At the final whistle on Sunday, a strange mix of heartache, toxicity, disbelief rippled beyond the London Stadium, out to everybody connected with West Ham.
It is not just the end of 14 years in the Premier League. It is the lost years, the staggering demise since the highs of Conference League glory in 2023.
These days Michail Antonio begins each day “thanking God for getting up” after the car crash which nearly cost him his life in 2024 – but before then, he had seen West Ham’s decline in real time and up close.
West Ham fans lay the charge for that at the doors of Karren Brady and David Sullivan – Antonio does not necessarily agree.
‘Potter didn’t understand the culture’
