West Ham United
Football Club is an English football club
based in West Ham, London Borough of Newham,
East London, and have played their home matches
at the 35,303 capacity Boleyn Ground stadium
since 1904.
The club was originally founded as
Thames Ironworks F.C. in 1895 and later
reformed, in 1900, as their current incarnation.
They initially competed in the Southern League
and Western League before joining the full
Football League in 1919 and enjoyed their first
top flight season in 1923, also featuring in the
first FA Cup Final to be held at Wembley. The
club has never fallen outside the top two
divisions and has won the FA Cup three times: in
1964, 1975 and 1980, and also captured the now
defunct Cup Winners Cup in 1965 and the
Intertoto Cup in 1999. They also won the first
War Cup in 1940. The club's best league position
was a third place finish in 1986 old top flight.
West Ham currently holds the distinction for
being the only team in the history of the
Premiership to breach the 40 point boundary and
still be relegated (in 2003).[3]
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They currently compete in the Premier League,
after finishing in 15th position in the 2006-07
season.[4]
The club's current manager is Alan Curbishley
who was appointed on 13 December 2006.[5]
The club's current captain is Australian Lucas
Neill.
History
The earliest generally accepted incarnation
of West Ham United was founded in 1895 as the
Thames Ironworks works team by foreman and local
league referee Dave Taylor and owner Arnold
Hills[6]
and was announced in the Thames Ironworks
Gazette of June 1895.
The team played on a strictly amateur basis
for 1895 at least, with a team featuring a
number of works employees including Thomas
Freeman (ships fireman), Walter Parks (clerk),
Johnny Stewart, Walter Tranter and James Lindsay
(all boilermakers), William Chapman, George
Sage, and William Chamberlain and apprentice
riveter Charlie Dove.[6]
The club, Thames Ironworks F.C.[7]
were the first ever winners of the West Ham
Charity Cup in 1895 contested by clubs in the
locality, then won the London League in 1897.
They turned professional in 1898 upon entering
the Southern League Second Division, and were
promoted to the First division at the first
attempt.[8]
The following year they came second from bottom,
but had established themselves as a fully
fledged competitive team. They comfortably
fended off the challenge of local rivals Fulham
F.C. in a relegation play-off, 5-1 in late April
1900 and retained their First Division status.[8]
The team initially played in full dark blue
kits, as inspired by Mr. Hills, who had been a
Oxford University "Blue", but changed the
following season by adopting the sky blue shirts
and white shorts combination worn through 1897
to 1899. In 1899 they acquired their now
traditional home kit combination of claret
shirts and sky blue sleeves in a wager involving
Aston Villa F.C. players.
Following growing disputes over the running
and financing of the club in June 1900 Thames
Ironworks F.C. was wound up,[7]
then almost immediately relaunched on 5 July
1900 as West Ham United F.C. with Syd King[7]
as their manager and future manager Charlie
Paynter as his assistant. Because of the
original "works team" roots and links (still
represented upon the club badge), they are still
known to this day as 'the Irons' or 'the
Hammers' amongst fans and the media.[7][9][10]
The reborn club continued to play their games
at the Memorial Ground in Plaistow (funded by
Arnold Hills) but moved to a pitch in the Upton
Park area when the team officially severed ties
with the company[11]
(losing their works provisioned offices in the
process). After being made groundless in 1901
the team became transient, playing their home
games on a number of local teams grounds.
However, in 1904 the team moved to its current
home of Upton Park in the guise of the Boleyn
Ground stadium.
Their first game in their new home was
against local rivals Millwall F.C.[7]
(themselves an Ironworks team, albeit for a
rival company) drawing a crowd of 10,000 and
with West Ham running out 3-0 winners,[11]
and as the Daily Mirror wrote on
September 2, 1904:
| |
"Favoured by the
weather turning fine after heavy rains
of the morning, West Ham United began
their season most auspiciously yesterday
evening; when they beat Milwall by 3
goals to 0 on their new enclosure at
Upton Park." |
|
West Ham Utd F.C. had joined the Western
League for the 1901 season[12]
in addition to continuing playing in the
Southern Division 1. In 1907 West Ham were
crowned the Western League Division 1B
Champions, and then defeated 1A champions Fulham
1-0 to become the Western Leagues Overall
Champions.[12]
In 1919, still under King's leadership, West
Ham gained entrance to the Football League
Second Division and were promoted to Division
One in 1923, making the FA Cup final at the same
time. The team enjoyed mixed success in Division
1 but retained their status for 10 years and
reached an FA Cup semi final in 1927, 4 years
later.
In 1932 the club was relegated to Division
Two and long term custodian Sydney King was
sacked after serving the club in the role of
Manager for 32 years, and as a player from 1899
to 1903. He was replaced with his assistant
manager Charlie Paynter who himself had been
with West Ham in a number of roles since 1897
and who went on to serve the team in this role
until 1950 for a total of 480 games.
The club spent most of the next 30 years in
this division, first under Paynter and then
later under the leadership of former player Ted
Fenton. Fenton succeeded in getting the club
once again promoted to the top level of English
football in 1958 and in helping develop both the
initial batch of future West Ham stars and West
Ham's approach to the game.
Ron Greenwood was appointed as Fenton's
successor in 1961 and he soon led the club to
two major trophies, winning the FA Cup in 1964
and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965.
During the 1966 World Cup, an important part of
the England national football team was composed
of West Ham players, including the captain,
Bobby Moore, Martin Peters (who scored in the
final), and Geoff Hurst, who scored the only
ever hat-trick to-date in a World Cup final.
After a difficult start to the 1974-75 season,
Greenwood moved himself "upstairs" to become
General Manager and without informing the board,
appointed his assistant John Lyall to the role
of Team manager. The result was instant success
as the team went on an incredible goalscoring
run hitting the net no fewer than 20 times in
their first 4 games under the new Manager who
then led them on to win the FA Cup in his first
season.
Lyall then guided West Ham to another
European Cup Winners' Cup final in 1976, though
the team lost the match 4-2 to Anderlecht.
Greenwood's new role within the club lasted less
than three years as he was appointed to manage
England in the wake of Don Revie's resignation
in 1977.
In 1978, the club were again relegated to
Division Two but the board stuck by their
manager and Lyall was able to lead West Ham to
another FA Cup win in 1980. No team since has
won the trophy from outside the top division.
They were promoted to Division One in 1981,
having spent only 3 years in the lower league,
although they were relegated after 8 seasons in
1989 This relegation resulted in John Lyall's
sacking, in spite of the fact that this stay in
Division One saw West Ham achieve their highest
ever placing in the top division, finishing 3rd
in 1986.
Very briefly, they were led by Lou Macari,
though he resigned after less than a single
season in order to clear his name of allegations
of illegal betting whilst manager of Swindon
Town, and former player Billy Bonds was the next
West Ham manager in charge. In his first full
season, 1990-91, West Ham again secured
promotion to Division One. The following season,
1991-92, they were relegated, to the newly
christened Division One (formerly Division 2),
missing out on the inaugural Premier league
season. West Ham again only spent one year in
Division One, before finishing 2nd and gaining
promotion to the Premier League in May 1993.
After a more stable season in the Premier
League, Bonds acrimoniously and controversially
quit, and was replaced by Harry Redknapp in
August 1994. Redknapp was active in the transfer
market, and gained a reputation as a
"wheeler-dealer" especially with foreign players
being more available following the Bosman
ruling. He led West Ham to 5th place in 1998/99
but they missed out on automatic qualification
for the UEFA Cup (despite seasons prior to and
since where 5th was good enough), but did indeed
qualify for that competition as winners of the
Intertoto Cup. Despite consolidating the league
placings for a handful of seasons, a
disagreement with the board of directors during
the close of the 2000-01 season, found Redknapp
replaced with Glenn Roeder, promoted from Youth
team coach.
In Roeder's first season the team finished
7th (an improvement on Redknapp's last finish of
15th.), but there were worrying signs as West
Ham lost 7-1 to Blackburn and 5-0 and 5-1 to
Everton and Chelsea respectively. The subsequent
season started poorly and eventually resulted in
relegation. Following ill-health and poor
results, Roeder was sacked in August 2003 after
only 3 games in charge in Division 1. Trevor
Brooking (who served as manager during Glenn's
ill health the previous season) stepped in as
interim manager before being replaced with Alan
Pardew in October 2003, headhunted from
promotion rivals Reading. Pardew led the team to
a playoff final, though they were beaten by
Crystal Palace. The club stayed in Division One
for another season, when they again reached the
playoff final, but this time won and gained
re-entry to the Premiership.
On their return to the Premiership, West Ham
finished in 9th place,[13]
restoring pride to many West Ham supporters.[citation
needed] The highlight of the
2005-06 season, however, was reaching the FA Cup
final, and taking favourites Liverpool to a
penalty shootout where they lost, but gained
entry to the UEFA Cup as Liverpool had qualified
for the Champions League through league
position.
West Ham completed a major coup by the end of
the 2006 transfer window, after completing the
signings of Carlos Tévez and Javier Mascherano.[14]
The club was eventually bought by an Icelandic
consortium, led by Eggert Magnússon in November
2006.[15]
Manager Alan Pardew was sacked after poor form
during the season[16]
and was replaced by former Charlton manager Alan
Curbishley.[5]
The signings of Mascherano and Tévez were
investigated by the Premier League, who were
concerned that details regarding the transfers
had been omitted from official records and the
club was found guilty and in April 2007 fined
5.5 million pounds.[17]
However, the Club was lucky to avoid any points
deduction which ended up being critical in their
fight to avoid relegation at the end of the
2006/07 Season. Following on from this event,
the Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan
threatened legal action supported by other sides
facing possible relegation, including Fulham and
Sheffield Utd.[18]
West Ham ultimately escaped relegation by
winning seven of their last nine games,
including a 1-0 win over Arsenal, and on the
last day of the season defeating newly crowned
League Champions Manchester United 1-0 with a
goal by Carlos Tevez to finish outside the
relegation zone in 15th. The contribution of
Carlos Tevez ended up being critical to the
survival of the club in the Premiership as he
scored seven goals, five of them crucial, in the
last couple of months of the season to enable
the team to stay up.
The signs after a dozen games of the 2007/08
season were that West Ham would produce a more
stable season in mid-table of the Premier
League.
Crest
The original club crest was a crossed pair of
rivet hammers; tools commonly used in the iron
and shipbuilding industry. A castle was later
(circa 1903/4) added to the crest and represents
a prominent local building, Green Street House,
which was known as "Boleyn Castle" through an
association with Anne Boleyn. The manor was
reportedly one of the sites at which Henry VIII
courted his second queen, though in truth there
is no factual evidence other than the tradition
of rumour.[19]
The castle may have also been added as a
result of the contribution made to the club by
players of Old Castle Swifts, or even the
adoption (in 1904) of Boleyn Castle FC[20]
as their reserve side when they took over their
grounds on the site.
The crest was redesigned and updated by
London design agency Springett Associates in the
late 1990s, featuring a wider yellow castle with
fewer cruciform "windows" along with the peaked
roofs being removed the tops of the towers that
had previously made it appear more akin to
Disneyland Sleeping Beauty's Castle than a
functioning fortress. The designer also altered
shape of the hammer heads, border and other
small changes in order to give a more
substantial feel to the iconography.
When the club redesigned the facade of the
stadium (construction finished 2001/02) the
'castle' from the later badge was incorporated
into the structure at the main entrance to the
ground. A pair of towers are now prominent
features of the grounds appearance, both bearing
the clubs modern insignia (which is also located
in the foyer, and other strategic locations).
Colours
The original colours of the team were dark
blue, due to Thames Iron Works chairman Arnold
Hills being a former student of Oxford
University. However the team used a variety of
kits including the claret and sky blue house
colours of Thames Iron Works, as well as sky
blue or white uniforms.[21][22]
The Irons permanently adopted claret and blue
for home colours in the summer of 1899. Thames
Ironworks right-half Charlie Dove received the
kit from his father William Dove, who was a
professional sprinter of national repute, as
well as being involved with the coaching at
Thames Ironworks. Bill Dove had been at a fair
in Birmingham, close to Villa Park, the home
ground of Aston Villa and was challenged to a
race against four Villa players, who wagered
money that one of them would win.
Bill Dove defeated them and, when they were
unable to pay the bet, one of the Villa players
who was responsible for washing the team's kit
offered a complete side's 'uniforms' to Dove in
payment. The Aston Villa player subsequently
reported to his club that the kit was 'missing'.
Thames Ironworks, and later West Ham United,
retained the claret yoke/blue sleeves design,
but also continued to use their previously
favoured colours for their away kits, and
indeed, in recent years the club have committed
to a dark blue-white-sky blue rotation for the
away colours.
Supporters, and
hooliganism and rivalries
Supporters
The team's supporters are well known for
their rendition of the chorus of their team's
anthem, I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
introduced to the club by former manager Charlie
Paynter in the late twenties. At the time, a
Pears soap commercial featuring the curly haired
child in the Millais "Bubbles" painting who
resembled a player Billy J. "Bubbles" Murray in
a local schoolboy team of Park School for whom
the headmaster Cornelius Beal coined singing the
tune "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" with amended
lyrics.
Beal was a friend of Paynter, whilst Murray was
a West Ham trialist and played football at
schoolboy level with a number of West Ham
players such as Jim Barrett. Through this
contrivance of association the clubs fans took
it upon themselves to begin singing the popular
music hall tune before
home games, sometimes reinforced by the presence
of a house band requested to play the refrain by
Charlie Paynter.[25]
There is a slight change to the lyrics sung
by the Upton Park faithful. The second line's
"nearly reach the sky" is changed to
"they reach the sky", "Then like my
dreams" is also changed to "And like my
dreams". In addition the fans begin a chant
of "United, United!" to cap it off.
I'm forever
blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air.
They fly so high, nearly reach
the sky,
And like my dreams they fade and
die.
Fortune's always hiding,
I've looked everywhere...
I'm forever blowing bubbles,
pretty
bubbles in the air. |
|
—original lyrics to
"Bubbles", from John Helliar[25) |
| |
Bow Bells are
ringing, for the Claret and Blue,
Bow Bells are ringing, for the
Claret and Blue,
When the Hammers are scoring, and
the South Bank are roaring,
And the money is pouring, for the
Claret and Blue,
Claret and Blue,
No relegation for the Claret and
Blue,
Just celebration for the Claret and
Blue,
One day we'll win a cup or two, or
three,
Or four or more, for West Ham and
the Claret and Blue. |
|
—Supporters song to
the tune of 'The Bells are Ringing',
c.1960[26] |
The 1975 FA Cup version - which contains the
original lyrics, and features vocals from the
teams then current players - is always played
before home games, with the home crowd joining
in and carrying the song on after the music
stops at the verse line "Fortune's always
hiding". The song was originally released as a
single by the 1975 Cup Final squad and has been
covered on occasion by such as the Cockney
Rejects.
Like other teams (such as Liverpool F.C.'s
adoption of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" and
"You'll Never Walk Alone") the team also
have a history of adopting or adapting popular
songs of the day to fit particular events,
themes, players or personas. These have included
serious renditions of theatre and movie classics
such as "The Bells are Ringing", along
with more pun laden or humorous efforts such as
chanting former player Paolo di Canio's name to
the canzone La donna è mobile by Verdi,
or D.I.Canio to the tune of Ottawans D.I.S.C.O.,
or singing That's Zamora to the tune of Dean
Martins 1953 classic That's Amore in honour of
Bobby Zamora.
On the fans' darker side, they gained
national attention after giving a torrid time to
David Beckham in his first away match of 1998-9
the season after the England midfielder was sent
off for a petulant foul on Diego Simeone.[27]
Coinciding with the game there were claims (and
an image taken) that fans, organised by a
hardcore, had hung an effigy of the player
outside a local pub. They also boo'd the players
every touch of the ball during the game.[28]
They have also displayed a particular zeal
when it comes to abusing former players
particularly those who are perceived to have
abandoned the club, or performed some
disservice. Famously Paul Ince ("Judas,
Judas"[29]),
Frank Lampard("Fat Lumpolard"[30])
and Jermain Defoe ("You're just a small Paul
Ince"[31])
have bore the brunt of verbal assaults and a
guaranteed hostile reception at Upton Park.
However, players such as Joe Cole, Michael
Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Carlos Tevez receive
applause and even standing ovations in honour of
their contributions during their time at the
club..
Hooliganism
During the 1970s and 1980s (the main era for
organised football-related violence) the
hostilities continued as "firms" associated with
the clubs continued to fight. West Ham gained
some notoriety for the amount of hooliganism in
their fan base; and for being supported by the
most feared and dangerous firms alongside those
for Chelsea and Millwall. Both The Mile End Mob
(named after a particularly tough area of the
East End of London), and The Inter City Firm (so
called because they avoided police supervision
by not wearing football-related clothing and
travelling to away matches on regular "Inter
City" trains, rather than on the cheap and more
tightly-policed "football special" charter
trains) were infamous West Ham-aligned gangs. As
the latter firm's name suggests the firms'
violent activities were not confined to local
derbies - the hooligans were content to cause
trouble at any game, though nearby teams bore
the brunt. During the 1990s, and to the present
day, sophisticated surveillance and policing
coupled with club supported promotions and
community action has reduced the level of
violence, though the intense rivalry and
association with Millwall remains.
Rivalries
West Ham have strong rivalries with several
other clubs. Most of these are with other London
clubs, especially with their neighbours
Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and also with
Chelsea, which sublimates the age-old East
versus West London rivalry.
The strongest and oldest rivalry is with
Millwall. The two sides are local rivals, both
formed originally around works sides Thames Iron
Works and Millwall Iron Works shipbuilding
companies. They were both rivals for the same
contracts, and the same men in the same
locality. The early history of both clubs are
intertwined, with West Ham initially coming out
on top in a number of meetings between the two
teams eventually resulting in West Ham being
promoted at the expense of Millwall. Millwall
later turned down joining the fledgling Football
League only to see West Ham go on to the top
division and an FA Cup final. Later in the 1920s
the rivalry was supposedly spiced up during
strike action made by East End (perceived to be
West Ham fans) that Isle Of Dogs based companies
(i.e. Millwall fans) refused to support breeding
ill will between the two camps.
Nicknames
The fans and club alike are known as "The
Hammers" by the media, partly because of the
club's origins as Thames Ironworks company
football team (see club crest) and also
(incorrectly) due to the clubs name. However,
they are also known as "The Irons" by their own
supporters (again, from the club's origins at
the Thames Ironworks). They are also known as
"The Cockney Boys" from their history of being a
cockney team.
Trivia
- The first ever FA Cup final to be held
at the old Wembley stadium, in 1923,
featured West Ham United vs Bolton
Wanderers. This was also known as the White
Horse Final. This is because so many people
turned up to the game, (estimated at
240,000), that they spilled out on to the
pitch. The pitch had to be cleared prior to
kick-off, by Billie, a giant white
horse (actually grey) being ridden by P.C.
George Scorey. The cup final match itself
ended at 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers. Had the
new Wembley Stadium been completed on
schedule for the 2006 FA Cup final West Ham
would also have featured in the opening of
the new stadium. It was considered that it
was very appropriate that West Ham United
appeared at the first Wembley final on the
basis that the club name is an anagram of
"The New Stadium". It also follows that had
the replacement Wembley Stadium been
completed on time then the Hammers would
have played against Liverpool repeating that
first and reminding all of the anagram!
- West Ham are both the last team to win
the FA cup with an all English side (a feat
that may never be repeated) and the last
team to win the FA cup whilst playing in the
second tier of English football.
- West Ham on April 7th 2007 became the
first club to beat Arsenal at their new
Emirates Stadium, an interesting piece of
trivia as West Ham were also the last club
to beat Arsenal at their old Highbury
Stadium. In fact, during the Premiership
Season 2006-2007 West Ham did the 'double'
over Arsenal and Manchester United taking a
maximum six points from the two games played
against both teams, (P4 W4 D0 L0 F4 A0).
- There is a "Champions" statue in Barking
Road, opposite The Boleyn pub, commemorating
West Ham's three sons who helped win the
1966 World Cup: Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and
Martin Peters. Also included on the statue
is Everton's Ray Wilson.
- The character Alf Garnett in the TV
series Till Death Us Do Part is a West Ham
supporter. Episodes of the series
[32][33]
featured Bobby Moore and other members of
the team.
- A 2005 film entitled Green Street is
based around the exploits of a fictional
West Ham firm (loosely based on the ICF).
Stadium
West Ham are currently based at the Boleyn
Ground, commonly known as Upton Park, in Newham,
East London. The capacity of the Boleyn Ground
is 35,146. This has been West Ham's ground since
1904. Prior to this, in their previous
incarnation of Thames Ironworks F.C., they
played at Hermit Road in Canning Town and
briefly at Browning Road in East Ham, before
moving to the Memorial Grounds in Plaistow in
1897. They retained the stadium during their
transition to becoming West Ham United and were
there for a further four seasons before moving
to the Boleyn Ground in 1904.
Former chairman Eggert Magnússon made clear
his ambition for West Ham United to move to the
Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Olympics.
However, the move to the Olympic Stadium was
abandoned when it was revealed that the stadium
would have a reduced capacity from the current
Boleyn Ground, and would have to remain
primarily an athletics venue.[34]
As the move is no longer possible, Magnússon
is eager to find another venue, and insists West
Ham will preferably move from the Boleyn Ground
in the future.[35]
Magnusson along with Legal and Commercial
Director,- Scott Duxbury, have said that a move
to a new ground is likely by approximately 2011,
with the site for the new stadium likely to be
the current Royal Mail depot next to West Ham
station.[36]
The Academy of
Football
The club promotes the popular idea of West
Ham being "The Academy of Football", with the
monicker adorning the ground's new stadium
façade. The comment predominantly refers to the
club's youth development system which was
established by Manager Ted Fenton during the
1950's, that has seen a number of international
players emerge through the ranks.[37]
Most notably the club contributed three players
to the World Cup winning England side of 1966
including club icon Bobby Moore, as well as
Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst who between them
scored all of England's goals in the eventual
4-2 victory. Other academy players that have
gone on to play for England have included Trevor
Brooking, Alvin Martin, Tony Cottee and Paul
Ince. More recently, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole,
Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson, and Frank Lampard
have begun their careers at the club.
Frustratingly, for the fans and managers alike,[38]
the club has struggled to retain many of these
players due to (predominantly) financial[39]
reasons.
Notable former
players
In the 2003 book The Official West Ham
United Dream Team, 500 fans were quizzed for
who would be in their all time Hammers Eleven.
The voting was restricted to players from the
modern era.
|
1 |
GK |
Phil Parkes |
|
2 |
DF |
Ray Stewart |
|
3 |
DF |
Julian Dicks |
|
4 |
MF |
Billy Bonds |
|
5 |
DF |
Alvin Martin |
|
6 |
DF |
Bobby Moore |
|
7 |
MF |
Martin Peters |
|
8 |
MF |
Trevor Brooking |
|
9 |
FW |
Geoff Hurst |
|
10 |
FW |
Paolo Di Canio |
|
11 |
MF |
Alan Devonshire |
Hammer of the Year
| Year |
Winner |
|
1958 |
Andy Malcolm |
| 1959 |
Ken
Brown |
| 1960 |
Malcolm
Musgrove |
| 1961 |
Bobby
Moore |
| 1962 |
Lawrie
Leslie |
| 1963 |
Bobby
Moore |
| 1964 |
Johnny
Byrne |
| 1965 |
Martin
Peters |
| 1966 |
Geoff
Hurst |
| 1967 |
Geoff
Hurst |
| 1968 |
Bobby
Moore |
| 1969 |
Geoff
Hurst |
| 1970 |
Bobby
Moore |
|
| Year |
Winner |
| 1971 |
Billy
Bonds |
| 1972 |
Trevor
Brooking |
| 1973 |
Bryan
'Pop' Robson |
| 1974 |
Billy
Bonds |
| 1975 |
Billy
Bonds |
| 1976 |
Trevor
Brooking |
| 1977 |
Trevor
Brooking |
| 1978 |
Trevor
Brooking |
| 1979 |
Alan
Devonshire |
| 1980 |
Alvin
Martin |
| 1981 |
Phil
Parkes |
| 1982 |
Alvin
Martin |
| 1983 |
Alvin
Martin |
|
| Year |
Winner |
| 1984 |
Trevor
Brooking |
| 1985 |
Paul
Allen |
| 1986 |
Tony
Cottee |
| 1987 |
Billy
Bonds |
| 1988 |
Stewart
Robson |
| 1989 |
Paul
Ince |
| 1990 |
Julian
Dicks |
| 1991 |
Luděk
Mikloško |
| 1992 |
Julian
Dicks |
| 1993 |
Steve
Potts |
| 1994 |
Trevor
Morley |
| 1995 |
Steve
Potts |
| 1996 |
Julian
Dicks |
|
| Year |
Winner |
| 1997 |
Julian Dicks |
| 1998 |
Rio
Ferdinand |
| 1999 |
Shaka Hislop |
| 2000 |
Paolo Di Canio |
| 2001 |
Stuart Pearce |
| 2002 |
Sebastian Schemmel |
| 2003 |
Joe
Cole |
| 2004 |
Matthew Etherington |
| 2005 |
Teddy Sheringham |
| 2006 |
Danny Gabbidon |
| 2007 |
Carlos Tevez |
|
Managers
West Ham have had only 12 managers in their
history, fewer than any other major English
club. Up until 1989 the club had only had five
different managers. The club have never had an
overseas manager, with the only non-Englishman
being Lou Macari, who is Scottish. Former
Hammers player and board member Trevor Brooking
was briefly in charge during two separate spells
as caretaker manager in 2003, first during the
illness of Glenn Roeder and again between
Roeder's sacking and the appointment of Alan
Pardew.
| Manager |
Period |
| Alan Curbishley |
2006 - present |
| Alan Pardew |
2003- 2006 |
| Glenn Roeder |
2001-2003 |
| Harry Redknapp |
1994-2001 |
| Billy Bonds |
1990-1994 |
| Lou Macari |
1989-1990 |
| John Lyall |
1974-1989 |
| Ron Greenwood |
1961-1974 |
| Ted Fenton |
1950-1961 |
| Charlie Paynter |
1932-1950 |
| Syd King |
1901-1932 |
Ownership
West Ham United was owned by Terry Brown
until 2006, when Eggert Magnússon and an
associated consortium bought the club, sacked
manager Alan Pardew, and employed ex-Charlton
Athletic Manager Alan Curbishley. In a bizarre
twist of fate, the two managers met each other
in a relegation battle where the Hammers lost
4-0 to their South East London rivals. Terry
Brown was criticised by some sections of the
fans (including pressure group Whistle
specifically formed for this purpose) due to a
perception of financial and staff
mis-management.
Honours
Senior
European
- European Cup
Winners' Cup Winners: 1964-65
- Football
League Championship Play-Off
Winners: 2005
- Western
Football League Champions 1907/8
Cup
- FA Cup
Winners: 1964, 1975, 1980
- Charity
Shield: 1964 (shared)
- Football
League War Cup Winners: 1940
- Milk Cup
Winners: 1996 (Junior) & 1997
(Junior)
Other
- BBC Sports
Personality of the Year Team
Award: 1965
|
Statistics and
records
Attendance
- Highest league attendance: 42,322 v
Tottenham Hotspur, Division One, 17 October
1970
- Lowest league attendance: 4,373 v
Doncaster Rovers, Division Two, 24 February
1955
Transfers
- Biggest Transfer fee paid: £7.50 million
to Liverpool FC for Craig Bellamy (July
2007)
- Biggest Transfer fee received: £18
million from Leeds United for Rio Ferdinand
(November 2000)
Record results and
performances
Victories
League:
- Premiership:
- Home: 6-0 v Barnsley, 1998
- Away: 5-0 v Derby County, 10/11/2007
- Division One:
- Home: 8-0 v Sunderland, 19/10/68
- Away: 6-1 v Manchester City, 8/9/62
- Division Two:
- Home: 8-0 Rotherham United, 8/3/58
- Away: 6-0 Leicester City,
- Home: 5-0 Plymouth Argyle,
FA Cup:
- Home: 8-1 v Chesterfield (Rd 1), 10/1/14
- Away: 5-0 v Chatham (Rd 5 Q), 28/11/1903
League Cup:
- Home: 10-0 v Bury (Rd 2 leg 2), 25/10/83
- Away: 5-1 v Cardiff City (sf leg 2),
2/2/66 & 5-1 v Walsall (Rd 2), 13/9/67
Europe:
- Home: 5-1 v Castilla (Rd 1 leg 2)
Cup-Winners' Cup, 1/10/80
Defeats
League:
- Premiership:
- Home: 0-4 v Arsenal F.C. 1997
- Home: 0-4 v Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
1996
- Away: 0-6 v Reading F.C. 01/01/07
- Division One:
- Home: 2-8 v Blackburn Rovers 26/12/63
- Away: 0-7 Everton 22/10/27 & 0-7 v
Sheffield Wednesday 28/11/59
- Division Two:
- Home: 0-6 v Sheffield Wednesday 8/12/51
- Away: 0-7 v Barnsley 1/9/19
FA Cup:
- Home: 1-5 v Huddersfield Town (Rd 3
Replay) 13/1/60
- Away: 0-6 v Manchester United (Rd 4)
26/1/03
League Cup:
- Home: 2-5 v Barnsley (Rd 2 leg 2)
6/10/87
- Away: 0-6 v Oldham Athletic (SF leg 1)
14/2/90
Club goal records
- Most League Goals In A Season:
- 101, Division Two 1957-58
- Top League Scorer In A Season:
- Vic Watson (42) Div. One 1929-30
- Top Scorer In A Season:
- Vic Watson (50) Div. One 1929-30
- Most Goals In One Match:
- Vic Watson (6) v Leeds United (h)
9/2/29
- Geoff Hurst (6) v Sunderland (h)
19/10/68
- Brian Dear (5) v West Brom (h)
16/4/65
Player records
Appearances
- 793 Billy Bonds 1967-88
- 674 Frank Lampard Sr. 1967-85
- 646 Bobby Moore 1958-74
- 635 Trevor Brooking 1967-84
- 601 Alvin Martin 1977-96
- 548 Jimmy Ruffell 1921-37
- 505 Steve Potts 1985-2002
- 505 Vic Watson 1920-35
- 502 Geoff Hurst 1959-72
- 467 Jim Barrett 1924-43
Goals
- 326 Vic Watson 1920-35
- 252 Geoff Hurst 1959-72
- 166 John Dick 1953-63
- 166 Jimmy Ruffell 1921-37
- 146 Tony Cottee 1983-88/1994-96
- 107 Johnny Byrne 1961-67
- 104 Bryan 'Pop' Robson
1970-74/1976-79
- 102 Trevor Brooking 1967-84
- 100 Malcolm Musgrove 1953-63
- 100 Martin Peters 1962-70