Curbishley ready to fight for his job
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
ALAN CURBISHLEY admitted his job could be on the line as West Ham slipped closer to relegation after a dramatic 4-3 defeat against Tottenham.
Curbishley's beleaguered side are bottom of the Premiership and 10 points from safety after somehow contriving to lose their fifth successive match.
The Hammers led 2-0 and 3-2 at Upton Park, but Spurs scored twice in the final minutes to win one of the most exciting games of the season.
West Ham owner Eggert Magnusson has already sacked Alan Pardew this season after he failed to get immediate results following the Icelandic businessman's takeover, so Curbishley knows he is not safe from the axe.
He said: "I am not immune to anything. We all know what football is about. Nothing surprises me anymore in football. I don't fear anything, that is life.
"We are going through every emotion. When you are in this situation, where you haven't won for a long while and you get yourself into a winning position, perhaps you don't know how to close the game out."Curbishley's impressive track record at Charlton suggests he deserves time to turn around a club that appears to be descending further into crisis by the day, but whether Magnusson agrees is another matter.
He will not have been impressed by reports last week that suggested several of Curbishley's players are involved in high-stakes card schools that have caused unrest.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Anton Ferdinand caused more negative headlines last Sunday.
The England Under-21 defender was reported to have disobeyed Curbishley by flying to America last month for a birthday party, even though all the players had been told not to leave England during a four-day break.
West Ham had the perfect start last Sunday when Mark Noble drove home a fierce strike from the edge of the area in the 16th minute.
Carlos Tevez increased their lead when he looped a free-kick over Paul Robinson in the 41st minute to claim his first goal for the Hammers.
Tottenham hit back when Aaron Lennon won a penalty in the 50th minute and Jermain Defoe stroked the spot-kick past Robert Green.
Martin Jol's men equalised through Teemu Tainio in the 63rd minute when the Finn scored from 10 yards after a superb mid-air volleyed pass from Lennon.
Curbishley must have thought West Ham were going to end their run of 11 matches without a win when Bobby Zamora headed home Tevez's free-kick in the 85th minute.
But Dimitar Berbatov curled a superb free-kick past Robinson and over Paul Konchesky on the line four minutes later and Paul Stalteri won it for Spurs in stoppage time when he tapped-in after Green spilled Defoe's shot.AFP
Curbishley's beleaguered side are bottom of the Premiership and 10 points from safety after somehow contriving to lose their fifth successive match.
The Hammers led 2-0 and 3-2 at Upton Park, but Spurs scored twice in the final minutes to win one of the most exciting games of the season.
West Ham owner Eggert Magnusson has already sacked Alan Pardew this season after he failed to get immediate results following the Icelandic businessman's takeover, so Curbishley knows he is not safe from the axe.
He said: "I am not immune to anything. We all know what football is about. Nothing surprises me anymore in football. I don't fear anything, that is life.
"We are going through every emotion. When you are in this situation, where you haven't won for a long while and you get yourself into a winning position, perhaps you don't know how to close the game out."Curbishley's impressive track record at Charlton suggests he deserves time to turn around a club that appears to be descending further into crisis by the day, but whether Magnusson agrees is another matter.
He will not have been impressed by reports last week that suggested several of Curbishley's players are involved in high-stakes card schools that have caused unrest.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Anton Ferdinand caused more negative headlines last Sunday.
The England Under-21 defender was reported to have disobeyed Curbishley by flying to America last month for a birthday party, even though all the players had been told not to leave England during a four-day break.
West Ham had the perfect start last Sunday when Mark Noble drove home a fierce strike from the edge of the area in the 16th minute.
Carlos Tevez increased their lead when he looped a free-kick over Paul Robinson in the 41st minute to claim his first goal for the Hammers.
Tottenham hit back when Aaron Lennon won a penalty in the 50th minute and Jermain Defoe stroked the spot-kick past Robert Green.
Martin Jol's men equalised through Teemu Tainio in the 63rd minute when the Finn scored from 10 yards after a superb mid-air volleyed pass from Lennon.
Curbishley must have thought West Ham were going to end their run of 11 matches without a win when Bobby Zamora headed home Tevez's free-kick in the 85th minute.
But Dimitar Berbatov curled a superb free-kick past Robinson and over Paul Konchesky on the line four minutes later and Paul Stalteri won it for Spurs in stoppage time when he tapped-in after Green spilled Defoe's shot.AFP
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