10 great players who were relegated

#7 Joe Cole and Michael Carrick

England internationals Joe Cole (left) and Michael Carrick (right) were relegated with West Ham in 2003

If I were to tell you West Ham United were relegated in 2003, it probably wouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, they are dangerously close to the drop zone right at this very moment in the Premier League. What comes as a surprise though is the players who went down with the club. Believe it or not but Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, David James, Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson and Paolo Di Canio were all part of the side that suffered bitter humiliation when their side proved to be sub-par for the first division in England.

Back in 2001-02, the Hammers had finished seventh in the league but the following season proved to be a lot more challenging. 2002-03 was an abysmal year for the west London side as they won only three out of their first 24 fixtures and were at the bottom of the table with 16 points. When manager Glenn Roeder lost consciousness during a match against Middlesbrough, their poor form came into perspective.

Roeder was diagnosed with a non-malignant tumour and Sir Trevor Booking was appointed as caretaker manager. Even though their form improved thereafter they couldn’t avoid the drop and remained in the Championship for the next two seasons. It wasn’t until Alan Pardew took over that the Hammers were restored to the first tier in 2006-07.

It’s important to remember that the likes of Cole, James, Johnson, Carrick, etc. would all go on to represent England. Not only did they become capped players for their country, but the future stars of the sport amassed six FA Cups, 10 league titles and a Champions League trophy among them in the years to come.