are entertained, prem safety is fine. Top 5 or 6 finish would be nice, but that's icing on the cake. Keep it real.

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