Curbishley quits West Ham
ALAN Curbishley has resigned as manager of West Ham.
The Hammers boss tendered his resignation in a meeting with the board this morning.
It follows intense speculation about Curbishley's future over recent weeks, particularly after several players were sold over the summer - apparently without his knowledge or agreement.
The club confirmed the news this afternoon with an official statement on their website.
It said: "West Ham United can confirm that we have accepted Alan Curbishley's resignation as it was felt it was in the best interests of both parties. We wish Alan all the best for the future.
"A short-list of candidates will be drawn up and an announcement will be made in due course."
It brings to an end an eventful 20 month reign at The Boleyn for the former Charlton boss, during which he masterminded the Irons' escape from almost certain relegation in 2007 and guided them to a top 10 finish last season.
But Curbishley had been criticised in some quarters for his team producing some less than enthralling play, with last week's Carling Cup game against Macclesfield a particularly poor performance, even though the Hammers won 4-1.
The timing of his resignation seems to be linked to the club's failure to bring in many new players over the summer, with only Swiss utility man Valon Behrami joining on a permanent deal.
Meanwhile, many senior players left the club, including Freddie Ljungberg, whose contract was controversially bought out despite having three years left to run.
Last week Anton Ferdinand, one of the Hammers key defenders last season, joined Sunderland for £8million after rejecting a new contract.
He was followed to the Stadium of Light by George McCartney this week, leaving Curbishley's squad desperately short of experienced defensive options.
It seems Curbishley is the victim of the club's cost-cutting moves and although no reason for his departure has yet been given it would appear he felt he could not continue in his position without being able to build the squad he wanted.
Reports at the weekend also suggested some senior players, including captain Lucas Neill, had fallen out with the manager and there has certainly been some unrest in the squad in recent weeks with the likes of Dean Ashton and Robert Green going public about things they were unhappy with.
Ironically West Ham produced their best performance for some time in Saturday's 4-1 win over Blackburn, but it seems it was too little too late for Curbishley.
The search now begins for his successor begins, with Croatia manager - and ex-West Ham player - Slaven Bilic strongly fancied.
But it's hard not to have sympathy with Curbishley, a decent, honest manager with the best interests of the club at heart, who perhaps found the politics of Premier League football, not to mention the finances, just too much to handle.
Leave a comment