West Ham United may well have lost their Premier League status but they remain one of the biggest clubs in England, never mind London.
Indeed, for all the criticism of the London Stadium since West Ham United’s move there in 2016, supporters often fill it.
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Their average attendance even in a dreadful Premier League campaign was 62,347.
That fact isn’t lost on leading pundit Tony Cascarino.
Cascarino claims West Ham are among four biggest leading clubs
Speaking on talkSPORT about West Ham following their relegation, the former Chelsea and Millwall striker claimed West Ham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham were the biggest clubs in London.
He said: “They can attract 60,000 fans at the London Stadium. Tottenham get over 60k, Arsenal get over 60k. Chelsea, obviously the stadium size is just over 40,000.
“They’re the four biggest London clubs.”
He added: “West Ham have done nothing in comparison with what Chelsea have achieved, what Arsenal have achieved in recent years and even Spurs have made the Champions League final. They’ve had some difficult times but they’ve won a European competition.
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“I think West Ham fans will say they’ve won a European competition but they’ve [Spurs] challenged for the title as well.”
It really is difficult to disagree with that. Crystal Palace are enjoying the most remarkable period in their history but they do not match West Ham for sheer size.
The same can be said of Brentford, who have never won a major honour.
Quite what defines a big club is an often tiresome debate. Still, the fact that West Ham feature so highly in the collective thinking merely underlines just what a mess their recent relegation really is.
Proudly declaring they are still a big club is not a boast. It is more of a reflection on their malaise.
They do, however, have the power to put things right.
Nuno Espirito Santo, who enjoyed remarkable success with Wolves the last time he was coaching in the second tier, is staying put and there is hope that Jarrod Bowen will also remain here in east London.
West Ham can harness the power of being such a big club by making an immediate return to the Premier League. Whether they will or not is an entirely different debate.
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