The season at Upton Park did not start optimistically. The surprise departures of Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney were not in manager Alan Curbishley’s plans and were sanctioned by the board. Curbishley resigned as a result and was replaced by former Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola.

Zola’s tenure did not start auspiciously with a defeat to Premiership newcomers West Brom but performances if not results did improve and despite a poor run of consecutive defeats shortly afterwards, the Italian started to work well with the squad.

At the same time as Zola’s appointment, the club’s sponsors XL Leisure Group went into receivership and for period of time the club were without a sponsors name on their shirts. With rumours of financial problems for their Icelandic owners, the future did not look good for the Hammers.

Zola’s men gradually pulled themselves away from the lower levels of the league and some consistent performances finally gave them a creditable 9^th place. Whether Zola will have funds made available to him for adding to the squad is uncertain but his style of play has endeared him to the Upton Park faithful. West Ham United could well be challenging for a Europa Cup place next year.