An unprecedented scenario in Premier League history

A very unusual situation is emerging in English football, as West Ham United faces the threat of relegation, potentially leading to a scenario never before seen in the history of the Premier League.

The relegation battle this season has become especially harsh for West Ham. A 1-2 defeat at home against Nottingham Forest has caused the London-based team to sink further into the relegation zone. This loss was not just about dropping 3 points, but also put West Ham in a completely vulnerable position, as the gap to the safety zone widened to 7 points with only a few matches left in the season.

According to Opta’s prediction model, West Ham’s chance of playing in the Championship next season has surged to 88.76%. This figure clearly illustrates the severity of the crisis at London Stadium, where the club was once considered a regular fixture of the Premier League for many years.

What is particularly notable is the scenario that would arise if West Ham were relegated. If they go down alongside Wolverhampton Wanderers, the top tier of English football would, for the first time in 137 years, have no clubs with names starting with the letter “W”.This is an astonishingly rare statistic, as the letter “W” has almost always been present throughout the history of English football.

This risk becomes even clearer as Wolves’ chances of survival are nearly at rock bottom. Opta estimates the Wolves’ probability of staying in the Premier League at just 0.73%, a figure indicating they are very close to relegation. With both West Ham and Wolves struggling, the “absence of W” scenario is no longer hypothetical.

Conversely, the Championship is seeing efforts from clubs that could “save” the letter W for the Premier League. Watford currently sits 6th and still has a chance to compete for promotion, although the gap to the top group remains significant. Wrexham is drawing attention by closely following, while West Bromwich Albion has sharply declined, sinking into the lower half of the table.

Beyond the sporting aspect, the prospect of West Ham’s relegation also sparks controversy around their home ground, London Stadium. Late last year, former Tottenham player Jamie O’Hara stated that having a Championship team play at the Olympic Stadium is “unacceptable.” According to O’Hara, the venue is associated with symbolic values and is unsuitable for a lower-tier league.

As the Premier League enters its decisive phase, West Ham is not only fighting for survival but also inadvertently caught in a historic scenario. If the worst happens, next Premier League season could see a gap never before experienced in over a century, where the letter “W” completely disappears from the highest level of English football.