Eventually an Icelandic consortium led by Eggert Magnússon bought the club on 26 November 2006. Following a poor run of form that left the club in 17th position, despite the signing of big name players Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez, the new owners sacked Alan Pardew, replacing him with former West Ham player Alan Curbishley who had recently ended a 15-year spell in charge of Charlton Athletic. West Ham won Curbishley's first game 1–0 at home against Manchester United, but went on to draw at fellow relegation strugglers Fulham, were crushed 6–0 at newly promoted Reading and were knocked out of the FA Cup by the bottom Premiership team, Watford. An end-to-end thriller at home to Tottenham Hotspur ended with West Ham losing 4–3 having been 3–2 in front with minutes to play, but the bright performance signified a change in form.