No club is too good to go down, as the saying goes.
However, a quick glance down the squad li
st at West Ham United and it is hard to fathom that they will be playing second-tier football next season.
A side that has spent millions of pounds not only on transfer fees but also on its wage bill (reputedly the sixth highest in the division) and one that includes as many as four England internationals currently finds itself in an unenviable position: staring down the barrel of relegation.
However, you cannot say that they do not deserve to be where they are. The table never lies and a measly 7 wins from 36 (going into the game at Wigan) shows how poor Avram Grant’s side have been this season. Their top scorer is Frederic Piquionne with a miserly 6 league goals, whilst the award of Footballer of the Year to Scott Parker only strengthens the argument that they are overly reliant on the England man, who incidentally has been present during every Hammers win this season.
After next weekend’s game at home to Sunderland, West Ham will bow out of the top flight and Parker will almost certainly depart the club, but he will not be one of a few. Make no mistake, the Hammers will have to slash their wage bill considerably and the likes of Robert Green, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Matthew Upson are unlikely to want to stick around for a Championship slug, whilst panic loan signings such as Wayne Bridge and Robbie Keane will soon scoot it back to their parent clubs after the demotion is confirmed.
Instead of spending lavish money on big-money signings, the club must try to retain its youth contingent; the likes of Sears, Collison and Stanislas will probably form the main hub of the team next season, and whoever is in charge, whether it is Grant or someone else, they must try and follow the example of Newcastle, another club deemed “too good” to go down a couple of years ago.
The Magpies, who were saddled with a similarly heavy wage bill, managed to bounce straight back in emphatic style, running away with the title. Whether the Hammers are capable of that, it is unclear. The boardroom’s apparent inability to stay out of team affairs could burden whoever is in charge next season. 
What is clear is that the club certainly has the level of support to get straight back, and with the Olympic Stadium set to be theirs in two seasons’ time, it is now just a case of getting matters on the pitch sorted.
An immediate return to the Premier League is not impossible, but given the summer of upheaval that is likely to come their way, it is hard for those of a claret and blue persuasion to be so positive about next season.
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