Lucas Neill : Hoping For Hammers Relegation?

You've probably heard that Blackburn defender Lucas Neill has signed for West Ham, snubbing Liverpool who were also interested in signing him.

Neill is claiming that the reason for this strange choice is that "Liverpool gave me the impression that I might not even get a game if I went there." Nothing at all to do with the £60,000 a week salary that West Ham were offering, then. Well, that's good to know. And, of course, we all believe him, don't we?

The transfer has been described as a 'sideways' move but a sideways move from Blackburn would have been to Bolton or Man City - not to a club in severe danger of relegation.

The funny thing is that Neill has an escape clause in his contract with the Hammers, which will allow him to move if they get relegated. This means that Mr Neill could pick up a healthy £60k per week for the rest of the season and still move to a decent club after that. Good work if you can get it.

And maybe, just maybe, this is what Neill is relying on....he gets his £60,000 a week and then - when West Ham are relegated - he moves to Liverpool or Spurs or another big club that is likely to be in Europe next season.

But what if West Ham stay up. Then he's stuck at a bottom tier Premiership club with his reputation much diminished and his chances of getting that big move all but destroyed. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that Lucas Neill is hoping West Ham get relegated this season.