West Ham U21 Relegated

West Ham have been relegated from the Barclays U21 Premier League division 1 after finishing rock bottom of the table.

The West Ham youngsters achieved just 5 wins and 17 points during their 22 game season. They now face a season in the U21 division 2 league.

The Barclays U21 Premier League replaced the Premier Reserve League at the start of the 2012/13 season. There are 24 clubs entered, of which 15 are from the Barclays Premier League and nine are from the Championship. The 24 clubs play in two 12-team divisions from the 2014/15 campaign. The teams in 11th and 12th in the division 1 will be relegated, while Division’s top 2 will be promoted. West Ham finished in 12th place with a goal difference of -23 this season while fellow strugglers Fulham were also relegated on 22 points. Middlesborough and Reading have been promoted to division 1.

Head of player development Terry Westley is looking to completely rebuild the West Ham Academy in an attempt to get a return on the £4m the board invest each year. A large number players have been released in recent months and today saw another batch of players released who Westley believes can not make the grade, this included the son of his U21 manager, Dan Potts.