Published: 02:00, 24 October 2025 | Updated: 02:00, 24 October 2025

There was a time when people said West Ham United were too good to go down. 

Every now and then a new article does the rounds, maybe a chat with an ex-player or two, that attempts to ‘unravel the mystery’ of the Hammers’ relegation in 2003. How on earth did a side that included Paolo Di Canio and Jermain Defoe fail to beat the drop?

There will be no such pieces this time around. No one is saying that anymore. There is no mystery here. This club, in its current state, is too bad, too broken, not to suffer the same fate.

The fans know it. That’s why thousands stayed away from West Ham’s sorry defeat by Brentford in their continued protests against the club’s ownership. That’s why they will stage a ‘sit in’ in after the next home match against Newcastle before another march ahead of the Burnley game to demand the resignation of co-owner David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady.

Nuno Espirito Santo, the club’s fourth manager in 16 months,...