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LONDON - A culture of high-stakes gambling is causing division within West Ham and rupturing morale to such an extent the first-team squad, already riven by cliques, is "spiralling out of control" - and the players, manager and directors already know they can do nothing to stop the club being relegated.
That is the damning view from inside the dressing room at the English premiership's most troubled club.
And that was before yesterday's heartbreaking injury time 4-3 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, when bottom-placed West Ham squandered 2-0 and 3-2 leads, the latter with five minutes left.
And that's come on top of revelations defender Anton Ferdinand broke club rules by flying to the United States during a recent two-week break for his birthday, having lied to club officials saying he was visiting a sick grandmother on the Isle of Wight.
Players are haemorrhaging vast amounts of money to each other at the card table, as much as £50,000 ($141,258) in one sitting - winning and losing such sums on the team coach to matches.
"How can they be in a good frame of mind for a match after that?" says one first-team player.
He said: "I've never seen anything like it in my career. It's one big mess here, the atmosphere is terrible, people don't talk to each other. Players are losing up to £50,000 sometimes.
"By the time we arrive, one player owes another and it's terrible for the team and morale. They are always playing cards."
One senior player, an established international, is said to have won £38,000 from two of his team-mates in one afternoon recently. The losers had to pay up and manager Alan Curbishley is no longer speaking to the player who won the money.
Two members of the squad have undertaken counselling and treatment for gambling addiction, and a third player is also believed to be seeking professional help.
The player also identified a catalogue of other problems, including spats between rival cliques within the dressing room over territory and wages; divisive tension between Curbishley and his players; doubts over the decision-making of new chairman Eggert Magnusson; and the widespread admission the club will be relegated.
He also said that one recent signing was amazed when he was asked to a meeting to discuss club affairs with senior management in a lap-dancing club, although the club strongly deny such a meeting took place.
Added to West Ham's list of woes is the premier league charge for alleged irregularities in the signing of the Argentine players Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez last August, which could result in the loss of points if the club are found guilty; and the pending trial of defender Anton Ferdinand on charges of assault and violent disorder following an alleged brawl outside a London nightclub last October.
It is the depth of the club's gambling problem, which has already caused winger Matthew Etherington and goalkeeper Roy Carroll to seek help, that most concerns Curbishley.
A West Ham spokesman said: "The club is aware of the fact that gambling is an area of concern and the manager has made clear that it must stop. Steps have been taken to eradicate this in the team environment."
It is believed Curbishley's first attempt to stop the card schools some weeks ago failed but gambling is now banned in situations where he is responsible for the team, such as on journeys to matches.
But he has been unable to stop the poker sessions when training is over and one recent session is said to have continued until 4am.
The gambling culture is one more headache for former Charlton manager Curbishley, who took over at Christmas, since when West Ham have won only once. Curbishley's predecessor, Alan Pardew, had taken the club to within a minute of winning the FA Cup last May but then oversaw a dramatic slump this season. An Upton Park source said the players were "certainly not a unit and haven't been for a long time. It began at the end of last season during Pardew's time. There is a huge division."
Team spirit has also been damaged, by the level of resentment about the wages paid to Matthew Upson and Lucas Neil. Neil is thought to have turned down Liverpool to keep a £60,000-a-week salary.
"It's not rocket science," said an agent, who represents some of the biggest stars in the premiership. "If the established players see new ones come in for a lot more money, it's obviously going to cause problems."
Yesterday's loss leaves West Ham bottom on 20 points from 29 matches, 10 points behind Manchester City who are six points above the relegation zone.
- OBSERVER
