Filed under: West Ham, Championship, Premier League, Football
You'd have thought it would have been more of a wake than a party - the kind where the beer is warm and the chips are cold - but West Ham's end of season bash on Monday night ended up a little tasty, as they say in the East End.The Hammers had little to celebrate following a season spent largely at the bottom of the league. But they held a party nonetheless.
As if the board's misguided public statements, former manager Avram Grant's inability to pick a team - or motivate it - and Danny Gabbidon's presence weren't reasons enough for West Ham to slink off quietly to the Championship, West Ham thought it a good idea to hold a £275-a-head event for players and supporters.
Yes, supporters. Those people in the stands that spent the season either booing or shaking their heads while exclaiming "what the...?" It's not as if they'd have anything bad to say to the players, is it?
Funnily enough, it looks as though a player did come in for some mild criticism - not to mention alleged racist abuse - and police ended up being called.
The party was held at London's Grosvenor House hotel on Park Lane - needless to say, a swanky venue - and things got a little heated when a player refused to sign an autograph.
The name of the player was initially not known, but later revealed to be Demba Ba, who was singled out for abuse by a "drunken fan" according to co-owner David Sullivan.
Sullivan said: "It was one individual who had too much to drink, sadly a problem in British society. A player was racially abused by the same drunken supporter, which is not acceptable. Sadly one drunken supporter let the club down."
The Metropolitan Police released a statement to say nobody was arrested as they said: "We were called at 2115 BST to reports of a disturbance at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane. Officers attended. There were no offences alleged and no arrests."
Some may say that the media are making something out of nothing - that although the situation got heated, the fact that nobody was arrested signifies that it wasn't that serious.
Maybe so, but is yet another example of the Hammers' poor judgement by holding the party in the first place. How many companies have a Christmas party at a five-star hotel after a dire year in which the boss lost his job for underperforming?
West Ham would do well to keep their owners, players and board members quiet until the start of next season. Because for the entire campaign, everything they have said or done seems to have ended in tears.
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