Ian Abrahams has blasted West Ham for their ’embarrassing’ FA Cup exit to Wimbledon on Saturday night, suggesting that prioritising the league is the wrong thing to do.
The Hammers went down 4-2 to their League One opposition, and the respected journalist believes that they have missed a chance to go far in the competition.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “I thought the performance on Saturday was embarrassing, it was a disgrace.
“Only three of the top six are left in the FA Cup, there’s no Liverpool, no Arsenal, no Spurs. What an opportunity this year, especially if a Man United, or Chelsea, or Man City were to get drawn together, which is possible, what an opportunity to get to a cup final, to go and win something.
“West Ham players going into work today, what have they got to play for this season? To finish seventh? That must be so amazing to put on your CV – I finished seventh in the Premier League.”
OPINION
Abrahams is right, but there seems to be a lot of stick being thrown at West Ham, and it’s hard to say how justified it is. Yes, they were very poor on Saturday they could probably have gone a long way in the competition had they managed to find a way past a side that they would expect to beat 99 times out of 100, but the chances of them winning the FA Cup would still have been slim, and the race for seventh is so tightly contested this year that it could work out in their favour in the long run. Finishing in the last European spot might nit be as prestigious as winning a trophy, but for a club trying to establish themselves as a serious force in the league it would be a meaningful first step. Pundits talk as if the Europa League is some kind of cursed punishment, and it can be if approached incorrectly, but with the resources at the Hammers’ disposal, and with a manager of Manuel Pellegrini’s talents at the helm, it is a necessary progression that could herald the start of something much bigger in East London.