Thoughts on the departure of Alan Curbishley

Alan Curbishley has left the building, of his own accord.  This has left me with a slightly strange feeling, much like I had when Alan Pardew left.  In fact, I think I’ve only ever celebrated the departure of one West Ham manager, and that was Glenn Roeder.

On reflection, Curbs has every right to leave with his head held high.  He achieved mission impossible by saving us from relegation.  He steered us towards safety very early on last season.  We’ve got 6 points out of 9 from this season.  He walked of his own accord on principle, principles being something that appears to be a rare word in the game today.

And yet, there are also reasons to be angry at him.  Angry for 3 4-0 defeats in a row, including humiliation at the hands of Spurs.  Angry at some of the signings he made.  Angry for some of the substituions, for some of the performances.  For not pushing on in a league which, outside of the top four, is pretty mediocre.

No wonder there is confusion in the forums, on the radio and even in my head.  Are we no better than impatient Geordies or over-zealous Spurs fans in wanting glory and wanting it now?  Don’t we accept safety instead of away trips to Doncaster?  Can we be a truly ‘big club’ without allowing our team to build, like Ferguson or Wenger?

Enough of the questions, now for some answers.  I think we have to be very grateful to Alan Curbishley for doing the job he did.  Snatching safety at Old Trafford was one of the most memorable games of my life and I’ve got over two decades of Hammers memories.  And I don’t blame him for walking.  If the board promised him no further depletions to the squad and then sold Macca, transfer request or not, then they were in the wrong and are culpable.  Now they must pay the fans back.

There are very ‘great’ managers around at the moment and even fewer would come to Upton Park.  I’m not a huge Redknapp fan, too many transfers, too many comings and goings with him and it just does not make me feel comfortable.  I cannot forgive or forget Titi Camara and Rigobert Song coming to Upton Park.  Paulo Di Canio?  An Upton Park legend for sure, but as West Ham manager, I’m not sure.  Something not right about it for me, call it a gut instinct.  Slaven Bilic?  Well, there is the man who has my backing.  I don’t care that he has not done the time at a Premier League club, he has taken Croatia to the European Championships for crying out loud, how many Premier League managers have such achievements at that level?  And I like his poise, out on the touchline, shouting, geeing them up, arms around them when they are down, face to face if they are in the wrong.  But this is also a man like Curbs who will not take lies, deception or any other action from the board, so they must ensure they give him time, resources, control. 

Okay, that’s enough from on me on what really feels like a sad day.  Curbs, so long, and thanks for some great memories.  I hope you remain a West Ham man like you always have been.  West Ham United and the Icelandics – make your next move a long term one, be transparent to our new manager, don’t let politics tear our club apart.  I’m sure Nani has something to offer in terms of scouting, but the manager must have the final say on who goes where and who is brought in.  And I know a Croatian who won’t take any rubbish…

Comments

[rockerthehammer]

Spot on post - i cant see Bilic coming though - he want to see out his contract with the croatian FA - we'll get an italian and with all the connections to that pizza loving country we'll have to change our name to west palma ham united...

[Andy]

I've become an allardyce fan. Anybody who can be on the shortlist for the England job must be highly thought of. He was able to attract such players as Ockocha and Campo to an unfasionable club, who could he bring to ours? I don't think that he plays up and under football all the time, there's more to him than that.

[newyorkaddick]

Curbishley's lack of charisma makes it easy for fans to fall out of love with him quickly, regardless of his genuine achievements. The same thing happened at Charlton when we also simply got 'bored' of him, and now look at us, forced sellers in Championship midtable. When I look back now it seems even more amazing to me that he got such a ragbag of players to Premiership finishes of 7th and 9th at Charlton. Indeed, we once sat 4th in the table in mid-January and European football wasn't a crazy dream.

I suspect you may look back and regret his untimely exit. Clubs like yours and Newcastle all want your Boards and managers to show more ambition, but by definition you can't all reach the holy grail of the Champions League. If you overreach however, your very survival is at stake Leeds-style.

Man City have just got saved from possible insolvency. You might want to be careful what you wish for.

Up the Addicks.

[Dave]

How about a 1000/1 punt. Pardew to West Ham and Curbs to Charlton?

[Sarah]

At least I won't fall asleep watching his brand of football at UP now. Can we get rid of Boa Morte now please?

[London Jack]

Have to agree with the Addick fan.

You never know how good you have got it until its gone.

Curbs in my book is one of the best. What he did at Charlton was remarkable. Now where are they? We battered them in the first game of the season, but lost 2 nil due to naivity of playing in the CC for the first time in 24 years. Even with their luck though I can't see them get promotion - and that's a long way from where Curbishley left them.

Curbs was so unlucky with injuries last season, even if he did buy a few injury prone players in.

Dyer's injury was not one of his usual ones, and nowt anyone could do about Faubert's. To have Collins, Gabbidon out and first choice strikers Bellamy and Ashton crocked, its a miracle he got them into the top 10.

I hope you give the Hammers Board the same treatment the Toon fans gave Ashley yesterday.

[bubble9]

I can't make up my mind which team is the bigger laughing stock, carToon or wet spam. Oh by the way andy, what on earth makes you think that you are a fashionable club. Lol.

[nick]

your a disgrace west sham

[Neil]

Good points from the Charlton fan.

But...ultimately football is entertainment, and watching this West ham team was a dismal experience.

he did a good job for West Ham, but part of me is glad to the the back of him. Like the blogger - I can never forgive him certain purchases - Dyer in particular - and some of those buys inevitably made the board (and fans)wary about Curbs skill in the transfer market.

I dont expect regular top 10 finishes. i do expect some highs, lows and entertainment.

N

[HU]

The reason for the firing appears to me to relate solely to the West Ham United transfer policy. This summer, the club cut Freddie Ljubgberg and sold Anton Ferdinand among others, while nobody of significance was brought into the club from outside. This suggested tension existing between the manager and his board over past arrivals and certainly the existence of hesitance on the part of the West Ham United board to hand over money to Curbishley. The board clearly wanted to drop its wage bill.

There is justification in this aim of the club's board. Premier League wages are recorded by Deloitte and published each season. What they reveal is that West Ham;s board have been among the most generous spenders in the EPL. In 2006/07, the season in which Curbishley arrived at Upton Park, West Ham United had the sixth largest wage bill in the 20-team EPL, totalling £44.2m ($78.5m), a 13% increase from the previous season.

The following summer, that of 2007, Curbishley purchased Craig Bellamy, Lucas Neill, Freddie Ljungberg and Kieren Dyer amongst others. Each of these players was given a wage packet of at least £3.7m. per year ($7-$8m) for a minimum of 3 seasons, meaning that in the 2007/08 season West Ham was spending around £16m more on wages - totalling £60m+ - than they did in 2006/07. These wage packets handed out by Curbishley shot West Ham to the point where they were spending around £20m more on wages in the season than average EPL squads. Curbishley was responsible for these purchases.

That same summer, last year, West Ham began to become to victim of anger from opposing EPL chairmen. The Guardian reported on June 14 2007,

"Although no one has gone public - yet - the club many are pointing the finger at [for soraing wages in the EPL] is West Ham United. Their chairman, Eggert Magnusson, is now being branded "Father Christmas" by some rivals and, perhaps more worryingly, "Ridsdale" by others. "There's no doubt in my mind that West Ham has had an effect," says a senior figure at another Premiership club.

Annoyance stems from an open-wallet approach to the market, demonstrated on January 22 when Blackburn's Lucas Neill walked into Upton Park on a free transfer. Sources close to the deal have confirmed that Neill, by no means a star player, earns £72,000 a week in east London. He had the option to go to Liverpool but his wage there would have been "a fraction" of what he gets at West Ham."

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp concured,

"Craig Bellamy would do for us. But West Ham want him and would double his wages to £100,000 a week. How do you compete with that? We've got no chance of getting Bellamy. We're all looking for strikers but the market's gone crazy."

The anger of EPL bosses last season at West Ham appears to be due to the fact West Ham drove up EPL wages for "average" players. Freddie Ljungberg, Kieren Dyer and Lucas Neill are not superstars, while Bellamy is a failed top 4-club player. Yet together they were given long contracts totalling around £60m ($100m).

Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly for some, none of the moves by Curbishley worked. Freddie Ljungberg turned out to be old and crap. Less than 12 months after the purchase, the West Ham board decided to buy out his contract and make do with a massive loss. The overrated Kieren Dyer spent the year injured and is yet to fully recover. Craig Bellamy spent much of the season injured. While Lucas Neill played, but hardly impressed. None of these players - excluding Neill who was signed as a free agent - would ensure a substantial profit for West Ham if they were sold.

Looking back on Curbishley's tenure, it is almost impossible to ignore the fact that he was given reign to construct his team. He threw money on players, bringing ire directed at his board for the way this money was spent. And he failed miserably. His assets, the players he signed, have lost value. His team finished in mid-table despite the fact they were a top 6 spending power. And opposing EPL chairmen became angry at the way his club was spending. Curbishley may be a good motivator, a good man-to-man manager, but more was expected and demanded of him at West Ham United. He was expected to make the club more than a mid-table team and was given money to make this dream happen. He delivered a legacy that leaves West Ham spending around £20m more than other mid-table EPL clubs per year for several more years and with little hope of breaking into the top 6. It wad for this reason that Curbishley was fired.
soccerstatistics.blogspot.com

[dan]

well another manager goes!,actually im not that sad,especially if like me,you suffered the first half against macclesfield,that was embarrasing!,ok went on to win 4-1,in our last two games,but were lucky on both counts,now next manager,it seems slaven,and harry don't want it,which are my top two,so next i'd give big sam allardyce a chance, not six months like newcastle, he must be givern time and money to turn things around! ,hes also a big english talent man,so bringing on our youngsters would be ok,if not sam,then lets have pards back!,with di canio as asssistant!,no tother foreign man interests me.
dan.

[alex]

not sure if this is a good or bad thing but we we have always been a progressive club and the semantics of whether curbs would have been good in the long run are, well semantics

our model is of a head coach working under the board and nani. we may well be one of the first in england to do it properly and it may have its rewards

its still exciting times down at the boleyn, potentially

at any rate the board seem unstopable and are football people

[dan]

well no english manager then!,what's all the fuss about italiens all of a sudden?,nani isn't exactly a big name is he?,but now its zola,have to give the bloke a chance i suppose,but no management experience is a big gamble i think,in this division,steve clarke will help, but the lack of real class players,is the main stumbling block here, we need a quality striker, and a good centre half,we must buy in january,assuming zola is still there by then?