West Ham’s relegation makes English football history for the first time in 138 years!
West Ham’s drop from the Premier League has created a surprising and never-before-seen situation in English top-flight football. The Hammers were relegated even after beating Leeds 3-0.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s team struggled near the bottom for most of the season and needed to beat Leeds on the last day while hoping Tottenham lost to Everton. Unfortunately for West Ham, Spurs won 1-0 at their home stadium, saving themselves from relegation.
So, West Ham will play in the Championship for the first time since 2012. More interestingly, this means next season will be the first in English top-division history with no clubs starting with the letter W. Both West Ham and Wolves are down in the Championship now, where they’ll join former Premier League side West Brom.
Wolves and West Brom were both founding members of the Football League but were relegated by 1906. Arsenal’s story also fits into this since they joined the First Division in 1904 as Woolwich Arsenal. They spent nine years in the top league before being relegated but stayed just above the drop zone in 1910, briefly almost breaking this record. West Brom was promoted the next year. Teams like Wigan Athletic, Wimbledon, and Watford have also had different spells in the top flight over the years.
Another fun fact came on Saturday after Hull City earned promotion to the Premier League. Their 1-0 win over Middlesbrough at Wembley means Hull is the only top-flight team (and in fact in the top four divisions) with none of the letters in their name highlighted.
Hull hadn’t been in the Premier League since the 2016/17 season when they had four managers and finished 18th. This season, they hope for better under their coach Sergej Jakirovic, who took over last summer after the club let go of Ruben Selles.
Despite a summer transfer ban and salary limits, Jakirovic brought in experienced Championship players like top scorer Oli McBurnie, John Lundstram, and Semi Ajayi. They also added Paddy McNair and Kieran Dowell in January and had summer loanee Joe Gelhardt from Leeds, who might become a permanent signing.
On the records front, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes made history by providing the most assists in a single Premier League season with 21. He set up Patrick Dorgu’s goal in United’s 3-0 win over Brighton on the final day.