What to do with West Ham

"7 wins out of 9 games is Champions League form". That is Tony Cottee's opinion of West Ham's great escape which is statistically the finest rescue escape in the post war era.

However, there are still question marks over the registration of Carlos Tevez and whether West Ham should be allowed to retain their place among England's elite.

West Ham were fined £5.5 million for the improper registration of Tevez but it can be argued that it was grossly unfair. Premiership survival has been estimated at a value of £30 million, in that respect surely a points deduction would have been appropriate?

Not according to the Premier League.

In their reasoning of the fine they argued that it would be unfair to the fans to punish them for West Ham's misgivings. That reasoning is illogical and would not deter other teams from playing ineligible players in the future safe in the knowledge it would not result in a loss of league position.

If Manchester Utd had beaten West Ham on the final day it would have been poetic justice for Sheffield Utd who failed to beat the drop and there would not be the prospect of a prolonged high court battle, which will be a terrible blow for English football.

There is no doubt that West Ham were fantastic but they clearly and severely breached the rules. Much of their success is owed to Tevez ,who should never have been allowed to play, and it would be unjust if they were allowed to remain in the Premiership.

If we don't have fair play then the game has no integrity; West Ham have to go.