West Ham United have officially been relegated from the Premier League after a 14-year stay.
On the final day of the Premier League season, West Ham United‘s fate was sealed. Despite a revival in form from mid-January onwards, they left themselves with far too much to do.
West Ham United beat Leeds at the London Stadium but it was not enough because former manager David Moyes could not do them a favour.
Relegation confirmed – where do West Ham go from here?
Moyes saw his Everton side lose to Tottenham, who duly stayed up by two points.
It marks a sorry chapter in the club’s history, just under three years after the club lifted the Conference League by beating Fiorentina in Prague.
Supporters here in east London and beyond will have seen this coming but that will do little to ease the pain.
Following their relegation, West Ham released an official statement.
West Ham vow to restore pride from supporters
Posted on the West Ham United official website, it read: “The confirmation of our relegation from the Premier League today marks a sad and painful moment for West Ham United.
The Club wishes to sincerely thank every single one of our supporters for the constant and loyal backing they have given, throughout what has been an extremely difficult and disappointing season.
Where was that all season? 🤦♂️ Tell us how you feel about West Ham’s 3-0 win vs Leeds…
West Ham have been relegated despite the victory 😢
“Ultimately, we have not repaid that support. The plain truth is that we have not been good enough. We must now face the consequences of that failure with honesty, transparency and a determination to repair, refocus and rebuild.
“West Ham United is a football club whose unique identity is defined not by success or failure on the pitch, but by the values and traditions of our roots in east London, and by the spirit of the people who have Claret and Blue in their hearts. The Club acknowledges how challenging this season has been for them and knows it must take steps to restore a sense of pride, faith and belief.
“As we have done before, we will fight with everything we have to return to the top division of English football at the first time of asking. The hard work to make that goal a reality begins immediately.”
Ten years on from the hugely unpopular decision to move to the London Stadium, the club find themselves playing in the second tier.
Indeed, relegation will have major financial implications for West Ham.
Player sales will be necessary and there will be a huge loss in revenue, while having a 62,000-seater in the second tier will clearly be a problem.
Fans have long protested against majority shareholder David Sullivan and will do so until there is a change of ownership.
None of this had to happen. It is little short of a scandal that a club of West Ham’s stature have been run so poorly that they will find themselves in the Championship for at least a season.
So many mistakes have been made along the way and, as ever, it’s the fans who have to pick up the pieces.
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