Before I start this article, I just want to put on record that I would absolutely love to see West Ham win a domestic cup (not including the Play-off final!). Since I’ve supported the Hammers I have only known heartbreak in these cup competitions. We have reached the quarter finals on several occasions in both the League and FA Cups, but the worst ones of them all were the FA Cup Final defeat in 2006 against Liverpool, and the semi-final defeat against Birmingham City in the League Cup in 2011, both of which I can barely bring myself to write about. The sickening feeling I had after those games was indescribable.
Since Sam Allardyce has become manager, in the four domestic cup competitions we have been involved in during the last two seasons, we have been knocked out in our first round of entry three times, and once in the second round that we played in. We certainly seem due a cup run under him, especially considering his fantastic league record, and we have now reached the 4th round of the League Cup this season, with a tough looking tie away to Burnley little more than a week away.
Therefore I think most fans will be willing Big Sam to really go for the competition and put out a full strength team against the Championship high flyers, which is something he has been very reluctant to do so far his tenure at the club. After all it’s not out of the question that we could go on and win it. Just look at last years final that consisted of Swansea City and Bradford City.
However I am not so sure that this would be a wise move currently. At this moment in time would it be worth putting our league form in jeopardy which I believe could happen if we had a long cup run with a full strength side? We have got off to a poor start generally this season and are potentially facing a relegation battle, although I am hopeful we will be out of danger before too long. We simply cannot afford to get relegated in the seasons running up to the 16/17 campaign, where we are due to move into the Olympic stadium as the financial consequences could be catastrophic.
As Karren Brady has stated, we have to clear all of our debt by the time we move in, which is rumoured to be at the 70 million mark. This would be exceptionally difficult to do without the hugely significant revenue the Premier League has to offer. I also think it would be much harder to gain a quick promotion again were we to get relegated this season.
We have a much better quality squad of players than the last time we were relegated, with higher earning players such as Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan and Mohamed Diame. I do not believe we would be able to afford to keep such players in this situation, and a nightmare scenario of trying to rebuild a team under tighter financial constraints than before would occur.
If we had got off to a flying start this campaign, I would be much more in favour of really pushing for the league cup. However, we are a squad that always seems to be riddled with injuries and a prolonged cup run would quite possibly make this situation worse. I also look back to the significant cup runs we have had in recent seasons playing a full strength side and remember how much damage they caused to us in the longer term.
A couple of years ago, in the 10/11 season under the stewardship of Avram Grant, we got into the semi-finals of the League Cup and the quarters of the FA Cup. However our league form was woeful and we finished bottom that year. I think burnout and a huge confidence drop from the devastating nature of our cup exits were factors in our league form that year (although certainly not all). Ultimately, it was probably this league cup run that kept Grant in his job even when it was clear to most that he simply wasn’t up to the job.
Many will point out that in the 05/06 season, where we reached the FA Cup final we still managed to finish an impressive 9th in the league. However most of that cup run took place in the latter stages of the season where our league form actually dipped off quite badly, arguably because we were distracted by the cup. Not only that but I think it contributed to the poor performance of the following season (06/07), where only miraculous form right at the end saved us from relegation.
Many of the players egos got too high (I’m thinking of the likes of Nigel Reo-Coker) and the expectations on the club were out of proportion to the abilities in our squad that year. The extra games in the Europa League didn’t help the early season form too, something that has happened to many sides with smallish squads before. For example, look at how poorly Swansea have started this season. It is also worth pointing out that in 1998/1999 season, where we finished 5th in the league, our highest position in the Premier League years, we were knocked out of both of the domestic cups at the first hurdle.
Overall I do not believe it is in our interests to properly pursue cup glory at this moment in time, as it would be an unwelcome distraction for a variety of reasons. As unglamorous as it sounds, I would prefer a solid mid-table finish to a long cup run that would in all likelihood would result in disappointment and a dip in league form. We should save the full frontal attack for when the supposed riches from the Olympic Stadium pour in. However I know many of you will disagree!
