Premier Focus: Banking on Brooking
As West Ham stare down the barrels of the relegation shotgun, the decision to turn to club legend Trevor Brooking has raised more than the odd eyebrow.
A club legend he may be, but a manager he is not. There was a time when Brooking's appointment would have been heralded as the beginning of a new era but now, however, he is merely a caretaker who has come to the helm in desperate circumstances.
Brooking is being asked to be a steadying influence at a time when the club has been shocked to the core by Glenn Roeder's enforced absence. Roeder's stroke at the beginning of the week left a chasm within the backroom staff, just when the squad most needs direction.
The chances of West Ham avoiding the drop into the Nationwide League appear slim. Realistically, the Hammers have to win all of their remaining games to be in with a chance of staying in the Premiership, breaking two Premiership records in the process.
They would become the first side to survive after sitting at the foot of the table on Christmas Day, and the team that does go down would almost certainly be relegated with the highest ever points tally.
Brooking will act as a figurehead more than anything else. He is not a motivator in the classic style, a person who is going to march into the dressing room and shout the odds.
The 54-year-old is, however, respected by everyone at the club. The former midfielder devoted his entire playing career to the east London outfit, signing as an apprentice in 1965 and finally retiring in 1984.
In the process, he won the FA Cup twice, scoring the winning goal in 1980, and reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup. He also won 47 England caps. After 636 games for the club he turned his back on the day-to-day business of football, turning his hand to media work.
Brooking remains one of the best known names in English football, on these shores at least, after years with the BBC. His partnership with John Motson in the commentary box has become one of the fixtures of the station's coverage both on television and radio.
Last year he returned to the club, leaving his post as chairman of Sport England to join the Hammers' board as a director.
It is difficult to see how much of an impact he can have on the playing side, giving that the current crop of players has struggled so badly all season.
Although West Ham have improved in the last few months, picking up 15 points from the last eight games, they didn't bank on Sam Allardyce's Bolton managing to virtually match their points haul.
It is West Ham's unwavering loyalty to each of their mangers through the years that may have, in this instance, been the club's downfall. Roeder is only the ninth manager in their history - perhaps if he had been replaced at the turn of the year the situation may not have been so dire.
Loyalty is a fine thing, but there are times when change is the only realistic option. Sometimes a fresh face with fresh ideas is needed to transform a side's fortunes, and although the Hammers have enjoyed improved results of late it is unlikely to be enough to save their Premiership status.
Their demise is similar, in many ways, to that of Ipswich. An unexpected finish in the top third of the Premiership was followed by a woeful start to the following season which could not be rectified.
Both clubs stuck by their managers, and it seems West Ham will mirror the fall from grace of Ipswich and find themselves in the Nationwide League with a glut of highly-paid players and debt from ground redevelopment.
The board at the Boleyn Ground did not expect to be in this position, and there is sure to be no shortage of takers for many of their star players.
A host of players are out of contract in the summer, including Scott Minto, Nigel Winterburn, John Moncur, Lee Bowyer, Paolo Di Canio and Les Ferdinand, before you even consider those that may be sold.
Internationals such as David James, Joe Cole, Freddie Kanoute, Michael Carrick and Trevor Sinclair simply cannot afford to play in the First Division - and the Hammers will not be able to afford to pay their wages. The queue is already forming for the signature of Jermain Defoe.
Although the club may not openly admit it, every player will have his price.
Brooking has not ruled out the possibility of Di Canio being welcomed back into the fold for the final three games of the season. His creative spark has been missing at times, and his presence was badly missed in the defeat at Bolton.
Whereas Bolton could call on the flair and ingenuity of Jay-Jay Okocha, West Ham had no such magician. Joe Cole has had to carry a lot of that burden over the past couple of months, and the pressure certain told as he lost his cool at the final whistle.
Brooking is said to have gone into the West Ham dressing room following the 7-1 humbling at Blackburn last season to give the players a pep talk. Maybe it worked, as Roeder's men improved from there on in to claim seventh place.
The Hammers' faithful can only hope he has a similar impact this time.
