Hammer horrors, and Gianfranco Zola is set to pay the price
West Ham never win at Anfield, that much was evident in the faces of their players as they walked down the famous old tunnel last night.
Despite Liverpool’s problems, despite their lack of Fernando Torres, despite their collective minds being firmly on the logistical nightmare that awaits them as they set off for a European semi-final in Madrid by train today, and despite the subdued nature of a below capacity Anfield crowd, the Hammers simply didn’t believe that anything other than defeat was possible. Ninety minutes later, they were proved right.
It was a wretched performance from a team supposedly scrapping for their lives to avoid relegation.
The cliché that “games such as this one won’t determine whether or not West Ham will stay up” was a widely used one in the build-up to the match, but that is no excuse for a performance as inept as this one.
Did Gianfranco Zola and West Ham not see Wigan’s glorious humiliation of Arsenal just over 24 hours previously? Did they not want to try and capitalise on Liverpool’s anxiety, their injuries and the fact that their minds were in Madrid? Obviously not, and Zola could be set to pay the price.
It’s hard not to warm to the little Italian. A great player, and also it seems a very nice guy, his image improves further still when you compare his behaviour to that of his club’s new owners David Sullivan and David Gold, who have hardly been silent partners since coming on board in January.
Football fans surely want Zola to succeed, but he seems to be lacking that “X Factor” required to be a Premier League boss, and despite possessing a back story that certainly touches the hearts of the watching public, he could soon be voted off.
He’s lucky that there are still probably three worse teams than the Hammers in the Premier League this season. Portsmouth are gone, and Burnley and Hull are odds-on to follow them, and while West Ham have a huge game with Wigan to come on Saturday afternoon, their eyes will be nervously drawn towards Hull’s match with Aston Villa tomorrow night. A win for the hosts at the KC Stadium puts them level on points with the east Londoners with just three games to go.
Whether or not West Ham are a Premier League team next season or not, Zola seems certain not to be a Premier League manager.
His many admirers will hope that he walks, and doesn’t wait to be sacked by the interfering Sullivan and Gold, but a parting of the ways seems certain to benefit both parties.
A 3-0 loss at Anfield might not be the result that determines West Ham’s fate, but the lack of fight, passion and commitment on show throughout the defeat certainly will do.
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