Back in 2002/03, Joe Cole was part of a West Ham United side who famously suffered relegation from the Premier League despite racking up 42 points under Glenn Roeder.
A quarter of a century later, the Upton Park graduate predicts that Nuno Espirito Santo’s current crop will end 2025/26 with one fewer than the side of Paolo di Canio, David James, Trevor Sinclair and more.
But still enough, Joe Cole feels, to ensure Premier League football at West Ham United beyond the coming summer.
OK, this might actually be happening… 🤯
Image this; West Ham stay up at Spurs' expense!
Joe Cole thinks West Ham United will relegate Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham are just two points behind Tottenham Hotspur and level with Nottingham Forest in 17th. Spurs travel to Liverpool on Sunday, albeit life is not much easier for Nuno as Manchester City come to town.
“So before we come on air, we looked at the Spurs, Nottingham Forest, and then West Ham’s remaining fixtures,” Cole says on the Dressing Room podcast.
“This is me, right? I’ve gone with Forest [finishing] on 43 points, West Ham on 41 points, and Spurs on 38 points, being relegated. So it’s going right down to the wire.”
Carlton Cole, the striker who helped fire Sam Allardyce’s side to a play-off final victory over Blackpool following their most recent relegation in 2011, is setting his sights even higher than namesake Joe.
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“West Ham are going to finish the season on 45 points,” a bullish, albeit possibly biased Carlton argues. “Forest are going to get 37 points, and Spurs are going to be out of it by April on 32 points.”
Statisticians Opta still believe that relegation is more likely than survival for West Ham at this stage. Yet, taking a staggering 12 more points than Spurs since beating their London neighbours on January 17th, the momentum is very much in their favour.
West Ham have also accumulated eight more points than a Forest side now onto their fourth manager of the season. A campaign which began with Nuno sacked in late-August looks set to end with Vitor Pereira in the dugout, although it is testament to the madness of Evangelos Marinakis that another sacking does not seem totally implausible.
Crysencio Summerville is being assessed after Brentford blow
An injury picked up by star winger Crysencio Summerville does dent that new-found confidence though.
A source has told Hammers News that Summerville picked up a calf knock against Brentford last night. A blow, yes, but at least this is not a reoccurrence of the hamstring issue which forced him to miss eight months of action in 2025.
If Summerville is out, who do YOU want to see start on the left?
While Nuno Espirito Santo is determined to challenge for FA Cup glory – a penalty shoot-out victory over the Bees means West Ham will face Leeds in the quarter-finals – Premier League survival remains the priority.
A victory at Wembley would be wonderful. An evening to rival that Prague party of 2023. But you only need look at Wigan Athletic – a third-tier side these days – to understand just how damaging relegation can be.
The Latics dropped out of the top flight just days after Ben Watson’s header stunned Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup final. Thirteen years and four more relegations later, they are yet to return.