West Ham United F.C.
Encyclopedia
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham
, East London. They play in The Football League Championship
. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC
and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current Boleyn Ground
stadium. They initially competed in the Southern League
and Western League
before eventually joining the full Football League
in 1919 and subsequently enjoyed promotion to the top flight for the 1923 season. 1923 also saw the club feature in the first FA Cup Final to be held at Wembley against Bolton Wanderers
.
In 1940 the team won the inaugural Football League War Cup
. The club have won the FA Cup
three times: in 1964, 1975 and 1980 as well as being runners-up twice, in 1923 and 2006. In 1965, they won the European Cup Winners Cup
, and in 1999 they won the Intertoto Cup. The club's best final league position is third place in the 1985–86 (old) First Division
.
Three West Ham players were considered an important factor behind England
's triumph in the 1966 World Cup. England's captain at the time was West Ham's Bobby Moore
, and both goalscorers in the final were then current players Geoff Hurst
and Martin Peters
.
The earliest generally accepted incarnation of West Ham United was founded in 1895 as the Thames Ironworks
team by foreman and local league referee Dave Taylor
and owner Arnold Hills
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), Tom Mundy, Walter Tranter and James Lindsay (all boilermakers), William Chapman, George Sage, and William Chamberlain and apprentice riveter Charlie Dove
.
The club, Thames Ironworks
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. 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
in a relegation play-off, 5–1 in late April 1900 and retained their First Division status.
The team initially played in full dark blue kits, as inspired by Mr. Hills, who had been an 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
players, who were League Champions at the time.
Following growing disputes over the running and financing of the club in June 1900 Thames Ironworks F.C. was disbanded, then almost immediately relaunched on 5 July 1900 as West Ham United F.C. with Syd King
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.
(funded by Arnold Hills) but moved to a pitch
in the Upton Park area when the team officially severed ties with the company (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 until moving to its current home, Upton Park
(in the guise of the Boleyn Ground
stadium), in 1904.
West Ham's first game in their new home was against fierce rivals Millwall
(themselves an Ironworks team, albeit for a rival company) drawing a crowd of 10,000 and with West Ham running out 3–0 winners, and as the Daily Mirror wrote on 2 September 1904:
West Ham Utd had joined the Western League for the 1901 season 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.
In 1919, still under King's leadership, West Ham gained entrance to the Football League Second Division
, the first game being a 1–1 draw with Lincoln City
, and were promoted to Division One in 1923, also making the first ever FA Cup Final
to be held at the old Wembley stadium. Their opponents were Bolton Wanderers
. This was also known as the White Horse Final. This is because so many people turned up to the game, (estimated at 200,000), 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 PC
George Scorey. The Cup Final match itself ended 2–0 to Bolton Wanderers. The team enjoyed mixed success in Division 1 but retained their status for 10 years and reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1927.
In 1932 the club was relegated to Division Two and long term custodian Syd 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.
in 1964 and the European Cup Winners' Cup
in 1965.
During the 1966 World Cup, key members of the tournament winners England
were West Ham players, including the captain, Bobby Moore
; Martin Peters
(who scored in the final); and Geoff Hurst
, who scored the first, and only, hat-trick
in a World Cup
final.
There is a "Champions" statue in Barking Road, opposite The Boleyn Arms, 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.
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
as team manager. The result was instant success – the team scored 20 goals in the their first four games combined and won the FA Cup, becoming the last team to win the FA Cup with an all English side when they beat Fulham 2–0 in the 1975 final.
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 tenure as General Manager lasted less than three years, as he was appointed to manage England in the wake of Don Revie
's resignation in 1977.
After Lyall, Lou Macari
briefly led the team, 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. He was replaced by former player Billy Bonds
. In Bonds' first full season (1990–91
), West Ham again secured promotion to Division One. The following season they were again relegated to Division 2, which had been renamed Division One as part of the league realignments surrounding the creation of the FA Premier League
in 1992. West Ham spent the 1992–93 season in Division One. finishing second and returning to the Premier League in May 1993.
After the 1993–94 season, Bonds quit and was replaced by Harry Redknapp
in August 1994. He led West Ham to fifth place in the 1998–99 season, but missed automatic qualification for the UEFA Cup, and instead qualified 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
led to Redknapp being replaced by Glenn Roeder
, promoted from youth team coach.
In Roeder's first season the team finished seventh, but West Ham lost by wide margins in several matches (7–1 to Blackburn
, 5–0 to Everton
and 5–1 to Chelsea
) The subsequent season started badly and eventually resulted in relegation. West Ham's tally of 42 points is the highest by any team relegated from the Premier League in a 38 game season. Roeder, who had missed some of the season after being diagnosed with a brain tumour that was treated) was sacked on 24 August 2003, three games into the Championship campaign.
Trevor Brooking (who served as manager during Glenn's ill health the previous season) stepped in as interim manager before being replaced by Alan Pardew
in October 2003, headhunted from fellow promotion contenders Reading
.
Pardew led the team to a playoff
final, though they were beaten by Crystal Palace
. The club stayed in Division One (which at this time became the Championship) for another season, when they again reached the playoff final
, but this time won, beating Preston North End
1–0, gaining re-entry to the Premier League.
to a penalty shootout, after a three-all draw. West Ham lost the shootout but still gained entry to the UEFA Cup as Liverpool had already qualified for the Champions League.
In August 2006, West Ham completed a major coup on the last day of the transfer window, after completing the signings of Carlos Tévez
and Javier Mascherano. The club was eventually bought by an Iceland
ic consortium, led by Eggert Magnússon
in November 2006. Manager Alan Pardew was sacked after poor form during the season and was replaced by former Charlton manager Alan Curbishley
.
The signings of Mascherano and Tévez were investigated by the Premier League, who were concerned that details of the transfers had been omitted from official records. The club was found guilty and fined 5.5 million pounds in April 2007. However, West Ham avoided a points deduction which ultimately became critical in their avoidance of relegation at the end of the 2006–07 season. Following on from this event, Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan, supported by other sides facing possible relegation, including Fulham and Sheffield United, threatened legal action.
West Ham 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 defeated newly crowned League Champions Manchester United
1–0 with a goal by Tévez to finish 15th.
In the 2007–08 season
, West Ham had a reasonably consistent place in the top half of the league table despite a slew of injuries; new signings Craig Bellamy
and Kieron Dyer
missed most of the campaign. The last game of the season, at the Boleyn Ground
, saw West Ham draw 2–2 against Aston Villa
; ensuring 10th place, finishing three points ahead of rivals Tottenham Hotspur
. It was a five-place improvement on the previous season, and most importantly West Ham were never under any realistic threat of relegation.
After a row with the board over the sale of defenders Anton Ferdinand
and George McCartney
to Sunderland, manager Alan Curbishley
resigned on 3 September 2008. His successor was former Chelsea striker Gianfranco Zola
. Zola took over on 11 September 2008 and in so doing became the club's first non-British manager. In the 2008–09 season West Ham finished 9th, a single place improvement.
In the 2009–10 season, West Ham started strongly with a 2–0 win over newly promoted Wolves
with goals from Mark Noble
and newly appointed captain Matthew Upson
. A League Cup
match against old rivals Millwall
brought about violent riots outside the ground as well as pitch invasion
s and crowd trouble inside Upton Park
.
In August 2009 the financial concerns of Icelandic owners parent companies left the current owners unable to provide any funds until a new owner was found. The club's shirt sponsor SBOBET
provided the club with help purchase a much needed striker, Alessandro Diamanti
.
West Ham had a poor season which involved a prolonged battle against relegation. They finally secured their survival with two games remaining by defeating Wigan Athletic 3–2. The club managed to take 35 points from 38 games, 7 fewer than the total they had when relegated 7 years prior.
On 11 May 2010, two days after the end of the 2009–10 season, West Ham announced the termination of Zola's contract with immediate effect.
On 3 June 2010, Avram Grant signed a four year deal to become the next manager of West Ham subject to a work permit
. West Ham's form has continued to be poor with the team seldom outside the relegation zone, placing Grant's future as manager under serious doubt. A 4–0 Football League Cup
quarter-final win over Manchester United
was an otherwise bright point in a disappointing season.
West Ham's form in the Premier League did not affect their form in the two domestic cups. The Hammers reached the semi-final of the League Cup before being eliminated by eventual winners Birmingham City
as well as the quarter final of the FA cup before a 2–1 defeat at Stoke City
.
On 15 May 2011, West Ham's relegation to the Championship was confirmed after a comeback from Wigan Athletic
at the DW Stadium. With West Ham leading 2–0 at half-time by two Demba Ba
goals, Wigan battled back to win 3–2 thanks to an added-time strike from Charles N'Zogbia
. Following the loss, West Ham announced the sacking of manager Avram Grant just one season into his tenure. On 1 June 2011, Sam Allardyce
was appointed as manager as Grant's replacement.
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 1903/04) 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.
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 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 had previously made the castle appear more akin to Disneyland
's Sleeping Beauty's Castle than a functioning fortress. The designer also altered other details 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 ground's appearance, both bearing the club's modern insignia (which is also located in the foyer and other strategic locations).
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 Ironworks, as well as sky blue or white kit.
The Irons permanently adopted claret and blue for home colours in the summer of 1899. Thames Ironworks
right-half Charlie Dove
received the Aston Villa
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 team's 'football kits' to Dove in payment. The Aston Villa player subsequently reported to his club that the kit was 'missing'. This however, is often disputed. The predecessors of Thames Ironworks, Old Castle Swifts FC, played in pale blue shirts, white shorts and claret socks as early as 1892, around the same time Aston Villa played in said same colours.
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.
" introduced to the club by former manager Charlie Paynter in the late 1920s. A Pears soap
commercial featuring the curly haired child in the Millais "Bubbles
" was well known at the time, The child resembled a player, Billy J. "Bubbles" Murray, from local schoolboy team, Park School, where the headmaster was Cornelius Beal. Beal was known locally for his music and rhyme and wrote special words to the tune of "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" whenever any player was having a good game.
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.
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.
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". It is interesting from a musical point of view that the FA Cup version of Bubbles is played in 4/4 time, whereas during the game the crowd always sing it in its original 3/4 - Bubbles was published as a Waltz.
Like other teams (such as Liverpool's adoption of "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 Ottawan
's D.I.S.C.O., or the chant of "Who Let The Pott's Out?" to the tune of "Who Let the Dogs Out?
" when Potts could be seen warming up to come on as substitute late on in his career or That's Zamora, to the tune of Dean Martin
's 1953 That's Amore
in honour of former Iron striker Bobby Zamora
. Other former players to be serenaded include Christian Dailly
with vastly altered lyrics to Can't Take My Eyes Off You
, and Ludek Miklosko
.
Fans gained national attention after giving a torrid time to David Beckham
in his first away match of 1998–99 the season after the England midfielder was sent off for a petulant foul on Diego Simeone. 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. Although it was later revealed that the pub was in South-East London
, the heartland of West Ham's greatest rivals Millwall
. The West Ham fans did boo Beckham's every touch of the ball during the game, however.
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
, Frank Lampard
, Jermain Defoe
, Craig Bellamy
and Nigel Reo-Coker
have born the brunt of verbal assaults and a guaranteed hostile reception at Upton Park. However, players such as Joe Cole
, Michael Carrick
, Rio Ferdinand
, Bobby Zamora
and Carlos Tévez
receive applause and even standing ovations in honour of their contributions during their time at the club.
During the 1970s and 1980s (the main era for organised football-related violence) West Ham gained further notoriety for the levels of hooliganism in their fan base and antagonistic behaviour towards both their own and rival fans, and the police. During the 70s in particular, rival groups of West Ham Fans from neighbouring areas often did battle with each other at games, most often groups from the neighbouring districts of Barking & Dagenham.
The Inter City Firm
were one of the first "casuals
", so called because they avoided police supervision by not wearing football-related clothing and travelled to away matches on regular InterCity
trains, rather than on the cheap and more tightly policed "football special" charter trains. The group were an infamous West Ham-aligned gang. As the firm's moniker "inter city" suggests violent activities were not confined to local derbies – the hooligans were content to cause trouble at any game, though nearby teams often bore the brunt.
and with Chelsea
, which sublimates the east versus west London rivalry. The rivalry between West Ham and Tottenham has been fuelled by players such as Michael Carrick
, Martin Peters
, Paul Allen
, Jermain Defoe
and Scott Parker
leaving the Hammers to join Tottenham. The rivalry deepened with the appointment of former Hammers manager Harry Redknapp
as Tottenham's manager.
The strongest and oldest rivalry is with Millwall
. The two sides are local rivals, having both formed originally around the works sides Thames Ironworks and Millwall Ironworks shipbuilding
companies. They were rivals for the same contracts and the players lived in the same locality. The early history of both clubs are intertwined, with West Ham proving to be the more successful in a number of meetings between the two teams, resulting in West Ham being promoted at the expense of Millwall. Millwall later declined to join the fledgling Football League
while West Ham went on to the top division and an FA Cup final. Later in the 1920s the rivalry was intensified during strike action started by the East End
(perceived to be West Ham fans) which Isle Of Dogs
-based companies (i.e. Millwall fans) refused to support, breeding ill will between the two camps, the bitterness of this betrayal enduring for years.
The rivalry between West Ham and Millwall has involved considerable violence and is one of the most notorious within the world of football hooliganism. The teams were drawn against each other in the second round of the 2009–10 League Cup
and met on 25 August 2009 at Upton Park
. This was the first time in four years that the two clubs had played each other, and the first ever in the League Cup. Clashes
between hundred of fans occurred outside the ground, resulting in violence erupting up to half a mile away from the stadium, with serious injuries, damage to property and several arrests reported by police. There were also several pitch invasions which brought a temporary halt to the game.
club. Other nicknames are "The Academy of Football
", or just "The Academy".
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 35,333. This has been West Ham's ground since 1904. Prior to this, in their previous incarnation of Thames Ironworks
, 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, a desire reiterated by current chairmen Gold and Sullivan when they assumed control of the club stating that they felt it was a logical move for the Government as it was in the borough of Newham.
However in February 2010, the British Olympic Minister stated that West Ham wouldn't get the stadium, and it would instead be used for track and field. On 17 May 2010 West Ham and Newham London Borough Council
submitted a formal plan to the Olympic Park Leagacy Company for the use of the Olympic Stadium following the 2012 Olympic Games. The proposal was for a stadium with a capacity of 60,000 which would retain a competition athletics track. The proposal was welcomed by the chairman of UK athletics, Ed Warner, who said "I think it will feel great as a football stadium and I speak as a football fan as well the chairman of UK Athletics. I think you'd find West Ham would cover the track in the winter season so it wouldn't look like you had a track between you and the pitch".
On 30 September 2010, the club formally submitted its bid for the Olympic Stadium with a presentation at 10 Downing Street
, and on 8 October 2010 the world's largest live entertainment company Live Nation
endorsed the club's Olympic Stadium plans. Three days after Live Nation's endorsement UK Athletics
confirmed its formal support for West Ham United and Newham Council in their joint bid to take over the Olympic Stadium in legacy mode. In November 2010 West Ham United commenced a search for potential developers for “informal discussions” about what would happen to the ground if it wins its bid to take over the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games. According to the club, the site could be vacated and open to redevelopment by the summer of 2014.
On 11 February 2011 the Olympic Park Legacy Committee selected West Ham United as the preferred club to move into the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games.
The decision in favour of West Ham's bid was unanimous, although controverisal as local rivals Tottenham Hotspur
had also been bidding for the venue. However, their hopes of moving to the stadium have since been placed under doubt following a challenge by Leyton Orient
, fearful that having West Ham playing less than a mile away from their Brisbane Road ground could steal support from the club and put them out of business. On 3 March 2011 West Ham United's proposed move to the Olympic Stadium was formally approved by the British government and the Mayor of London
, Boris Johnson
.
On 8 June 2011, it was confirmed that the Westfield Shopping Centre had been in detailed talks with West Ham for naming rights of the new Olympic stadium which could be called the Westfield Stadium In August 2011 an independent investigation initiated by the Olympic Park Legacy Company upheld the decision to award West Ham the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games.
West Ham announced plans to move from The Boleyn Ground from season 2014–15.
The club promotes the popular idea of West Ham being "The Academy of Football
", with the moniker 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 1950s, that has seen a number of international players emerge through the ranks. 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
.
Since the late 1990s Rio Ferdinand
, Frank Lampard
, Joe Cole
, Michael Carrick
and Glen Johnson began their careers at the club and all are playing for one of the "Big Four" clubs. Most recently the likes of first team midfield regulars Mark Noble
and Jack Collison
and younger stars Freddie Sears
, Junior Stanislas
, James Tomkins
, Josh Payne
, Jordan Spence
and Zavon Hines
have emerged through the Academy. Frustratingly, for the fans and managers alike, the club has struggled to retain many of these players due to (predominantly) financial reasons. West Ham, during the 2007–08 season, had an average of 6.61 English players in the starting line up, higher than any other Premier League club, which cemented their status as one of the few Premier League clubs left that were recognised to be bringing through young English talent and were recognised as having 'homegrown players'. Between 2000 and 2011, the club produced eight England players, as many as Manchester United
and one fewer than Arsenal
.
Much of the success of The Academy has been attributed to Tony Carr
who has been West Ham youth coach since 1973.
>
Bobby Moore has been runner-up four times, while Billy Bonds and Tony Cottee have both been runner-up three times.
Billy Bonds and Trevor Brooking's wins are notable in the amount of time between first and last "Hammer of the Year Award". Bonds has sixteen years separating his wins whilst Brooking has twelve.
CLUB STAFF/DIRECTORS
COACHING STAFF
in 2008 the club never had an overseas manager, with the only non-Englishman being the Scot
, Lou Macari. Their current manager is Sam Allardyce
who was appointed in May 2011. Numerous former Hammers have taken on temporary managerial roles at the club, between permanent managers. Ronnie Boyce
briefly took the reins, in February 1990, following Lou Macari's resignation and the appointment of Billy Bonds
. 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. Former player Kevin Keen
has been caretaker manager
twice; immediately prior to Gianfranco Zola's appointment in 2008 and after the sacking of Avram Grant in 2011.
until 2006, when Eggert Magnússon
and Björgólfur Guðmundsson
bought the club. Soon after, manager Alan Pardew
was sacked and ex-Charlton Athletic
Manager Alan Curbishley was hired. In a bizarre twist of fate, Pardew replaced Les Reed
as Charlton manager a few weeks later and the two managers met each other in a relegation battle where the Hammers lost 4–0 to their South-east London rivals. However, West Ham eventually stayed up and Charlton were relegated. 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 mismanagement. On 18 September 2007, it was announced that Magnússon would step down as executive chairman but would still retain the role as club non-executive chairman overseeing a new management structure, and would keep his stake in the club.
However on 13 December 2007, it was announced that Magnússon had left West Ham and that his 5 per cent holding had been bought by club majority owner Björgólfur Guðmundsson
.
On 8 June 2009, Icelandic CB Holding which is 70% owned by Straumur-Burdaras bank
and 30% owned by Icelandic based banks Byr and MP took over Hansa Holding, which only had West Ham United as their asset and filed for bankruptcy protection. Straumur was one of Hansa Holding's largest creditors. Straumur appointed one of their directors, Andrew Bernhardt, as the new chairman.
In January 2010, David Sullivan and David Gold acquired a 50 percent share in West Ham, from CB Holding, given them overall operational and commercial control.
At the end of May 2010 both David Gold and David Sullivan purchased a further 10% stake in the club at a cost of £8million (£4m to CB Holdings LTD, £4m towards club debts). This took their controlling stake to 60%, they also announced that in the near future they may open up shares for fans to purchase.
On 9 August 2010, Gold and Sullivan increased their shares up to 30.6% each with "minority investors", (which included former owner Terry Brown)
, purchasing a further 3.8% of the club at a cost of around £3-4million leaving Straumur Bank owning 35% of the club .
had been placed in administration, although Simon Calder of The Independent confirmed the group's website was still taking bookings.
The XL Leisure Group confirmed on their website that 11 companies associated with the group had been put into administration on 12 September 2008. This included XL Airways UK Limited, Excel Aviation Limited, Explorer House Limited, Aspire Holidays Limited, Freedom Flights Limited, The Really Great Holiday Company plc, Medlife Hotels Limited, Travel City Direct, and Kosmar Villa Holidays plc. It did not affect the German and French divisions of the company's operations.
On 12 September 2008 the club terminated its contract with XL Leisure group.
During this brief period, players had their squad numbers ironed over the existing sponsorship logo. On 3 December 2008 West Ham announced that they had signed a shirt sponsorship deal with Far Eastern betting firm SBOBET
. The deal was set to run until the end of the 2009/10 season, and saw the company's logo on First Team and Reserve Team kit, and adult replica shirts; all Academy teams and child replica shirts carry the logo of the Bobby Moore Fund due to the main sponsor being a betting firm.
In September 2009, the club officially announced that SBOBET
had extended their deal with the team until 2013 after their welcomed help in securing Alessandro Diamanti
.
The club will end their relationship with Umbro
and instead have Italian firm Macron
make the kit starting from the 2010/11 season. West Ham will be the first Premier League club kit to be made by the firm who produce several Championship
clubs strips.
World Cup Winners 1966
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External references
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
, East London. They play in The Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC
Thames Ironworks F.C.
Thames Ironworks Football Club, the club that later became West Ham United, was founded by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor in 1895. Thames Ironworks took over the tenancy of The Old Castle Swifts' Hermit Road ground in Canning Town until their...
and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current Boleyn Ground
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
stadium. They initially competed in the Southern League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
and Western League
Western Football League
The Western Football League is a football league in the south west of England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and parts of South Wales...
before eventually joining the full Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
in 1919 and subsequently enjoyed promotion to the top flight for the 1923 season. 1923 also saw the club feature in the first FA Cup Final to be held at Wembley against Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
.
In 1940 the team won the inaugural Football League War Cup
Football League War Cup
The Football League War Cup was an association football tournament held between 1939 and 1945 which aimed to fill the gaping hole left in English Football by the cancellation of the FA Cup.- Background:...
. The club have won the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
three times: in 1964, 1975 and 1980 as well as being runners-up twice, in 1923 and 2006. In 1965, they won the European Cup Winners Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
, and in 1999 they won the Intertoto Cup. The club's best final league position is third place in the 1985–86 (old) First Division
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
.
Three West Ham players were considered an important factor behind England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
's triumph in the 1966 World Cup. England's captain at the time was West Ham's Bobby Moore
Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup...
, and both goalscorers in the final were then current players Geoff Hurst
Geoff Hurst
Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst MBE is a retired England footballer best remembered for his years with West Ham. He made his mark in World Cup history as the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. His three goals came in the 1966 final for England in their 4–2 win over West...
and Martin Peters
Martin Peters
Martin Stanford Peters, MBE is a former football player and member of the victorious England team which won the 1966 World Cup as well as playing in the 1970 FIFA World Cup....
.
Origins
Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company
The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf on the west side and at Canning Town on the east side...
team by foreman and local league referee Dave Taylor
Dave Taylor (Thames Ironworks F.C. founder)
Dave Taylor was one of the co-founders of Thames Ironworks F.C., the team that became West Ham United F.C., in 1895.He was a foreman at the Thames Iron Works as well as being a local football referee....
and owner Arnold Hills
Arnold Hills
Arnold Frank Hills was an English businessman, sportsman, philanthropist, and promoter of vegetarianism.Hills was the first President of the London Vegetarian Society and the Vegetarian Cycling and Athletic Club, and also served as President of a London Vegetarian Rambling Club...
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), Tom Mundy, Walter Tranter and James Lindsay (all boilermakers), William Chapman, George Sage, and William Chamberlain and apprentice riveter Charlie Dove
Charlie Dove
Charles Dove was born in 1879 in East Ham, England. He was regarded as a super-fit footballer, who in 1895 stood at nearly 6 feet and weighed 12 stone, considered large at the time for a sixteen year old from a working-class area of Essex...
.
The club, Thames Ironworks
Thames Ironworks F.C.
Thames Ironworks Football Club, the club that later became West Ham United, was founded by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor in 1895. Thames Ironworks took over the tenancy of The Old Castle Swifts' Hermit Road ground in Canning Town until their...
were the first ever winners of the West Ham Charity Cup
West Ham Charity Cup
The West Ham Charity Cup was an amateur football tournament, known to have existed between 1895 and 1902. It was contested by teams from West Ham and the surrounding area, an area of Essex that has subsequently been absorbed into London....
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
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
Second Division, and were promoted to the First Division at the first attempt. 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
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
in a relegation play-off, 5–1 in late April 1900 and retained their First Division status.
The team initially played in full dark blue kits, as inspired by Mr. Hills, who had been an Oxford University "Blue
University Sporting Blue
A Blue is an award earned by sportsmen and women at a university and some schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of Blues began at Oxford and Cambridge Universities...
", 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
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
players, who were League Champions at the time.
Following growing disputes over the running and financing of the club in June 1900 Thames Ironworks F.C. was disbanded, then almost immediately relaunched on 5 July 1900 as West Ham United F.C. with Syd King
Syd King
Ernest Sydney "Syd" King was a footballer and manager, and one of the most important figures in the early history of West Ham United.-Playing career:...
as their manager and future manager Charlie Paynter
Charlie Paynter
Charlie Paynter was the manager of West Ham United from 1932-1950.He moved to Plaistow with his family as a child. He played for the football team Victoria Swifts, but while still a teenager he also developed an interest in physiotherapy. Paynter first became involved with West Ham as unpaid help...
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.
Birth of West Ham United
The reborn club continued to play their games at the Memorial Ground in PlaistowPlaistow, Newham
Plaistow is a place in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It formed part of the County Borough of West Ham in Essex until 1965.Plaistow is a mainly residential area, including several council estates; the main road is the A112 - Plaistow Road, High Street, Broadway, Greengate Street and...
(funded by Arnold Hills) but moved to a pitch
Association football pitch
An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...
in the Upton Park area when the team officially severed ties with the company (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 until moving to its current home, Upton Park
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
(in the guise of the Boleyn Ground
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
stadium), in 1904.
West Ham's first game in their new home was against fierce rivals Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
(themselves an Ironworks team, albeit for a rival company) drawing a crowd of 10,000 and with West Ham running out 3–0 winners, and as the Daily Mirror wrote on 2 September 1904:
West Ham Utd had joined the Western League for the 1901 season 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.
In 1919, still under King's leadership, West Ham gained entrance to the Football League Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
, the first game being a 1–1 draw with Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
, and were promoted to Division One in 1923, also making the first ever FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...
to be held at the old Wembley stadium. Their opponents were Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
. This was also known as the White Horse Final. This is because so many people turned up to the game, (estimated at 200,000), 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 PC
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
George Scorey. The Cup Final match itself ended 2–0 to Bolton Wanderers. The team enjoyed mixed success in Division 1 but retained their status for 10 years and reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1927.
In 1932 the club was relegated to Division Two and long term custodian Syd King
Syd King
Ernest Sydney "Syd" King was a footballer and manager, and one of the most important figures in the early history of West Ham United.-Playing career:...
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
Charlie Paynter
Charlie Paynter was the manager of West Ham United from 1932-1950.He moved to Plaistow with his family as a child. He played for the football team Victoria Swifts, but while still a teenager he also developed an interest in physiotherapy. Paynter first became involved with West Ham as unpaid help...
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
Ted Fenton
Edward "Ted" Fenton was manager of English football club West Ham United between 1950 and 1961.- West Ham United :...
. 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.
The Glory Years
Ron Greenwood was appointed as Fenton's successor in 1961 and he soon led the club to two major trophies, winning the FA CupFA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
in 1964 and the European Cup Winners' Cup
1965 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final
The 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match between West Ham United of England and TSV 1860 München of West Germany. The final was held at Wembley Stadium in London on 19 May 1965...
in 1965.
During the 1966 World Cup, key members of the tournament winners England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
were West Ham players, including the captain, Bobby Moore
Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup...
; Martin Peters
Martin Peters
Martin Stanford Peters, MBE is a former football player and member of the victorious England team which won the 1966 World Cup as well as playing in the 1970 FIFA World Cup....
(who scored in the final); and Geoff Hurst
Geoff Hurst
Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst MBE is a retired England footballer best remembered for his years with West Ham. He made his mark in World Cup history as the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. His three goals came in the 1966 final for England in their 4–2 win over West...
, who scored the first, and only, hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
in a World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
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
John Lyall
John Angus Lyall was an English footballer and manager of Scottish descent. His mother, Catherine, was from the Isle of Lewis, his father, James, was from Kirriemuir. He was born in Ilford, Essex.- Youth team career :...
as team manager. The result was instant success – the team scored 20 goals in the their first four games combined and won the FA Cup, becoming the last team to win the FA Cup with an all English side when they beat Fulham 2–0 in the 1975 final.
Lyall then guided West Ham to another European Cup Winners' Cup
1976 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final
The 1976 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match between West Ham United of England and Anderlecht of Belgium. The final was held at Heysel Stadium in Brussels on 5 May 1976. It was the final match of the 1975–76 European Cup Winners' Cup tournament and the 16th European Cup Winners'...
final in 1976, though the team lost the match 4–2 to Anderlecht
R.S.C. Anderlecht
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
. Greenwood's tenure as General Manager lasted less than three years, as he was appointed to manage England in the wake of Don Revie
Don Revie
Donald George 'Don' Revie, OBE, , was an English footballer who played for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep-lying centre forward. After managing Leeds United he managed England from 1974 until 1977...
's resignation in 1977.
Ups and Downs
In 1978, West Ham were again relegated to Division Two, but Lyall was retained as manager and led the team to an FA Cup Final win against Arsenal in 1980. This is notable because no team outside the top division has won the trophy since that time. West Ham were promoted to Division One in 1981, and finished in the top ten of the first division for the next three seasons before achieving their highest-ever league finish of third in 1985/86. However, they suffered relegation again in 1989 and this resulted in the sacking of John Lyall.After Lyall, Lou Macari
Lou Macari
Luigi "Lou" Macari is a Scottish former footballer and football manager of Italian descent.-Playing career:...
briefly led the team, 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. He was replaced by former player Billy Bonds
Billy Bonds
William Arthur "Billy" Bonds MBE is a former professional footballer and manager, who is most often associated with West Ham United with whom he spent 27 years as player and manager...
. In Bonds' first full season (1990–91
1990-91 in English football
The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Arsenal won the league. Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager...
), West Ham again secured promotion to Division One. The following season they were again relegated to Division 2, which had been renamed Division One as part of the league realignments surrounding the creation of the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
in 1992. West Ham spent the 1992–93 season in Division One. finishing second and returning to the Premier League in May 1993.
After the 1993–94 season, Bonds quit and was replaced by Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
in August 1994. He led West Ham to fifth place in the 1998–99 season, but missed automatic qualification for the UEFA Cup, and instead qualified 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
2000-01 in English football
The 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons...
led to Redknapp being replaced by Glenn Roeder
Glenn Roeder
Glenn Victor Roeder is an English football manager and former player, most recently in charge at Norwich City. As a player, Roeder represented England B on 7 occasions...
, promoted from youth team coach.
In Roeder's first season the team finished seventh, but West Ham lost by wide margins in several matches (7–1 to Blackburn
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
, 5–0 to Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
and 5–1 to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
) The subsequent season started badly and eventually resulted in relegation. West Ham's tally of 42 points is the highest by any team relegated from the Premier League in a 38 game season. Roeder, who had missed some of the season after being diagnosed with a brain tumour that was treated) was sacked on 24 August 2003, three games into the Championship campaign.
Trevor Brooking (who served as manager during Glenn's ill health the previous season) stepped in as interim manager before being replaced by Alan Pardew
Alan Pardew
Alan Scott Pardew is an English football manager and former player, currently the manager of Newcastle United....
in October 2003, headhunted from fellow promotion contenders Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
.
Pardew led the team to a playoff
Playoff
The playoffs, postseason, or finals of a sports league are a game or series of games played after the regular season by the top competitors, usually but not always with a single-elimination system, to determine the league champion or a similar accolade.In the U.S...
final, though they were beaten by Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
. The club stayed in Division One (which at this time became the Championship) for another season, when they again reached the playoff final
2005 Football League Championship play-off Final
The 2005 Football League Championship play-off Final was contested by West Ham United and Preston North End at The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. West Ham won 1–0, with a goal from Bobby Zamora.-Match details:-References:...
, but this time won, beating Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
1–0, gaining re-entry to the Premier League.
Recent seasons
On their return to the top division, West Ham finished in 9th place, The highlight of the 2005–06 season, however, was reaching the FA Cup final, and taking favourites LiverpoolLiverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
to a penalty shootout, after a three-all draw. West Ham lost the shootout but still gained entry to the UEFA Cup as Liverpool had already qualified for the Champions League.
In August 2006, West Ham completed a major coup on the last day of the transfer window, after completing the signings of Carlos Tévez
Carlos Tévez
Carlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...
and Javier Mascherano. The club was eventually bought by an Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic consortium, led by Eggert Magnússon
Eggert Magnússon
Eggert Magnússon is an Icelandic businessman and former President of the Football Association of Iceland and ex-chairman of West Ham United...
in November 2006. Manager Alan Pardew was sacked after poor form during the season and was replaced by former Charlton manager Alan Curbishley
Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player....
.
The signings of Mascherano and Tévez were investigated by the Premier League, who were concerned that details of the transfers had been omitted from official records. The club was found guilty and fined 5.5 million pounds in April 2007. However, West Ham avoided a points deduction which ultimately became critical in their avoidance of relegation at the end of the 2006–07 season. Following on from this event, Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan, supported by other sides facing possible relegation, including Fulham and Sheffield United, threatened legal action.
West Ham 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 defeated newly crowned League Champions Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
1–0 with a goal by Tévez to finish 15th.
In the 2007–08 season
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
, West Ham had a reasonably consistent place in the top half of the league table despite a slew of injuries; new signings Craig Bellamy
Craig Bellamy
Craig Douglas Bellamy is a Welsh footballer who plays as a striker for Liverpool and the Welsh national team. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy was the captain of the Welsh national side for four years after taking over from Ryan Giggs in 2007, but stood down in January 2011 due to constant injuries...
and Kieron Dyer
Kieron Dyer
Kieron Courtney Dyer is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers. Born in Ipswich, he is an attacking midfielder who played youth football for his home club before going on to make nearly 100 league appearances for the club's first team...
missed most of the campaign. The last game of the season, at the Boleyn Ground
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
, saw West Ham draw 2–2 against Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
; ensuring 10th place, finishing three points ahead of rivals Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
. It was a five-place improvement on the previous season, and most importantly West Ham were never under any realistic threat of relegation.
After a row with the board over the sale of defenders Anton Ferdinand
Anton Ferdinand
Anton Julian Ferdinand is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers as a defender. He is the brother of Manchester United and England centre-back Rio Ferdinand and the cousin of former England striker Les Ferdinand and Southend United defender Kane Ferdinand. Like his brother, Anton...
and George McCartney
George McCartney
George McCartney is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for West Ham United on loan from Sunderland. He began his youth career at Sunderland, moving to West Ham before returning to Sunderland at the start of Roy Keane's time at charge...
to Sunderland, manager Alan Curbishley
Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player....
resigned on 3 September 2008. His successor was former Chelsea striker Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola, OBE, Ufficiale OMRI is a retired Italian footballer and manager, who most recently managed West Ham United from 2008 to 2010, after having been assistant manager of the Italy U-21 under Pierluigi Casiraghi...
. Zola took over on 11 September 2008 and in so doing became the club's first non-British manager. In the 2008–09 season West Ham finished 9th, a single place improvement.
In the 2009–10 season, West Ham started strongly with a 2–0 win over newly promoted Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
with goals from Mark Noble
Mark Noble
Mark James Noble is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United. He has played all his youth and first team football for West Ham and made 20 appearances, scoring 3 goals, for the England under-21 team which he captained.Despite his relatively young age, Noble is the longest serving player...
and newly appointed captain Matthew Upson
Matthew Upson
Matthew James Upson is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City in the Premier League. He is a central defender and he has played for England at full international level including at the 2010 World Cup....
. A League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
match against old rivals Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
brought about violent riots outside the ground as well as pitch invasion
Pitch invasion
A pitch invasion or field invasion, known as rushing the field in the United States, occurs when a crowd of people who are watching a sports game run onto the field, to celebrate or protest about an incident...
s and crowd trouble inside Upton Park
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
.
In August 2009 the financial concerns of Icelandic owners parent companies left the current owners unable to provide any funds until a new owner was found. The club's shirt sponsor SBOBET
SBOBET
SBOBET.com is an online sportsbook. The website has operations in Asia licensed by the Philippines and operations in Europe licensed by the Isle of Man to operate as an international sports bookmaker...
provided the club with help purchase a much needed striker, Alessandro Diamanti
Alessandro Diamanti
Alessandro Diamanti is an Italian professional football player who is currently playing his club football as a second striker for Bologna F.C. 1909.-Prato:...
.
West Ham had a poor season which involved a prolonged battle against relegation. They finally secured their survival with two games remaining by defeating Wigan Athletic 3–2. The club managed to take 35 points from 38 games, 7 fewer than the total they had when relegated 7 years prior.
On 11 May 2010, two days after the end of the 2009–10 season, West Ham announced the termination of Zola's contract with immediate effect.
On 3 June 2010, Avram Grant signed a four year deal to become the next manager of West Ham subject to a work permit
Work permit (United Kingdom)
The UK Work Permit scheme was an immigration category used to encourage skilled workers to enter the United Kingdom up till November 2008, when it was replaced by the points-based immigration system...
. West Ham's form has continued to be poor with the team seldom outside the relegation zone, placing Grant's future as manager under serious doubt. A 4–0 Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
quarter-final win over Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
was an otherwise bright point in a disappointing season.
West Ham's form in the Premier League did not affect their form in the two domestic cups. The Hammers reached the semi-final of the League Cup before being eliminated by eventual winners Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
as well as the quarter final of the FA cup before a 2–1 defeat at Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
.
On 15 May 2011, West Ham's relegation to the Championship was confirmed after a comeback from Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
at the DW Stadium. With West Ham leading 2–0 at half-time by two Demba Ba
Demba Ba
Demba Ba is a French-born Senegalese footballer who plays as a striker for Newcastle United in the Premier League, and for the Senegal national team.-Early life:Ba was born in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, and was the sixth child of seven...
goals, Wigan battled back to win 3–2 thanks to an added-time strike from Charles N'Zogbia
Charles N'Zogbia
Charles N'Zogbia is a French footballer who plays for Aston Villa in the Premier League. N'Zogbia was capped for the France under-21 team on thirteen occasions, and made his debut for the senior side in 2010....
. Following the loss, West Ham announced the sacking of manager Avram Grant just one season into his tenure. On 1 June 2011, Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....
was appointed as manager as Grant's replacement.
Crest
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
. The manor was reportedly one of the sites at which Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
courted his second queen, though in truth there is no factual evidence other than the tradition of rumour.
The castle may have also been added as a result of the contribution made to the club by players of Old Castle Swifts
Old Castle Swifts F.C.
Old Castle Swifts Football Club, the first professional football club in Essex, was formed by Scottish shipowner Donald Currie in September 1892 as Castle Swifts Football Club. Old Castle Swifts' demise saw several players join the newly founded Thames Ironworks, the team who later became West Ham...
, or even the adoption (in 1904) of Boleyn Castle FC 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 had previously made the castle appear more akin to Disneyland
Disneyland Park (Anaheim)
Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company. Known as Disneyland when it opened on July 18, 1955, and still almost universally referred to by that name, it is the only theme park to be...
's Sleeping Beauty's Castle than a functioning fortress. The designer also altered other details 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 ground's appearance, both bearing the club's 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 IronworksThames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company
The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf on the west side and at Canning Town on the east side...
chairman Arnold Hills
Arnold Hills
Arnold Frank Hills was an English businessman, sportsman, philanthropist, and promoter of vegetarianism.Hills was the first President of the London Vegetarian Society and the Vegetarian Cycling and Athletic Club, and also served as President of a London Vegetarian Rambling Club...
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 Ironworks, as well as sky blue or white kit.
The Irons permanently adopted claret and blue for home colours in the summer of 1899. Thames Ironworks
Thames Ironworks F.C.
Thames Ironworks Football Club, the club that later became West Ham United, was founded by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor in 1895. Thames Ironworks took over the tenancy of The Old Castle Swifts' Hermit Road ground in Canning Town until their...
right-half Charlie Dove
Charlie Dove
Charles Dove was born in 1879 in East Ham, England. He was regarded as a super-fit footballer, who in 1895 stood at nearly 6 feet and weighed 12 stone, considered large at the time for a sixteen year old from a working-class area of Essex...
received the Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
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
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, close to Villa Park
Villa Park, England
Villa Park is an association football stadium in the district of Witton, Birmingham, England with a seating capacity of 42,786. It has been the home of Aston Villa Football Club since 1897. The team previously played at Aston Park from 1874 to 1876 and Perry Barr from 1876 to 1897...
, 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 team's 'football kits' to Dove in payment. The Aston Villa player subsequently reported to his club that the kit was 'missing'. This however, is often disputed. The predecessors of Thames Ironworks, Old Castle Swifts FC, played in pale blue shirts, white shorts and claret socks as early as 1892, around the same time Aston Villa played in said same colours.
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.
Supporters
The team's supporters are famous for their rendition of the chorus of their team's anthem, "I'm Forever Blowing BubblesI'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" is a popular song which debuted in 1918 and was first published in 1919.-Creation:The music was written by John Kellette. The lyrics are credited to "Jaan Kenbrovin", actually a collective pseudonym for the writers James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat Vincent...
" introduced to the club by former manager Charlie Paynter in the late 1920s. A Pears soap
Pears soap
Pears transparent soap is a brand of soap first produced and sold in 1789 by Andrew Pears at a factory just off Oxford Street in London, England. It was the world's first transparent soap. Under the stewardship of Thomas J. Barratt, A. & F. Pears Ltd. company initiated a number of innovations in...
commercial featuring the curly haired child in the Millais "Bubbles
Bubbles (painting)
Bubbles, originally titled A Child's World, is a painting by Sir John Everett Millais that became famous when it was used over many generations in advertisements for Pears soap...
" was well known at the time, The child resembled a player, Billy J. "Bubbles" Murray, from local schoolboy team, Park School, where the headmaster was Cornelius Beal. Beal was known locally for his music and rhyme and wrote special words to the tune of "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" whenever any player was having a good game.
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
Jim Barrett, Sr.
James William Barrett was an English footballer who played for West Ham United.Born in Stratford, London, Barrett began playing football at the city's Park School, after moving from Abbey School because it lacked a team...
. 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.
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.
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". It is interesting from a musical point of view that the FA Cup version of Bubbles is played in 4/4 time, whereas during the game the crowd always sing it in its original 3/4 - Bubbles was published as a Waltz.
Like other teams (such as Liverpool's adoption of "You'll Never Walk Alone
You'll Never Walk Alone (song)
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.In the musical, in the second act, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the female protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the...
") 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
Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl is a musical with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay. It takes place in the late 1930s in Hampshire, Mayfair, and Lambeth....
", along with more pun laden or humorous efforts such as chanting former player Paolo di Canio
Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio is a Italian former professional footballer and current manager of League Two side Swindon Town. Di Canio made over 500 league appearances and scored over 100 league goals as a player....
's name to the canzone La donna è mobile
La donna è mobile
"La donna è mobile" is the cynical Duke of Mantua's canzone from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto . The inherent irony is that it is the callous playboy Duke himself who is mobile...
by Verdi, or D.I. Canio
Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio is a Italian former professional footballer and current manager of League Two side Swindon Town. Di Canio made over 500 league appearances and scored over 100 league goals as a player....
to the tune of Ottawan
Ottawan
Ottawan were a French eurodisco duo in the late 1970s and early 1980s.-Career:They were fronted by lead singer Jean Patrick and Annette , with Daniel Vangarde and Jean Kluger the main songwriters. They are best known for their two hit singles "D.I.S.C.O." and "Hands Up "...
's D.I.S.C.O., or the chant of "Who Let The Pott's Out?" to the tune of "Who Let the Dogs Out?
Who Let the Dogs Out?
"Who Let the Dogs Out?" is a song written and originally recorded by Anslem Douglas for Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival season of 1998. It was heard and taped on a float by hairdresser Keith from the London salon Smile, who played it to Jonathan King, who recorded it and released it under the name...
" when Potts could be seen warming up to come on as substitute late on in his career or That's Zamora, to the tune of Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
's 1953 That's Amore
That's Amore
"That's Amore" is a 1952 song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Jack Brooks. It became a major hit, signature song for Dean Martin in 1953. Amore means "love" in Italian....
in honour of former Iron striker Bobby Zamora
Bobby Zamora
Robert Lester "Bobby" Zamora is an English footballer who plays for Fulham and the England national football team. Zamora began his career at Football League club Bristol Rovers, but was soon signed by Brighton & Hove Albion, where he found first team success...
. Other former players to be serenaded include Christian Dailly
Christian Dailly
Christian Eduard Dailly is a Scottish professional footballer who is without a club having last played for Championship side Portsmouth. He is a versatile player, often seen in defence or defensive midfield, but has played in most outfield positions during his career. Dailly is Scotland's...
with vastly altered lyrics to Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Can't Take My Eyes off You
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 single by Frankie Valli. The song was among Valli's biggest hits, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning a gold record. It was Valli's biggest "solo" hit until he hit #1 in 1975 with "My Eyes Adored You"...
, and Ludek Miklosko
Ludek Mikloško
Luděk "Ludo" Mikloško is a Czech retired football goalkeeper.-Career:Mikloško started his career in his native Czechoslovakia with Baník Ostrava...
.
Fans gained national attention after giving a torrid time to David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
in his first away match of 1998–99 the season after the England midfielder was sent off for a petulant foul on Diego Simeone. 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. Although it was later revealed that the pub was in South-East London
South East (London sub region)
The South East is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark. The sub region was established in 2008. The south east has a population of 1,300,000 and is the location of 500,000 jobs...
, the heartland of West Ham's greatest rivals Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
. The West Ham fans did boo Beckham's every touch of the ball during the game, however.
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
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...
, Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...
, Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defoe
Jermain Colin Defoe is an English footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, and the England national football team....
, Craig Bellamy
Craig Bellamy
Craig Douglas Bellamy is a Welsh footballer who plays as a striker for Liverpool and the Welsh national team. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy was the captain of the Welsh national side for four years after taking over from Ryan Giggs in 2007, but stood down in January 2011 due to constant injuries...
and Nigel Reo-Coker
Nigel Reo-Coker
Nigel Shola Andre Reo-Coker is an English footballer of Sierra Leonean descent. He currently plays for Bolton Wanderers of the Premier League. He is known for being a robust midfielder with good overall tackling and passing qualities...
have born the brunt of verbal assaults and a guaranteed hostile reception at Upton Park. However, players such as Joe Cole
Joe Cole
Joseph John "Joe" Cole is an English footballer who plays for Lille, on loan from Liverpool, and the England national football team as midfielder. He started his career with where he played more than 100 games during five years, until he left for Chelsea in 2003...
, Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the England national team. He has made more than 300 Premier League appearances and played in 50 UEFA Champions League games as of April 2011...
, Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...
, Bobby Zamora
Bobby Zamora
Robert Lester "Bobby" Zamora is an English footballer who plays for Fulham and the England national football team. Zamora began his career at Football League club Bristol Rovers, but was soon signed by Brighton & Hove Albion, where he found first team success...
and Carlos Tévez
Carlos Tévez
Carlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...
receive applause and even standing ovations in honour of their contributions during their time at the club.
Hooliganism
The origins of West Ham's links with organised football-related violence starts in the 1960s with the establishment of The Mile End Mob (named after a particularly tough area of the East End of London).During the 1970s and 1980s (the main era for organised football-related violence) West Ham gained further notoriety for the levels of hooliganism in their fan base and antagonistic behaviour towards both their own and rival fans, and the police. During the 70s in particular, rival groups of West Ham Fans from neighbouring areas often did battle with each other at games, most often groups from the neighbouring districts of Barking & Dagenham.
The Inter City Firm
Inter City Firm
The Inter City Firm is an English football hooligan firm mainly active in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, associated with West Ham United. The name came from the use of InterCity trains used to travel to away games...
were one of the first "casuals
Casuals
The casual subculture is a subsection of association football culture that is typified by football hooliganism and the wearing of expensive European designer clothing. The subculture originated in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s when many hooligans started wearing designer labels and...
", so called because they avoided police supervision by not wearing football-related clothing and travelled to away matches on regular InterCity
InterCity (British Rail)
InterCity was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services ....
trains, rather than on the cheap and more tightly policed "football special" charter trains. The group were an infamous West Ham-aligned gang. As the firm's moniker "inter city" suggests violent activities were not confined to local derbies – the hooligans were content to cause trouble at any game, though nearby teams often bore the brunt.
Rivalries
West Ham have strong rivalries with several other clubs. Most of these are with other London clubs, especially with their neighbours Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
and with Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, which sublimates the east versus west London rivalry. The rivalry between West Ham and Tottenham has been fuelled by players such as Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the England national team. He has made more than 300 Premier League appearances and played in 50 UEFA Champions League games as of April 2011...
, Martin Peters
Martin Peters
Martin Stanford Peters, MBE is a former football player and member of the victorious England team which won the 1966 World Cup as well as playing in the 1970 FIFA World Cup....
, Paul Allen
Paul Allen (footballer)
Paul Kevin Allen is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder in the Football League for West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, Luton Town, Stoke City, Swindon Town, Bristol City and Millwall in the 1980s and 1990s...
, Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defoe
Jermain Colin Defoe is an English footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, and the England national football team....
and Scott Parker
Scott Parker
Scott Parker may refer to:*Scott Parker *Scott Parker *Scott Parker *Scott Parker *Scott "Jagged" Parker, one half of the professional wrestling tag team 2.0...
leaving the Hammers to join Tottenham. The rivalry deepened with the appointment of former Hammers manager Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
as Tottenham's manager.
The strongest and oldest rivalry is with Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
. The two sides are local rivals, having both formed originally around the works sides Thames Ironworks and Millwall Ironworks shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
companies. They were rivals for the same contracts and the players lived in the same locality. The early history of both clubs are intertwined, with West Ham proving to be the more successful in a number of meetings between the two teams, resulting in West Ham being promoted at the expense of Millwall. Millwall later declined to join the fledgling Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
while West Ham went on to the top division and an FA Cup final. Later in the 1920s the rivalry was intensified during strike action started by the East End
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
(perceived to be West Ham fans) which Isle Of Dogs
Isle of Dogs
The Isle of Dogs is a former island in the East End of London that is bounded on three sides by one of the largest meanders in the River Thames.-Etymology:...
-based companies (i.e. Millwall fans) refused to support, breeding ill will between the two camps, the bitterness of this betrayal enduring for years.
The rivalry between West Ham and Millwall has involved considerable violence and is one of the most notorious within the world of football hooliganism. The teams were drawn against each other in the second round of the 2009–10 League Cup
2009–10 Football League Cup
The 2009–10 Football League Cup, known as the Carling Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by lager brand Carling, was the 50th season of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for England's top 92 football clubs....
and met on 25 August 2009 at Upton Park
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
. This was the first time in four years that the two clubs had played each other, and the first ever in the League Cup. Clashes
2009 Upton Park riots
The 2009 Upton Park riot occurred at and around West Ham United's Upton Park ground before, during and after a Football League Cup second round match between West Ham and Millwall on 25 August 2009....
between hundred of fans occurred outside the ground, resulting in violence erupting up to half a mile away from the stadium, with serious injuries, damage to property and several arrests reported by police. There were also several pitch invasions which brought a temporary halt to the game.
Nicknames
The team and supporters are known as "The Hammers", in part because of the club's origins as Thames Ironworks (see club crest) and also erroneously, due to the club's name. They are also known as "The Irons" and as "The Cockney Boys" as they are a CockneyCockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
club. Other nicknames are "The Academy of Football
The Academy of Football
The Academy of Football, or just The Academy, is a nickname of the English football club West Ham United.The title pays homage to the success of the club in coaching talented young players...
", or just "The Academy".
Stadium
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
, commonly known as Upton Park, in Newham
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
, east London. The capacity of the Boleyn Ground is 35,333. This has been West Ham's ground since 1904. Prior to this, in their previous incarnation of Thames Ironworks
Thames Ironworks F.C.
Thames Ironworks Football Club, the club that later became West Ham United, was founded by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor in 1895. Thames Ironworks took over the tenancy of The Old Castle Swifts' Hermit Road ground in Canning Town until their...
, they played at Hermit Road
Hermit Road
Hermit Road was the first home stadium of London football club Thames Ironworks, the team that would become West Ham United, and was located in Canning Town. Thames had taken over the tenancy of the ground in the summer of 1895 from Old Castle Swifts F.C., who were the first professional football...
in Canning Town
Canning Town
Canning Town is an area of east London, England. It is part of the London Borough of Newham and is situated in the area of the former London docks on the north side of the River Thames. It is the location of Rathbone Market...
and briefly at Browning Road
Browning Road
Browning Road was the home ground of London football club Thames Ironworks, the team that would become West Ham United, towards the end of the 1896-97 season....
in East Ham
East Ham
East Ham is a suburban district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Newham. It is a built-up district located 8 miles east-northeast of Charing Cross...
, before moving to the Memorial Grounds
Memorial Grounds
Memorial Grounds was the home stadium of east London football club Thames Ironworks from the beginning of the 1897-98 season, until the end of the 1899-1900 season. The team continued to play at the stadium, under its new name of West Ham United, until they moved to their current home at the...
in Plaistow
Plaistow, Newham
Plaistow is a place in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It formed part of the County Borough of West Ham in Essex until 1965.Plaistow is a mainly residential area, including several council estates; the main road is the A112 - Plaistow Road, High Street, Broadway, Greengate Street and...
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
Eggert Magnússon
Eggert Magnússon is an Icelandic businessman and former President of the Football Association of Iceland and ex-chairman of West Ham United...
made clear his ambition for West Ham United to move to the Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (London)
The London Olympic Stadium will be the centrepiece of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The stadium is located at Marshgate Lane in Stratford in the Lower Lea Valley and has capacity for the Games of approximately 80,000 making it temporarily the third largest stadium in Britain behind...
after the 2012 Olympics, a desire reiterated by current chairmen Gold and Sullivan when they assumed control of the club stating that they felt it was a logical move for the Government as it was in the borough of Newham.
However in February 2010, the British Olympic Minister stated that West Ham wouldn't get the stadium, and it would instead be used for track and field. On 17 May 2010 West Ham and Newham London Borough Council
Newham London Borough Council
Newham London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of...
submitted a formal plan to the Olympic Park Leagacy Company for the use of the Olympic Stadium following the 2012 Olympic Games. The proposal was for a stadium with a capacity of 60,000 which would retain a competition athletics track. The proposal was welcomed by the chairman of UK athletics, Ed Warner, who said "I think it will feel great as a football stadium and I speak as a football fan as well the chairman of UK Athletics. I think you'd find West Ham would cover the track in the winter season so it wouldn't look like you had a track between you and the pitch".
On 30 September 2010, the club formally submitted its bid for the Olympic Stadium with a presentation at 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
, and on 8 October 2010 the world's largest live entertainment company Live Nation
Live Nation
Live Nation is a live-events company based in Beverly Hills, California, focused on concert promotions. Live Nation formed in 2005 as a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications, which then merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 to become Live Nation Entertainment....
endorsed the club's Olympic Stadium plans. Three days after Live Nation's endorsement UK Athletics
UK Athletics
UK Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials....
confirmed its formal support for West Ham United and Newham Council in their joint bid to take over the Olympic Stadium in legacy mode. In November 2010 West Ham United commenced a search for potential developers for “informal discussions” about what would happen to the ground if it wins its bid to take over the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games. According to the club, the site could be vacated and open to redevelopment by the summer of 2014.
On 11 February 2011 the Olympic Park Legacy Committee selected West Ham United as the preferred club to move into the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games.
The decision in favour of West Ham's bid was unanimous, although controverisal as local rivals Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
had also been bidding for the venue. However, their hopes of moving to the stadium have since been placed under doubt following a challenge by Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
, fearful that having West Ham playing less than a mile away from their Brisbane Road ground could steal support from the club and put them out of business. On 3 March 2011 West Ham United's proposed move to the Olympic Stadium was formally approved by the British government and the Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
, Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
.
On 8 June 2011, it was confirmed that the Westfield Shopping Centre had been in detailed talks with West Ham for naming rights of the new Olympic stadium which could be called the Westfield Stadium In August 2011 an independent investigation initiated by the Olympic Park Legacy Company upheld the decision to award West Ham the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games.
West Ham announced plans to move from The Boleyn Ground from season 2014–15.
The Academy of Football
The Academy of Football
The Academy of Football, or just The Academy, is a nickname of the English football club West Ham United.The title pays homage to the success of the club in coaching talented young players...
", with the moniker 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
Ted Fenton
Edward "Ted" Fenton was manager of English football club West Ham United between 1950 and 1961.- West Ham United :...
during the 1950s, that has seen a number of international players emerge through the ranks. Most notably the club contributed three players to the World Cup winning
1966 FIFA World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...
England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
side of 1966 including club icon Bobby Moore
Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup...
, as well as Martin Peters
Martin Peters
Martin Stanford Peters, MBE is a former football player and member of the victorious England team which won the 1966 World Cup as well as playing in the 1970 FIFA World Cup....
and Geoff Hurst
Geoff Hurst
Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst MBE is a retired England footballer best remembered for his years with West Ham. He made his mark in World Cup history as the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. His three goals came in the 1966 final for England in their 4–2 win over West...
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
Trevor Brooking
Sir Trevor David Brooking CBE is a football player turned manager, on-air analyst, and administrator.Brooking attended Ripple Infants School and left Ilford County High School with 11 O-levels and 2 A-levels....
, Alvin Martin
Alvin Martin
Alvin Edward Martin is a retired English footballer who played as a defender.Playing most of his footballing career for West Ham United he appeared in 598 games for scoring 34 goals...
, Tony Cottee
Tony Cottee
Anthony Richard "Tony" Cottee is a former football player who now works as a television football commentator...
and Paul Ince
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...
.
Since the late 1990s Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...
, Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...
, Joe Cole
Joe Cole
Joseph John "Joe" Cole is an English footballer who plays for Lille, on loan from Liverpool, and the England national football team as midfielder. He started his career with where he played more than 100 games during five years, until he left for Chelsea in 2003...
, Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the England national team. He has made more than 300 Premier League appearances and played in 50 UEFA Champions League games as of April 2011...
and Glen Johnson began their careers at the club and all are playing for one of the "Big Four" clubs. Most recently the likes of first team midfield regulars Mark Noble
Mark Noble
Mark James Noble is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United. He has played all his youth and first team football for West Ham and made 20 appearances, scoring 3 goals, for the England under-21 team which he captained.Despite his relatively young age, Noble is the longest serving player...
and Jack Collison
Jack Collison
Jack David Collison is a Welsh international footballer who plays for West Ham United. Collison is a product of West Ham's youth academy and has quickly progressed from trainee to playing first team football in the Premier League since joining at age sixteen...
and younger stars Freddie Sears
Freddie Sears
Frederick David "Freddie" Sears is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for West Ham United.-Background:...
, Junior Stanislas
Junior Stanislas
Felix Junior Stanislas , more commonly known as Junior Stanislas is an English footballer who plays for Burnley as a winger in the Championship. He was previously with West Ham United.-West Ham United:...
, James Tomkins
James Tomkins (footballer)
James Oliver Charles Tomkins is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United. He has represented England at all levels up to the under-21 team...
, Josh Payne
Josh Payne
Joshua James "Josh" Payne is an English football player who currently plays for Oxford United.-Early life:Payne was born in Basingstoke and grew up there for the first part of his life. He attended Brighton Hill Community College....
, Jordan Spence
Jordan Spence
Jordan Spence is an English professional footballer who plays for Bristol City on loan from West Ham United. Spence plays predominantly as a right-back, but can also operate as a centre-back.-West Ham United:...
and Zavon Hines
Zavon Hines
Zavon Hines is a Jamaican-born, English footballer who currently plays for Championship side Burnley as a striker. Hines was born in Jamaica but has played for England's under-21 team.-West Ham United:...
have emerged through the Academy. Frustratingly, for the fans and managers alike, the club has struggled to retain many of these players due to (predominantly) financial reasons. West Ham, during the 2007–08 season, had an average of 6.61 English players in the starting line up, higher than any other Premier League club, which cemented their status as one of the few Premier League clubs left that were recognised to be bringing through young English talent and were recognised as having 'homegrown players'. Between 2000 and 2011, the club produced eight England players, as many as Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and one fewer than Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
.
Much of the success of The Academy has been attributed to Tony Carr
Tony Carr
Anthony Carr MBE is an English sports coach, the current Director of Youth Development at the West Ham United football club's youth academy and is recognised as one of the most influential figures in English football. A former graduate of the academy himself, whose footballing career was cut short...
who has been West Ham youth coach since 1973.
Current squad
Out on loan
Retired numbers
Club captains
| Dates | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1895 |  Bob StevensonRobert Stevenson (footballer) Robert "Bob" Stevenson was a Scottish footballer, a versatile full and half back who could also play at centre forward.... |
|
| 1895–98 | Unknown | |
| c.1898–99 |  Walter TranterWalter Tranter Walter Rogers Tranter was an English association football player.Born in Middlesbrough, Tranter played as a left-back for Thames Ironworks, the team that would later become West Ham United. The club handbook described him as a player that "rushes in where others feared to tread"... |
|
| 1899 | Tom Bradshaw |
Following an accidental kick to the head, Bradshaw died shortly after on Christmas Day |
| 1899–03 | Unknown | |
| c.1903–04 | Ernest Watts |
|
| 1904–07 | David Gardner |
|
| 1907–11 | Frank Piercy |
|
| 1911–15 | Tommy Randall Tommy Randall Tommy Randall was an English footballer who played as a defender for West Ham United.-Playing career:Randall was born in Barking, Essex and started his football career with Barking in the South Essex league. Starting for West Ham as an amateur and playing as an inside-forward he scored on his... |
|
| 1915–19 | None | No football was played during the First World War |
| 1919–21 | Unknown | |
| c.1921–22 | Billy Cope William Cope (footballer) William Arthur Cope was an English footballer who played as a full-back. He played 287 league games in the Football League over a nineteen year professional career.... |
|
| 1922–26 | George Kay George Kay George Kay was an English football player and manager of Luton Town, Southampton and Liverpool.The highlight of his playing career was when he captained West Ham United in the first FA Cup final to be played at Wembley, the so-called White Horse Final.He was manager of Liverpool for 15 years and... |
|
| 1926–27 | Jack Hebden |
|
| 1927–28 | Unknown | |
| 1928–29 | Tommy Hodgson |
|
| 1929–36 | Unknown | |
| c.1936–39 | Charles Bicknell |
|
| 1939–45 | None | No football was played during the Second World War |
| 1945–47 | Charles Bicknell |
Remained captain after World War II |
| 1947–51 | Dick Walker Dick Walker Richard Walker was an English footballer who played for West Ham United.He was born in Hackney, London.Dick Walker's three decade association with West Ham began during the 1932-33 season. Playing for Becontree Athletic on Sunday mornings, Walker was spotted by a club scout and given a trial... |
Following his retirement, he helped to clean the boots of younger players |
| 1951–57 | Malcolm Allison Malcolm Allison Malcolm Alexander Allison was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora and cigar, controversies off the pitch and outspoken nature.Allison's managerial potential become... |
Fell ill with tuberculosis after a game in 1957 and consequently had a lung removed |
| 1957–60 | Noel Cantwell Noel Cantwell Noel Euchuria Cornelius Cantwell was an Irish cricketer and football player born in County Cork, Irish Free State... |
First captain not from the United Kingdom |
| 1960–61 | Ken Brown |
|
| 1961–74 | Bobby Moore Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup... |
|
| 1974–84 | Billy Bonds Billy Bonds William Arthur "Billy" Bonds MBE is a former professional footballer and manager, who is most often associated with West Ham United with whom he spent 27 years as player and manager... |
|
| 1984–90 | Alvin Martin Alvin Martin Alvin Edward Martin is a retired English footballer who played as a defender.Playing most of his footballing career for West Ham United he appeared in 598 games for scoring 34 goals... |
|
| 1990–92 | Ian Bishop Ian Bishop (footballer) Ian Bishop is a former footballer who played as a midfielder.He was born on the Cantril Farm housing estate in Liverpool and on leaving school in July 1981 he joined Everton, turning professional for the 1983-84 season under the management of Howard Kendall - who had taken over during the same... |
|
| 1992–93 | Julian Dicks Julian Dicks Julian Andrew Dicks , is a retired football player and manager, last attached to Isthmian League Division One North club Grays Athletic.-Playing career:... |
|
| 1993–96 | Steve Potts |
|
| 1996–97 | Julian Dicks Julian Dicks Julian Andrew Dicks , is a retired football player and manager, last attached to Isthmian League Division One North club Grays Athletic.-Playing career:... |
|
| 1997–01 |  Steve LomasSteve Lomas Stephen "Steve" Lomas is the football manager of St Johnstone and a former Northern Ireland international player. He played for Manchester City, West Ham United, Queens Park Rangers and Gillingham, finishing his playing career at United Counties Football League Premier Division club St Neots Town... |
|
| 2001–03 |  Paolo Di CanioPaolo Di Canio Paolo Di Canio is a Italian former professional footballer and current manager of League Two side Swindon Town. Di Canio made over 500 league appearances and scored over 100 league goals as a player.... |
|
| 2003 | Joe Cole Joe Cole Joseph John "Joe" Cole is an English footballer who plays for Lille, on loan from Liverpool, and the England national football team as midfielder. He started his career with where he played more than 100 games during five years, until he left for Chelsea in 2003... |
|
| 2003–05 | Christian Dailly Christian Dailly Christian Eduard Dailly is a Scottish professional footballer who is without a club having last played for Championship side Portsmouth. He is a versatile player, often seen in defence or defensive midfield, but has played in most outfield positions during his career. Dailly is Scotland's... |
|
| 2005–07 | Nigel Reo-Coker Nigel Reo-Coker Nigel Shola Andre Reo-Coker is an English footballer of Sierra Leonean descent. He currently plays for Bolton Wanderers of the Premier League. He is known for being a robust midfielder with good overall tackling and passing qualities... |
|
| 2007–09 |  Lucas NeillLucas Neill Lucas Edward Neill is an Australian Soccer player who currently plays for UAE Pro-League club Al Jazira. He is a full back. Neill had spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 World Cup in South... |
First captain from outside Europe |
| 2009–11 | Matthew Upson Matthew Upson Matthew James Upson is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City in the Premier League. He is a central defender and he has played for England at full international level including at the 2010 World Cup.... |
|
| 2011– | Kevin Nolan Kevin Nolan Kevin Anthony Jance Nolan is an English professional footballer who plays for and is the current club captain of West Ham United in the Football League Championship. An attacking midfielder, he has represented England at under-21 level.... |
West Ham dream team
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.Hammer of the Year
The following is a list of the "Hammer of the Year award" won by West Ham United players. Trevor Brooking was the first player for West Ham United to have been honoured with the title of 'Hammer of the Year' three times in a row (1976, 1977 and 1978). Scott Parker repeated this feat in 2009–2011. Brooking has won the award the most times, on five occasions (1972, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1984). Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds and Julian Dicks have won it four times each.Bobby Moore has been runner-up four times, while Billy Bonds and Tony Cottee have both been runner-up three times.
Billy Bonds and Trevor Brooking's wins are notable in the amount of time between first and last "Hammer of the Year Award". Bonds has sixteen years separating his wins whilst Brooking has twelve.
|
|
Current staff
- As of 8 July 2011.
CLUB STAFF/DIRECTORS
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  David Sullivan |
| Chairman |  David Gold |
| Vice-Chairman | Karren Brady Karren Brady Karren Brady is an English sporting executive, television broadcaster, newspaper columnist, author and novelist. She is the former managing director of Birmingham City Football Club and current vice-chairman of West Ham United... |
| Non-Executive Director | Daniel Harris |
| Non-Executive Director | Bob Ellis |
| Honorary Life President | Terry Brown Terry Brown (football chairman) Terence "Terry" Brown is the former chairman and Honorary Life President of English Football League Championship football club West Ham United.During his time as chairman of West Ham he was often portrayed as someone unpopular with West Ham fans... (former owner) |
| Football Secretary | Liz Coley |
| Finance Director | Nick Igoe |
| Olympic Project Director | Ian Tompkins |
| Operations Director | Ben Illingworth |
| Commercial Director | Barry Webber |
| Head of Media | Greg Demetriou |
COACHING STAFF
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Sam Allardyce Sam Allardyce Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United.... |
| Assistant Manager | Neil McDonald |
| First Team Coach | Wally Downes Wally Downes Walter John "Wally" Downes is an English former football player and manager, he is currently a first team coach at West Ham UnitedHe is the nephew of former world middleweight boxing champion Terry Downes.-Playing career:... |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Martyn Margetson Martyn Margetson Martyn Walter Margetson is a Welsh former professional footballer and Wales international, currently working for Football League Championship side West Ham United as a goalkeeping coach.... |
| Development coach | Ian Hendon Ian Hendon Ian Michael Hendon is an English professional former footballer, and development coach at West Ham United.-Career:... |
| Fitness Coach | Eamon Swift |
| First Team Physiotherapist |  Stijn Vandenbroucke |
| Head of Sports Medicine | Andy Rolls |
| Club Doctor | Richard Weiler MBChB,MRCGP,MSc,MFSEM |
| Medical Officer | Sean Howlett MBBS, MRCGP |
| Director of Youth Academy | Tony Carr MBE Tony Carr Anthony Carr MBE is an English sports coach, the current Director of Youth Development at the West Ham United football club's youth academy and is recognised as one of the most influential figures in English football. A former graduate of the academy himself, whose footballing career was cut short... |
Managers
West Ham have had only fourteen permanent managers in their history and an additional three caretaker managers. Up until 1989 the club had only had five different managers. Before the appointment of Gianfranco ZolaGianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola, OBE, Ufficiale OMRI is a retired Italian footballer and manager, who most recently managed West Ham United from 2008 to 2010, after having been assistant manager of the Italy U-21 under Pierluigi Casiraghi...
in 2008 the club never had an overseas manager, with the only non-Englishman being the Scot
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, Lou Macari. Their current manager is Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....
who was appointed in May 2011. Numerous former Hammers have taken on temporary managerial roles at the club, between permanent managers. Ronnie Boyce
Ronnie Boyce
Ronnie Boyce is a former footballer who played his entire footballing career for West Ham United, going on to make 282 Football League appearances for them.-Career:...
briefly took the reins, in February 1990, following Lou Macari's resignation and the appointment of Billy Bonds
Billy Bonds
William Arthur "Billy" Bonds MBE is a former professional footballer and manager, who is most often associated with West Ham United with whom he spent 27 years as player and manager...
. Former Hammers player and board member Trevor Brooking
Trevor Brooking
Sir Trevor David Brooking CBE is a football player turned manager, on-air analyst, and administrator.Brooking attended Ripple Infants School and left Ilford County High School with 11 O-levels and 2 A-levels....
was briefly in charge during two separate spells as caretaker manager
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
in 2003, first during the illness of Glenn Roeder and again between Roeder's sacking and the appointment of Alan Pardew. Former player Kevin Keen
Kevin Keen
Kevin Keen is a football coach, manager and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Wycombe Wanderers, West Ham United, Wolves, Stoke City and Macclesfield Town...
has been caretaker manager
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
twice; immediately prior to Gianfranco Zola's appointment in 2008 and after the sacking of Avram Grant in 2011.
| Manager | Caretaker Manager | Period | G | W | D | L | Win % | Honours/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syd King Syd King Ernest Sydney "Syd" King was a footballer and manager, and one of the most important figures in the early history of West Ham United.-Playing career:... |
1901–32 | 638 | 248 | 146 | 244 | 38.87 | Club's longest serving manager (31 years). FA Cup runners up 1923 | |
| Charlie Paynter Charlie Paynter Charlie Paynter was the manager of West Ham United from 1932-1950.He moved to Plaistow with his family as a child. He played for the football team Victoria Swifts, but while still a teenager he also developed an interest in physiotherapy. Paynter first became involved with West Ham as unpaid help... |
1932–50 | 480 | 198 | 116 | 166 | 41.25 | ||
| Ted Fenton Ted Fenton Edward "Ted" Fenton was manager of English football club West Ham United between 1950 and 1961.- West Ham United :... |
1950–61 | 483 | 192 | 107 | 184 | 39.75 | Old Division Two Football League Second Division From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams... Champions 1957–58 |
|
| Ron Greenwood |
1961–74 | 613 | 215 | 165 | 233 | 35.07 | FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... winners 1964, UEFA Cup Winners Cup winners 1965 |
|
| John Lyall John Lyall John Angus Lyall was an English footballer and manager of Scottish descent. His mother, Catherine, was from the Isle of Lewis, his father, James, was from Kirriemuir. He was born in Ilford, Essex.- Youth team career :... |
1974–89 | 708 | 277 | 176 | 255 | 39.12 | FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... 1975, 1980. Highest placed finish in club's history (3rd in Old Division One Football League First Division The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship.... 1985–86) |
|
 Lou MacariLou Macari Luigi "Lou" Macari is a Scottish former footballer and football manager of Italian descent.-Playing career:... |
1989–90 | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 36.84 | Club's first non-English manager | |
| Ronnie Boyce Ronnie Boyce Ronnie Boyce is a former footballer who played his entire footballing career for West Ham United, going on to make 282 Football League appearances for them.-Career:... |
1990 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Billy Bonds Billy Bonds William Arthur "Billy" Bonds MBE is a former professional footballer and manager, who is most often associated with West Ham United with whom he spent 27 years as player and manager... |
1990–94 | 227 | 99 | 61 | 67 | 43.61 | ||
| Harry Redknapp Harry Redknapp Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur.... |
1994–01 | 327 | 121 | 85 | 121 | 37.00 | UEFA Intertoto Cup UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued... joint winners 1999 (European qualification) |
|
| Glenn Roeder Glenn Roeder Glenn Victor Roeder is an English football manager and former player, most recently in charge at Norwich City. As a player, Roeder represented England B on 7 occasions... |
2001–03 | 86 | 27 | 23 | 36 | 31.40 | ||
| Trevor Brooking Trevor Brooking Sir Trevor David Brooking CBE is a football player turned manager, on-air analyst, and administrator.Brooking attended Ripple Infants School and left Ilford County High School with 11 O-levels and 2 A-levels.... |
2003 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 69.23 | Best win percentage of West Ham's caretaker managers. | |
| Alan Pardew Alan Pardew Alan Scott Pardew is an English football manager and former player, currently the manager of Newcastle United.... |
2003–06 | 163 | 67 | 38 | 58 | 41.10 | Championship Football League Championship The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League... Play Off Winners 2005, FA Cup runners up 2006 (European qualification) |
|
| Alan Curbishley Alan Curbishley Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player.... |
2006–08 | 71 | 28 | 14 | 29 | 39.44 | ||
| Kevin Keen Kevin Keen Kevin Keen is a football coach, manager and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Wycombe Wanderers, West Ham United, Wolves, Stoke City and Macclesfield Town... |
2008 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | ||
| Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola, OBE, Ufficiale OMRI is a retired Italian footballer and manager, who most recently managed West Ham United from 2008 to 2010, after having been assistant manager of the Italy U-21 under Pierluigi Casiraghi... |
2008–10 | 80 | 23 | 21 | 36 | 28.75 | Club's first foreign manager. Worst win percentage recorded of West Ham's permanent managers. | |
 Avram Grant |
2010–11 | 47 | 15 | 12 | 20 | 31.91 | Club's first non EU manager. | |
| Kevin Keen Kevin Keen Kevin Keen is a football coach, manager and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Wycombe Wanderers, West Ham United, Wolves, Stoke City and Macclesfield Town... |
2011 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | ||
| Sam Allardyce Sam Allardyce Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United.... |
2011– | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 60.00 | Best win percentage recorded of West Ham's permanent managers. |
Ownership
West Ham United was owned by Terry BrownTerry Brown (football chairman)
Terence "Terry" Brown is the former chairman and Honorary Life President of English Football League Championship football club West Ham United.During his time as chairman of West Ham he was often portrayed as someone unpopular with West Ham fans...
until 2006, when Eggert Magnússon
Eggert Magnússon
Eggert Magnússon is an Icelandic businessman and former President of the Football Association of Iceland and ex-chairman of West Ham United...
and Björgólfur Guðmundsson
Björgólfur Guðmundsson
Björgólfur Guðmundsson was the chairman and former owner of West Ham United FC. Björgólfur was Iceland's second businessman worth more than a billion dollars — his son, Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson being the first. He was ranked by Forbes magazine in March 2008 as the 1014th-richest person in the...
bought the club. Soon after, manager Alan Pardew
Alan Pardew
Alan Scott Pardew is an English football manager and former player, currently the manager of Newcastle United....
was sacked and ex-Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
Manager Alan Curbishley was hired. In a bizarre twist of fate, Pardew replaced Les Reed
Les Reed
Les Reed O.B.E. is an English songwriter, musician and light orchestra leader.-Career:...
as Charlton manager a few weeks later and the two managers met each other in a relegation battle where the Hammers lost 4–0 to their South-east London rivals. However, West Ham eventually stayed up and Charlton were relegated. Terry Brown
Terry Brown (football chairman)
Terence "Terry" Brown is the former chairman and Honorary Life President of English Football League Championship football club West Ham United.During his time as chairman of West Ham he was often portrayed as someone unpopular with West Ham fans...
was criticised by some sections of the fans (including pressure group Whistle
Whistle (organisation)
Whistle was a supporter's pressure group, created by fans of West Ham United that were critical of its Chairman, Terry Brown, following the club's relegation in 2003 and the subsequent sale of many of their top players. In April 2004, the group published a dossier accusing the board of financial...
specifically formed for this purpose) due to a perception of financial and staff mismanagement. On 18 September 2007, it was announced that Magnússon would step down as executive chairman but would still retain the role as club non-executive chairman overseeing a new management structure, and would keep his stake in the club.
However on 13 December 2007, it was announced that Magnússon had left West Ham and that his 5 per cent holding had been bought by club majority owner Björgólfur Guðmundsson
Björgólfur Guðmundsson
Björgólfur Guðmundsson was the chairman and former owner of West Ham United FC. Björgólfur was Iceland's second businessman worth more than a billion dollars — his son, Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson being the first. He was ranked by Forbes magazine in March 2008 as the 1014th-richest person in the...
.
On 8 June 2009, Icelandic CB Holding which is 70% owned by Straumur-Burdaras bank
Straumur Investment Bank
Straumur-Burdaras Investment Bank hf. was a regional investment bank headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, that was closed by regulators in March 2009.The company was mainly owned by Björgólfur Guðmundsson and his son Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson...
and 30% owned by Icelandic based banks Byr and MP took over Hansa Holding, which only had West Ham United as their asset and filed for bankruptcy protection. Straumur was one of Hansa Holding's largest creditors. Straumur appointed one of their directors, Andrew Bernhardt, as the new chairman.
In January 2010, David Sullivan and David Gold acquired a 50 percent share in West Ham, from CB Holding, given them overall operational and commercial control.
At the end of May 2010 both David Gold and David Sullivan purchased a further 10% stake in the club at a cost of £8million (£4m to CB Holdings LTD, £4m towards club debts). This took their controlling stake to 60%, they also announced that in the near future they may open up shares for fans to purchase.
On 9 August 2010, Gold and Sullivan increased their shares up to 30.6% each with "minority investors", (which included former owner Terry Brown)
Terry Brown (football chairman)
Terence "Terry" Brown is the former chairman and Honorary Life President of English Football League Championship football club West Ham United.During his time as chairman of West Ham he was often portrayed as someone unpopular with West Ham fans...
, purchasing a further 3.8% of the club at a cost of around £3-4million leaving Straumur Bank owning 35% of the club .
Shirt sponsors and kit suppliers
On 11 September 2008, the BBC News Channel reported that the team's main sponsor, XL Leisure GroupXL Leisure Group
The XL Leisure Group was a major tour operating company in the UK, consisting of charter and scheduled airlines, holiday companies and flight-only tour operators. It also has operations in France, Germany, Ireland, Australia and Cyprus...
had been placed in administration, although Simon Calder of The Independent confirmed the group's website was still taking bookings.
The XL Leisure Group confirmed on their website that 11 companies associated with the group had been put into administration on 12 September 2008. This included XL Airways UK Limited, Excel Aviation Limited, Explorer House Limited, Aspire Holidays Limited, Freedom Flights Limited, The Really Great Holiday Company plc, Medlife Hotels Limited, Travel City Direct, and Kosmar Villa Holidays plc. It did not affect the German and French divisions of the company's operations.
On 12 September 2008 the club terminated its contract with XL Leisure group.
During this brief period, players had their squad numbers ironed over the existing sponsorship logo. On 3 December 2008 West Ham announced that they had signed a shirt sponsorship deal with Far Eastern betting firm SBOBET
SBOBET
SBOBET.com is an online sportsbook. The website has operations in Asia licensed by the Philippines and operations in Europe licensed by the Isle of Man to operate as an international sports bookmaker...
. The deal was set to run until the end of the 2009/10 season, and saw the company's logo on First Team and Reserve Team kit, and adult replica shirts; all Academy teams and child replica shirts carry the logo of the Bobby Moore Fund due to the main sponsor being a betting firm.
In September 2009, the club officially announced that SBOBET
SBOBET
SBOBET.com is an online sportsbook. The website has operations in Asia licensed by the Philippines and operations in Europe licensed by the Isle of Man to operate as an international sports bookmaker...
had extended their deal with the team until 2013 after their welcomed help in securing Alessandro Diamanti
Alessandro Diamanti
Alessandro Diamanti is an Italian professional football player who is currently playing his club football as a second striker for Bologna F.C. 1909.-Prato:...
.
The club will end their relationship with Umbro
Umbro
Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment...
and instead have Italian firm Macron
Macron (sportswear)
Macron is an Italian association football, basketball, baseball, rugby, handball, futsal, and volleyball sportswear manufacturer. It has links throughout Europe and its headquarters are located in Crespellano, Italy. It was founded in 1971...
make the kit starting from the 2010/11 season. West Ham will be the first Premier League club kit to be made by the firm who produce several Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
clubs strips.
| Period | Kit Supplier | Kit Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1976–80 | Admiral | None |
| 1980–83 | Adidas Adidas Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport... |
|
| 1983–87 | AVCO Trust | |
| 1987–89 | Scoreline | |
| 1989–93 | Bukta Bukta - History :Edward Buck and Sons founded the company in 1879, mainly producing shorts for soldiers fighting in the Boer Wars. In 1884 football team Nottingham Forest were pictured wearing kit produced by Bukta.... |
BAC Windows |
| 1993–97 | Pony Pony International Pony International, commonly referred to as simply Pony, is an American brand of footwear and other apparel. Founded in 1972 on Madison Avenue in New York, Pony was created by industry veteran Roberto Mueller, along with financing provided by adidas Chairman Horst Dassler . Pony became one of the... |
Dagenham Motors |
| 1997–98 | None | |
| 1998–99 | Dr. Martens Dr. Martens Dr. Martens is a traditional British footwear brand, which also makes a range of accessories – shoe care products, clothing, luggage, etc. In addition to Dr. Martens, they are known as Doctor Martens, Doc Martens, Docs or DMs... |
|
| 1999–03 | Fila Fila (company) Fila is one of the world's largest sportswear manufacturing companies. Founded in 1911 in Italy, Fila has been owned and operated from South Korea since a takeover in 2007. Headed by chairman and CEO Yoon-Soo Yoon, Fila now has offices in 11 countries worldwide.... |
|
| 2003–07 | Reebok Reebok Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle... |
Jobserve JobServe JobServe Ltd is a privately held company headquartered in Tiptree, Essex, UK. The company was originally incorporated as Fax-Me-Limited in 1993 and later changed its name to JobServe Ltd. in 1995... |
| 2007–08 | Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
XL.com XL Leisure Group The XL Leisure Group was a major tour operating company in the UK, consisting of charter and scheduled airlines, holiday companies and flight-only tour operators. It also has operations in France, Germany, Ireland, Australia and Cyprus... |
| 2008–10 | SBOBET SBOBET SBOBET.com is an online sportsbook. The website has operations in Asia licensed by the Philippines and operations in Europe licensed by the Isle of Man to operate as an international sports bookmaker... |
|
| 2010–13 | Macron Macron (sportswear) Macron is an Italian association football, basketball, baseball, rugby, handball, futsal, and volleyball sportswear manufacturer. It has links throughout Europe and its headquarters are located in Crespellano, Italy. It was founded in 1971... |
League
- Premier League (Top tier)
- Highest placing: 5th 1998–99
- First DivisionFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
(Top tier)- Highest placing: 3rd 1985–86The Football League 1985-86-Overview:The 1985–1986 season was the 86th completed season of the The Football League.-Final league tables and results :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at the website, with home and away statistics separated.Re-election: During the first five seasons...
- Highest placing: 3rd 1985–86
- First DivisionFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
(Second tier)- Runners-up: 1992–93The Football League 1992-93The 1992–1993 season was the 93rd completed season of the The Football League.-Overview:This season saw the birth of the FA Premier League. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions....
- Runners-up: 1992–93
- Second DivisionFootball League Second DivisionFrom 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
(Second Tier): 2- Champions: 1957–58The Football League 1957-58-Overview:The 1957–1958 season was the 59th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
, 1980–81The Football League 1980-81The 1980–1981 season was the 81st completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Ron Saunders completed Aston Villa's revival, as they ended their 71-year wait for the league championship trophy. They competed in a two-horse race with Ipswich Town during the final stages of the season... - Runners-up: 1922–23The Football League 1922-23The 1922–1923 season was the 31st season of The Football League.-Final league tables:The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics separated.Match results...
, 1990–91The Football League 1990-91The 1990–1991 season was the 91st completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Arsenal took their second league title in three seasons despite a season during which it often looked as though the good points would be outnumbered by the bad points...
- Champions: 1957–58
- Football League Championship Play-OffFootball League Championship play-offsThe Football League Championship play-offs are a series of playoff matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship table. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with 6th playing 3rd and 5th playing 4th, with the return fixtures following...
(Second Tier): 1- Winners: 2005
- Runners-up: 2004
- Southern League First DivisionSouthern Football LeagueThe Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
:- Highest placing: 3rd 1912–131912–13 Southern Football LeagueThe 1912–13 Southern Football League season was the 19th in the history of the Southern League, a football competition in England. This season saw no First Division teams apply for election to the Football League. Plymouth Argyle won the league championship whilst Brentford and Stoke were relegated...
- Highest placing: 3rd 1912–13
- Western Football LeagueWestern Football LeagueThe Western Football League is a football league in the south west of England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and parts of South Wales...
: 1- Champions: 1906–07Western Football LeagueThe Western Football League is a football league in the south west of England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and parts of South Wales...
- Champions: 1906–07
Hammers in Wartime
- London Combination: 1
- Champions: 1916–17
- Runners-up: 1915–16 (Supplementary Tournament), 1917–18
- League South A:
- Runners-up: 1939–40
- League South C:
- Runners-up: 1939–40
- Regional League South:
- Runners-up: 1940–41
- League SouthFootball League North and SouthThe Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created for the League to continue while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The Leagues started in 1941; however, the leagues only had one full season, in 1945-46...
:- Runners-up: 1943–44, 1944–45
Cups
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
: 3- Winners: 19641964 FA Cup FinalThe 1964 FA Cup Final was contested by West Ham United and Preston North End at Wembley. West Ham won 3–2, with goals from John Sissons, Geoff Hurst and Ron Boyce...
, 19751975 FA Cup FinalThe 1975 FA Cup Final was contested by West Ham United and Fulham at Wembley. The Fulham team contained two former England captains in former West Ham captain Bobby Moore, making his last appearance at Wembley, and Alan Mullery. West Ham won 2–0, with the two goals scored by Alan Taylor...
, 19801980 FA Cup FinalThe 1980 FA Cup Final was contested by West Ham United and Arsenal at Wembley. West Ham won by a single goal, scored by Trevor Brooking.To date, it is the last time a team from outside the top flight has won the FA Cup... - Runners-up: 19231923 FA Cup FinalThe 1923 FA Cup Final was a football match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United on 28 April 1923 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup , it was the first football match to be...
, 2006
- Winners: 1964
- League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
- Runners-up: 19661966 Football League Cup FinalThe 1966 Football League Cup Final, the sixth Football League Cup final to be staged since the competition's inception, was contested between West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United...
, 19811981 Football League Cup FinalThe 1981 Football League Cup Final was played on Saturday 14 March 1981 at Wembley Stadium between Liverpool and West Ham United, with both clubs appearing in their second League Cup finals....
- Runners-up: 1966
- FA Charity Shield:FA Community ShieldThe Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
: 1- Winners: 1964West Ham United F.C. 1964-1965West Ham's greatest triumph as they beat TSV Munich 1860 in the Cup Winners Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. Both goals in the 2-0 win were scored by outside right Alan Sealey....
(shared)
- Winners: 1964
- Football League War CupFootball League War CupThe Football League War Cup was an association football tournament held between 1939 and 1945 which aimed to fill the gaping hole left in English Football by the cancellation of the FA Cup.- Background:...
: 1- Winners: 1940Football League War CupThe Football League War Cup was an association football tournament held between 1939 and 1945 which aimed to fill the gaping hole left in English Football by the cancellation of the FA Cup.- Background:...
- Winners: 1940
- Southern Floodlit Cup: 1
- Winners: 1956
- Runners-up: 1960
- Essex Professional Cup: 3
- Winners: 1951, 1955 (Trophy shared), 1959
- Runners-up: 1952, 1958
European
- European Cup Winners CupUEFA Cup Winners' CupThe UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
: 1- Winners: 1965
- Runners-up: 1976
- UEFA Intertoto CupUEFA Intertoto CupThe UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
: 1- Winners: 1999
International
- International Soccer LeagueInternational Soccer League (1960-1965)The International Soccer League was a U.S. based soccer league which was formed in 1960 and collapsed in 1965. The league, affiliated with the American Soccer League, featured guest teams primarily from Europe and some from Asia, South America, Canada and Mexico.-History:In 1960, William Cox, a...
: 1- Champions: 196
World Cup Winners 1966
Other
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team AwardBBC Sports Personality of the Year Team AwardThe BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. Currently, the award is given to the British team that "has achieved the most notable performance in British sport". The award's recipient is...
: 1965 - Honorary Degree (Awarded to the club) in 2009 by the University of East LondonUniversity of East LondonThe University of East London is a university located in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, based at two campuses in Stratford and Docklands areas...
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|valign="top"|
Youth
- FA Premier Academy Under-19 LeaguePremier Academy LeagueThe Premier Academy League is the top level of youth football in England. It is contested between the Academy sides of The Premier League and some Football League clubs, including Welsh side Cardiff City...
: 2- Champions: 1998–99, 1999–2000
- FA Youth CupFA Youth CupThe Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under–18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part...
: 3- Winners: 1963, 1981, 1999
- Runners-up: 1957, 1959, 1975, 1996
- South East Counties LeagueSouth East Counties LeagueThe South East Counties League was a football league for the youth teams of clubs from Southern England.The competition grew out of the Middlesex Youth Invitation Cup set up in the 1950s by the Middlesex FA and was formerly known as the South East Counties Youth Football League...
: 3- Champions: 1984–85, 1995–96, 1997–98
- Milk Cup JuniorMilk CupThe Milk Cup is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area of Northern Ireland, with matches taking place in the towns of Portrush, Portstewart, Castlerock, Limavady, Coleraine, Ballymoney, Ballymena and...
: 2- Winners: 1996, 1997
Reserve
- London League Premier Division: 1
- Champions: 1901–02
As Thames Ironworks F.C.
- Southern League Division TwoSouthern Football LeagueThe Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
: 1- Champions: 1898–99
- London League: 1
- Champions: 1897–98
- Runners-up: 1896–97
- West Ham Charity CupWest Ham Charity CupThe West Ham Charity Cup was an amateur football tournament, known to have existed between 1895 and 1902. It was contested by teams from West Ham and the surrounding area, an area of Essex that has subsequently been absorbed into London....
: 1- Winners: 1896
- Runners-up: 1897
|}
Attendance
- Highest league attendance: 42,322 v Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur F.C.Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
Division One, 17 October 1970 - Lowest league attendance: 4,373 v Doncaster RoversDoncaster Rovers F.C.Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
, Division TwoFootball League Second DivisionFrom 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
, 24 February 1955
Transfers
- Biggest Transfer fee paid: £7.5 Million to Liverpool for Craig BellamyCraig BellamyCraig Douglas Bellamy is a Welsh footballer who plays as a striker for Liverpool and the Welsh national team. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy was the captain of the Welsh national side for four years after taking over from Ryan Giggs in 2007, but stood down in January 2011 due to constant injuries...
, July 2007* - Biggest Transfer fee received: £18 million from Leeds UnitedLeeds United A.F.C.Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
for Rio FerdinandRio FerdinandRio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...
, November 2000
Victories
- League:
- Premier League:
- Home: 6–0 v BarnsleyBarnsley F.C.Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
10 January 1998 - Away: 5–0 v Derby CountyDerby County F.C.Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
10 November 2007
- Home: 6–0 v Barnsley
- Division One:
- Home: 8–0 v Sunderland 19 October 1968
- Away: 6–1 v Manchester CityManchester City F.C.Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
8 September 1962
- Division Two:
- Home: 8–0 v Rotherham UnitedRotherham United F.C.Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
8 March 1958 - Away: 6–1 v Leicester CityLeicester City F.C.Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
15 February 1923
- Home: 8–0 v Rotherham United
- FA Cup:
- Home: 8–1 v ChesterfieldChesterfield F.C.Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
(Rd 1) 10 January 1914 - Away: 5–0 v Chatham TownChatham Town F.C.Chatham Town are an English Association Football club based in Chatham, Kent. They currently play in Division One North of the Isthmian League and are nicknamed "The Chats"....
(5th qualifying rd) 28 November 1903
- Home: 8–1 v Chesterfield
- League Cup:
- Home: 10–0 v BuryBury F.C.Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...
(Rd 2 leg 2) (12–1 aggregate scoreline) 25 October 1983 - Away: 5–1 v Cardiff CityCardiff City F.C.Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
(SF leg 2) (10–3 aggregate scoreline) 2 February 1966 - Away: 5–1 v WalsallWalsall F.C.Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
(Rd 2) 13 September 1967
- Home: 10–0 v Bury
- European Cup Winners Cup:
- Home: 5–1 v Castilla CFReal Madrid CastillaReal Madrid Castilla is a Spanish football team that plays in the Segunda División B. It is the reserve team of Real Madrid. They play their home games at Alfredo di Stéfano Stadium....
(Rd 1 leg 2) (6–4 aggregate scoreline) 1 October 1980 - Away: 2–1 v Lausanne (QF leg 2) (6–4 aggregate scoreline) 16 March 1965
- Home: 5–1 v Castilla CF
- UEFA Cup:
- Home: 3–0 v NK OsijekNK OsijekNK Osijek is a Croatian football club, from Osijek in eastern Croatia.- History :NK Osijek's early roots are found in club called NK Udarnik that was formed in 1945 under FPR Yugoslavia's new communist authorities on the ashes of dissolved HŠK Slavija...
(Rd 1 leg 1) 16 September 1999 - Away: 3–1 v NK OsijekNK OsijekNK Osijek is a Croatian football club, from Osijek in eastern Croatia.- History :NK Osijek's early roots are found in club called NK Udarnik that was formed in 1945 under FPR Yugoslavia's new communist authorities on the ashes of dissolved HŠK Slavija...
(Rd 1 leg 2) 30 September 1999
- Home: 3–0 v NK Osijek
Defeats
- League:
- Premier League:
- Home: 1–5 v Leeds UnitedLeeds United A.F.C.Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
1 May 1999 - Home: 0–4 v Queens Park RangersQueens Park Rangers F.C.Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
28 August 1993 - Home: 0–4 v Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday F.C.Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
16 January 1999 - Home: 0–4 v ArsenalArsenal F.C.Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
6 February 1999 - Home: 0–4 v EvertonEverton F.C.Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
26 February 2000 - Home: 0–4 v ChelseaChelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
1 March 2008 - Home: 0–4 v Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
5 December 2009 - Away: 1–7 v Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
1 April 2000 - Away: 1–7 v Blackburn RoversBlackburn Rovers F.C.Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
14 October 2001 - Away: 0–6 v EvertonEverton F.C.Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
8 May 1999 - Away: 0–6 v ReadingReading F.C.Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
1 January 2007
- Home: 1–5 v Leeds United
- Division One:
- Home: 2–8 v Blackburn RoversBlackburn Rovers F.C.Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
26 December 1963 - Away: 0–7 v EvertonEverton F.C.Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
22 October 1927 - Away: 0–7 v Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday F.C.Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
28 November 1959
- Home: 2–8 v Blackburn Rovers
- Division Two:
- Home: 0–6 v Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday F.C.Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
8 December 1951 - Away: 0–7 v BarnsleyBarnsley F.C.Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
1 September 1919
- Home: 0–6 v Sheffield Wednesday
- FA Cup:
- Home: 1–5 v Huddersfield TownHuddersfield Town F.C.Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
(Rd 3 replay) 13 January 1960 - Away: 0–6 v Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
(Rd 4) 26 January 2003
- Home: 1–5 v Huddersfield Town
- League Cup:
- Home: 2–5 v BarnsleyBarnsley F.C.Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
(Rd 2 leg 2) 6 October 1987 - Away: 0–6 v Oldham AthleticOldham Athletic A.F.C.Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
(SF leg 1) 14 December 1990
- Home: 2–5 v Barnsley
- European Cup Winners Cup:
- Home: 1–4 v Dinamo TbilisiFC Dinamo TbilisiFC Dinamo Tbilisi is a Georgian football team, based in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.Dinamo Tbilisi was one of the most prominent clubs in Soviet football and a major contender in the Soviet Top League almost immediately after it was established in 1936...
(QF leg 1) (2–4 aggregate scoreline) 4 March 1981 - Away: 2–4 v FC Den HaagADO Den HaagAlles Door Oefening Den Haag , commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag , is a Dutch football club from the city of The Hague. The club was for a time known as FC Den Haag , with ADO representing the amateur branch of the club...
(QF leg 1) (5–5 aggregate scoreline, West Ham won on away rule) 3 March 1976 - Neutral: 2–4 v AnderlechtR.S.C. AnderlechtRoyal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
(Final) 5 May 1976
- Home: 1–4 v Dinamo Tbilisi
- UEFA Cup:
- Home: 0–1 v PalermoU.S. Città di PalermoUnione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...
(Rd 1 leg 1) 14 September 2006 - Away: 0–3 v PalermoU.S. Città di PalermoUnione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...
(Rd 1 leg 2) 28 September 2006
- Home: 0–1 v Palermo
Club league highs and lows
- See also West Ham United F.C. by seasonWest Ham United F.C. by seasonThese are the seasons of West Ham United Football Club from their first season in The Football League in 1919 to their most recent season.-Football League Seasons:-Key:*P = Played*W = Games won*D = Games drawn*L = Games lost*F = Goals for...
- Home:
- Most:
- Most Home Wins: 19 (1980–81)
- Most Home Draws: 10 (1981–82)
- Most Home Defeats: 10 (1988–89)
- Most Home Goals Scored: 59 (1958–59)
- Most Home Goals Conceded: 44 (1930–31)
- Fewest:
- Fewest Home Wins: 3 (1988–89)
- Fewest Home Draws: 1 (1934–35), (1980–81)
- Fewest Home Defeats: 1 (1957–58), (1980–81)
- Fewest Home Goals Scored: 19 (1988–89)
- Fewest Home Goals Conceded: 11 (1920–21), (1922–23)
- Away:
- Most:
- Most Away Wins: 11 (1922–23), (1957–58)
- Most Away Draws: 10 (1968–69)
- Most Away Defeats: 17 (1932–33)
- Most Away Goals Scored: 45 (1957–58)
- Most Away Goals Conceded: 70 (1931–32)
- Fewest:
- Fewest Away Wins: 1 (1925–26), (1932–33), (1937–38), (1960–61), (2009–10)
- Fewest Away Draws: 1 (1982–83)
- Fewest Away Defeats: 3 (1980–81)
- Fewest Away Goals Scored: 12 (1996–97)
- Fewest Away Goals Conceded: 16 (1990–91)
- Total:
- Most:
- Most Total Wins: 28 (1980–81)
- Most Total Draws: 18 (1968–69)
- Most Total Defeats: 23 (1931–32)
- Most Total Goals Scored: 101 (1957–58)
- Most Total Goals Conceded: 107 (1931–32)
- Fewest:
- Fewest Total Wins: 7 (2010–11)
- Fewest Total Draws: 4 (1934–35), (1964–65), (1982–83)
- Fewest Total Defeats: 4 (1980–81)
- Fewest Total Goals Scored: 37 (1988–89), (1991–92)
- Fewest Total Goals Conceded: 29 (1980–81)
- Home:
Club goal records
Follow link to Official West Ham United Records Page |
Player records
|
See also
- Forbes' list of the most valuable football clubs
- West Ham United L.F.C.West Ham United L.F.C.West Ham United Ladies Football Club is an English women's football club affiliated with West Ham United FC. They were formed in 1991 and play at Ship Lane, Thurrock, home of Thurrock FC...
, the affiliated women's team
External links
Official- West Ham United F.C. official website
- West Ham United News – Sky Sports
- Premierleague.com – West Ham United
External references