The West Ham United faithful would have hoped that they would never again hear the phrase ‘too good to go down’.
Yet, following their third relegation of the Premier League era – all coming since 2003 – Tony Pulis feels that an eventual 18th place finish was just desserts for a side who have let the standards slip alarmingly since winning a European trophy only three years ago.
West Ham United’s tally of 39 points would have been enough to save them in each of the last 14 seasons. Since the league was cut from 22 to 20 teams, only three sides have ever gone down with more.
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West Ham would have finished above Sunderland – Europa League Sunderland – if the table were dictated by XG. And as the club pointed out while confirming this Wednesday that Nuno Espirito Santo will stay on – only six teams picked up more points in the final 17 matchdays.
Yet, former Stoke City, West Brom and Crystal Palace coach Pulis is not buying into the idea that bad luck played a part in their demotion.
Tony Pulis says West Ham United deserved relegation
“No, not at all,” Pulis says opposite Mick McCarthy on The Managers’ podcast. “I think over a season, when you play 38 games, you end up where you should end up.”
West Ham racked up the seventh-most points in the league between matchdays 21 and 38. However, they also accumulated a mere 11 from their first 16 matches under Nuno; creating a deficit from which the Hammers couldn’t quite recover.
Former Upton Park frontman Ian Wright blamed the ‘pitiful’ 3-1 defeat at Newcastle on matchday 37 for sealing their fate. A result which left Tottenham needing only a point at home to Everton to guarantee survival.
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“They’ll be looking back at certain games where they’ve thrown points away,” adds Pulis. “The Newcastle game, even as late in the season as the Newcastle game, that was a real poor performance when they were looking to stay up.
“When you look at the squad and you look at the players, you think at the beginning of the season, ‘We’re too good to go down’. You’re never too good to go down.
“If you’re not giving everything and you’re not playing to your maximum, and the team doesn’t function as a team, then in this league – especially this league – you get found out. And unfortunately, the three teams that have got relegated [West Ham, Burnley and Wolves] have been found out.”
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