Ten years ago West Ham United pulled off one of the greatest of Great Escapes, but are they now on the cusp of the Great Demise?
Carlos Tevez was West Ham’s hero a decade ago
The Hammers won seven of their last nine games under Alan Curbishley including that memorable 1-0 win against champions Manchester United at Old Trafford on the final day of the season back in 2007.
Carlos Tevez got the all-important goal that day as the Hammers ended up finishing 15th, a feat which seemed almost impossible just two months before.
A decade on and so much has changed with the club now playing at the 60,000 seater Olympic Stadium under the ownership of David Sullivan and David Gold.
Many players have come and gone since but from a position of relative comfort just a month or so ago West Ham have started to tumble down the league.
And precisely 10 years on from when the Hammers started on the road to that amazing recovery to survival they are in real danger of marking the anniversary with the polar opposite, the Great Demise.
Under pressure: Hammers boss Slaven Bilic
No wins in seven and five defeats in a row, the latest a 3-0 reverse to Arsenal on Wednesday night, have left the Hammers perilously close to the danger zone.
On Saturday they face Swansea in a game which is arguably as important to the club’s long term future as that match at Old Trafford was to their immediate future back in 2007.
West Ham United’s players look dejected after a fifth straight defeat to Arsenal
Lose to the Swans and failure to beat Sunderland will make games against Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool even more daunting.
The only problem this time is there is no Carlos Tevez around to bail the Hammers out.
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