Gianfranco Zola said it was painful for him, but this comprehensive defeat was painful for everyone connected to West Ham United.
The supporters jeered the players and, for the first time, their manager. too. At the end last night, Carlton Cole, the West Ham and England striker, was involved in an angry confrontation with several fans.
It was very, very painful for me and I take full responsibility for that, Zola said of the defeat.
Zola had been criticised by David Sullivan, the West Ham co-owner, for being too nice to handle the trauma of a relegation battle. And this defeat bore all the hallmarks of a performance run by pleasantries. True, Zola hauled James Tomkins, whose glaring error led to the first goal, off at half-time but even that was not as ruthless as it might have appeared after Zola confirmed the young defender had a foot injury.
Related LinksWest Ham confirm interest in 2011 stadiumShift in transfer policy a worry for ZolaYoung shows Capello what he can offerMultimediaDEBATE: who is to blame for West Ham crisis?The owners can do whatever they feel is the right thing to do, Zola said. I try to do my work as best I can every single day. If thats not considered good enough, there you go.
This was just the result Hull City and Burnley needed. West Ham truly can be considered part of the relegation tussle. But then Zolas side performed as if they knew that from kick-off, failing to take their cue from a supremely confident Wolverhampton Wanderers side who more than deserved their first victory at Upton Park since 1978.
Zola was not expected to stay beyond the summer but may now leave much sooner. The fans received free clap banners that produced a curious static noise that initially served partially to drown out the groans. By the end the banners sounded more like nails being hammered into coffins.
Maybe what went on today got to him and he reacted the wrong way, Benni McCarthy said of Coles dispute with the supporters.
If starting the evening four points above the relegation zone can give a team a sense of superiority, Wolves were glad to adopt it. The first real chance fell to Mick McCarthys side with Kevin Foley hitting the crossbar. It was a warning that the visitors were in a feisty frame of mind and it was no shock when they took the lead.
A mistake by Tomkins, who seemed unsure if he wanted to play the ball backwards or forwards, allowed Kevin Doyle to nip in, scamper towards goal and beat Robert Green at his far post with an almost relaxed left-footed strike.
Once Wolves had taken a two-goal lead, the crowds mood darkened. David Jones fed Ronald Zubar and his rifled shot was surprisingly confident for a defender scoring only his second goal for the club. The ever excellent Matt Jarvis skipped on to another cute Jones pass two minutes later to make it 3-0, with Green left staring at another shot nestling in the corner of his net.
The best move of the game, started by Alessandro Diamantis fine cross-field ball to Junior Stanislas, belonged to West Ham not for them route one in a crisis but produced the best save, denying them a stirring finale even though Guillermo Franco lobbed the keeper for a consolation goal in added time.
The Wolves defence were furious as they had to a man assumed Franco was offside but the home fans were left wondering why their players had not looked half as annoyed with themselves all game.
West Ham United (4-4-2): R Green J Faubert, J Tomkins (sub: J Spector, 46min), M Upson, F Daprela V Behrami, S Parker, R Kovac (sub: J Stanislas, 46), A Diamanti B McCarthy (sub: G Franco, 71), C Cole. Substitutes not used: M Stech, Ilan, Mido, M Noble.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-1-4-1): M Hahnemann R Zubar (sub: G Halford, 80), J Craddock, C Berra, G Elokobi M Mancienne (sub: A Guedioura, 86) K Foley, K Henry, D Jones, M Jarvis (sub: S Ward, 71) K Doyle. Substitutes not used: W Hennessey, S Ebanks-Blake, C Iwelumo, N Milijas. Booked: Zubar, Mancienne.
Referee: P Dowd.
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