Alan Curbishley Appointed West Ham Manager

This afternoon Alan Curbishley was appointed the new West Ham United manager. The appointment has been confirmed on the West Ham official website (although the press conference has been delayed until 3.30pm). His appointment has been met with a mixed response by West Ham fans. Whilst many welcome the appointment of the ex-West Ham player many feel that Curbishley is not the man to take the club to the next level.

However in a season that has promised many false dawns, from European football to the arrival of Tevez and Mascherano, Curbishley is probably the safe pair of hands that the club needs. West Ham's immediate priority must be to avoid relegation. Relegation could well see West Ham go the way of Leeds Utd. With West Ham having to pay back £100 million to the new owners over ten years plus £5 million a year in interest relegation could prove a financial disaster for the club. Curbishley's experience of the Premiership and his success at keeping Charlton in the top flight for a number of years suggest he is just the man to save West Ham's season.

At Charlton Curbishley proved a successful manager with very little transfer money and continually being forced to sell his top players (just look at their current plight only a season after he left). Make no mistakes Curbishley will be determined to show what he can achieve at a bigger club.