One of the few benefits of having your contract terminated is that you can be on the ball with exciting developments at Upton Park. So it is that within minutes of Messrs Gold and Sullivan opening the door this morning I can confirm that Avram Grant has been offered a four-year contract to take over the manager's hot seat at West Ham.

In a secret that hardly was, Grant joins the club fresh from leading Portsmouth to the FA Cup final and replaces former Chelsea favourite Gianfranco Zola, who was sacked at the end of the season. It will be interesting to see if Grant suffers the same anti-Blue backlash that Zola did.

Gianfranco Zola has been sacked by West Ham in a move that has really surprised no-one apart from the manager himself, if reports that Gianfranco was 'shocked' by the news are to be believed. Mind you, as that statement came from David Sullivan we'll take that with a pinch of salt and assume the little Italian clicked his heels on the way out. Frankly, he's probably best out of it.

Personally. I'm saddened but not at all surprised by the news. I've been a supporter of Zola from the off but once the Icelandic consortium were bought out by David's Gold and Sullivan and Karren Brady was brought in as Managing Director in place of Scott Duxbury, then the writing was well and truly on the wall.

A real end-of-term affair in which the highlight was the return, after a season long injury, of Luis Boa Morte who scored a delightful goal before criticising owner David Sullivan in equally impressive terms.

Manchester City equalised the Hammer's opener within three minutes when Wright-Phillips - all 2' 6" of him - rose like a salmon to head home. It was that type of day!

Disappointing (again). I really expected, with the pressure off and Fulham's poor record against West Ham at Craven Cottage - they've not beaten the Hammers since before England last won the World Cup - that the claret and blue would add to their woeful away record today. Added to the fact that Fulham rested over half the team that so spectacularly secured a Europa League final place last Wednesday and you have to view this as another poor result in a season of poor results.

'What's Going On? Marvin Gaye asked it first and best, of course, but echoes of that question must surely be asked by anyone interested in the future of West Ham United football club.

Is, as David Sullivan was quoted this week, Gianfranco Zola just a coach who works with whatever players are foisted on him? If so - and it seems an odd way to work - that must surely have been put in place by the previous regime of Nani and Duxbury and, if it was, we must also assume it is something that Zola was happy to work with given as he must have trusted his previous owners, having accepted the position at Upton Park, presumably, to work with them and their ideas.

Thirteen minutes from the end of this nail-biting match, Scott Parker drove through the middle of midfield; he looked left, he looked right - he saw no-one - so, with not many other opportunites presenting themselves, he instead smashed a shot from all of 25 yards which dipped and curled and virtually burst just inside the post and past the groping Wigan keeper's fingers to put West Ham 3-2 up. Upton Park went wild. At the right time and at exactly the right place, the Hammer's real Captain showed just what a class act he is with a goal of classic proportions.

When the final whistle blew and the result from Hull came through, the players and fans celebrated what all had hoped for but few had dared to believe. There was to be no last match drama; a point or three at Fulham wasn't really essential after all (although it would be nice), the usual last day bum-squeak wasn't required, instead it was a reflection on an awful season that has proved just one thing - there were three teams even worse than West Ham this time around - and for that we can all just be grateful.

"West Ham are scrapping for points" said the nice man from ESPN Soccernet. I really must get myself a new Oxford Dictionary; mine seems to be out of date. Either that or there is some new definition of 'scrapping' that I hadn't previously come across.

This was a totally inept performance that was nicely summed out by ex-Hammer Benayoun's opener, a nicely guided ball into the bottom corner via Yossi's stomach. What a sickener for Carlton Cole and his fellow forwards. They are struggling to steer the ball in via head, feet, knees or shins yet Liverpool players can volley home with a touch of belly!

There was a collective sigh of relief at the final whistle; this may well have been the day that West Ham ensured another season in the Premiership. The three points garnered here in a hard-fought match mirrored the loss of those at Hull in what many considered was a home banker that would bring the Tigers within range of West Ham.

It's not over yet, of course, it would be just as wrong to start celebrating now as it was wrong to start calling for the head of Zola a few games back, but it's hard not to see the decision to stick with the Italian has proved to be the correct one. The team are playing for him and there was a grim determination against Sunderland that augers well for the remaining four games.

There are several ways of viewing this result; Hammers win an unexpected point away against a form team, Visitors lose three points thanks to a missed spot kick from a man who shouldn't have been given the opportunity to waste, Home side unlucky after Ref fails to award a stonewall penalty and, finally, gutsy comeback in final minutes mean West Ham still have some fight left and offers encouragement for the remaining games.

You can choose your own, of course, but in many ways that pretty much sums up this excellent Sky televised match as West Ham twice battled back from behind to secure a point and a bit of much needed confidence.

A few days at home in Sardinia seem to have decided Gianfranco Zola that he has unfinished business at West Ham, announcing his decision to not walk away from Upton Park but to see the job through to the end...whatever the 'end' may be!

Following the devastating loss at home to Stoke, the Hammers boss gave the team 3 days to recuperate and jetted home to Italy to consider his future with media speculation that the pressure of the job and a run-in with co-owner David Sullivan had caused Zola to decide to walk-away from the job in which he quickly become marginalised following the boardroom take-over and the subsequent loss of his friends Nani and Duxbury.