IRONS IN THE MIRE
Gabbidon: Blind, blundering owners driving club to drop – just like in 2011
DANNY GABBIDON has warned West Ham they face a disastrous repeat of history if they don’t change their flawed “half-measures” strategy – and quick.
The former Hammers defender – now a TV pundit – holds deep fears for the relegation-threatened club because of how it is still being run by co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan.
Gabbidon was part of the West Ham squad that were relegated from the Premier League in 2011, under that ownership, and sees alarming similarities between then and now.
The former Wales star warned that David Moyes and his team have got to start scrapping for every point in even the most unlikely places – such as today’s visit to the Etihad.
“I do fear for West Ham now, if I’m honest,” said Gabbidon. “I think most of us were reasonably optimistic at the start of the season, given the players they had brought in.
“But those players didn’t really perform. There is a toxic atmosphere down there at the moment.
“The players are not doing enough to relieve that with their own performances and they’re in a difficult moment.
“When you are in the relegation zone, the quicker you can get out of it the better.
“You can’t target games and say, ‘These are the ones we need to win’.
“You have to try and win every game, no matter how unrealistic that might look – but the next four fixtures look extremely difficult, when every game is a pressure game.”
Moyes’s appointment after the sacking of Manuel Pellegrini in December brought a thumping victory over Bournemouth, but the ‘new manager bounce’ hardly got off