West Ham have had plenty of problems at the start of the current season and when Alan Curbishley decided to leave, the Hammers were in big problems. The Icelandic owners were hit by the World Economic Crisis, whereas the team needed a new manager to help them climb back to safety. The fans were skeptic when inexperienced Gianfranco Zola was appointed as the next manager but the Italian quickly proved his credentials and the Hammers are now enjoying an excellent season.

Not all great players have become great managers and that was certainly one reason why the fans were not so convinced that Zola was the man for the job. The team had plenty of problems with injured players throughout the season and the Italian had a tough job on his hands. He did need some time to adapt to the new surroundings but his experience of playing in the English Premier League definitely helped him a great deal. Zola spent a lot of time on working with the individual players, such as Carlton Cole and young Jack Collison and that produced excellent results. The Italian manager was not so long ago an excellent forward and the players definitely profited from working under him. The team soon started playing much better and they started climbing the Premiership ladder.

West Ham became one of the toughest teams to beat in the league and they have shown a big improvement in defence, which was their weak spot in the past. Even though the situation with injuries only got worse, the results did not suffer and Gianfranco Zola has to be congratulated for that. In the meantime, the Hammers emerged as one of the favourites for the seventh place, the last one which leads to Europa League next season and European qualification would certainly be a perfect finish to a truly great season. Online bookie Unibet offers 2/1 (3.00) odds on West Ham to finish seventh, which is a fairly good price considering that the Hammers are currently seventh, one point clear of Fulham and Tottenham.