Category: History

Although the season can now extend well into the month of May, in days past the league was often all over by the end of April leaving the season finale FA Cup Final scheduled for the first Saturday in May.  And with Easter out of the way by the week of 17 to 23 April in Hammer’s History we are very much into the tail end of the season.

In the Glen Roeder relegation season of 2003, West Ham were famously demoted with a record haul of 42 points, 16 ahead of next bottom West Bromwich Albion and two behind Sam Allardyce’s surviving Bolton Wanderers.  After the dust had settled the one game we could look back on as having sealed our fate was the game against Bolton at the Reebok Stadium on 19 April.  A tense match was won on the verge of half-time when Jay-Jay Okocha was allowed to run 40 yards with the ball before thundering a shot past David James in the Hammer’s goal.  To add insult to injury Ian Pearce received a red card in the final minute.

An relegation escape attempt that had a happier ending took place in 2007 when Alan Curbishley’s side, featuring Carlos Tevez, recovered from successive defeats, against Sheffield United and Chelsea, to bag three points at Upton Park from next weekend’s visitors and perennial party-poopers Everton.  The only goal of the game being a spectacular 20 yard strike from Bobby Zamora.

In the fixture backlog of the 1985/86 season West Ham were playing two games every week and this particular week was no exception.  On Saturday goals from Tony Cottee and Frank McAvennie secured a 2-0 win away to Watford and on the following Monday the Hammer’s entertained Newcastle United.

The Newcastle game is best remembered for an Alvin Martin hat-trick with each goal scored against a different goalkeeper.  It was surprisingly also the only West Ham hat-trick during the entire epic league campaign.  The game ended 8-1 in West Ham’s favour with further scores from Ray Stewart, Neil Orr, Frank McAvennie, Paul Goddard and a Glenn Roeder own goal.  Alvin’s first goal was a close range volley in the 3^rd minute past regular keeper Martin Thomas; his second a header past centre half Chris Hedworth who had taken over from the injured Thomas at half-time and; his third a penalty (donated by regular spot-kicker, Ray Stewart) fired past Peter Beardsley who had by then taken over the gloves after Hedworth too was injured.  Watching a replay of the game it always amuses me how at 7-1 down with 3 minutes to play Newcastle protest so vehemently about the penalty award; extinguishing, I guess, any hopes of a comeback.

Parkes, Stewart, Parris, Gale, Martin, Devonshire, Ward, McAvennie, Dickens (Goddard), Cottee, Orr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7WAEGUD1Q4&t=305s

Finally this week, it is FA Cup semi-final time in 2006 as West Ham take on Middlesbrough at Villa Park.  The game was played during the week following the death of John Lyall which created an additional emotional atmosphere the travelling Hammer’s supporters.  Boro had the best of a goal-less first half but their strike duo of Hasselbaink and Yakubu, often the scourge of West Ham,  were unable to find a way past the well-drilled defence.  The Hammer’s came more into the game during the second period and as time went on increasingly looked the likelier to score, which they ultimately did in a pleasing yet largely direct manner.  Anton Ferdinand played a long ball from inside his own half, the ball was headed on and down by Dean Ashton, to where Marlon Harewood held off defender Gareth Southgate and fired a rocket into the top of the net.  West Ham had sealed a final appearance against Liverpool and at the same time booked a Uefa Cup place for the following season.

Hislop, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Collins, Konchesky, Benayoun, Mullins, Reo-Coker, Etherington (Newton), Harewood, Ashton (Zamora)

Notable Birthdays

22 April    Alan Sealey             d. 1996
23 April    Eddie Bovington    76

There have been a number of memorable games played during the week 10 to 16 April in Hammer’s History including two that have already featured in Richard Bennett’s Favourite Games articles on this site.  These are the 6-1 league win over West Bromwich Albion over Easter in 1965 and the second leg European Cup Winner’s Cup tie against Eintracht Frankfurt in 1976.

The game against Albion is best remembered for the remarkable scoring feat by Brian Dear who notched what would now be a season’s worth of West Ham striker goals in a mere 20 minute spell.  Dear’s scoring exploits either side of half time remains the quickest ever five goals in the English game, despite recent claims of having equalled the record by Sergio Aguero.

The game against Eintracht Frankfurt frequently appears on the list of favourite Boleyn nights for many of the longer in the tooth Hammer’s supporters.  Trailing 2-1 from the first leg there was an electric atmosphere at the old ground for the return as a masterclass by Trevor Brooking saw West Ham grab a 3-0 lead at a wet and muddy Upton Park.  True to form the Hammers conceded a late goal to set up an edgy finale but they held on to book a place in the final.  A superb performance from what, at the time, was a very ordinary West Ham side outside of Brooking and Billy Bonds.

Day, Coleman, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, McDowell, Holland, Paddon, Jennings, Brooking, Robson

Bonzo had been elevated to the position of West Ham manager in 1991 when another semi-final encounter took place that was memorable for very different reasons.  This time it was an FA Cup tie that pitched second division West Ham against first division Nottingham Forest.  The game was evenly matched until Keith Hacket made the worst refereeing decision of all time by issuing a straight red to Tony Gale for an innocuous challenge on Forest’s Gary Crosby.  It was Gale’s solitary sending off in a career spanning some 700 games.   Crosby went on to score the first of Forest’s four goals that day but it was the West Ham crowd that lingers longest in the memory  for the marathon rendition of ‘Billy Bond’s Claret & Blue Army’  right through to the final whistle at Villa Park.

Miklosko, Potts, Parris, Gale, Foster, Hughton, Bishop, Slater, Allen (Stewart), Keen, Morley (Quinn)

Villa Park had also been the venue just over a decade earlier when West Ham faced Everton in the 1980 FA Cup semi-final; another second versus first division clash.  It was the Merseysiders who took the lead with a Brian Kidd penalty awarded for a push by Alan Devonshire.  Dev subsequently man-handled referee Colin Seel but escaped with a yellow card.  Everton then had Kidd sent off for a spot of ‘handbags’ involving Ray Stewart and the Hammers, with Bonds at his swashbuckling best,  used the extra man advantage to good effect as Stuart Pearson converted Brooking’s cross to bring the scores level.  There was still time for more drama as a Paul Allen would-be winner was ruled out for a debatable offside.

Parkes, Stewart, Brush, Bonds, Martin, Devonshire, Allen, Pearson (Pike), Cross, Brooking, Holland

It was a long journey up to Elland Road a few days later for the midweek replay.  A evenly fought game was goalless after 90 minutes and into extra time it went.  West Ham took the lead in the first period of added 15 minutes through an excellent Alan Devonshire goal after a smart one-two with Stuart Pearson.  The lead lasted until seven minutes from the end when Bob Latchford looked to have broken Hammer;s hearts as he headed in at the near post to equalise.  With the minutes ticking away and a further replay looming a Brooking cross was nodded on by David Cross and there was Frank Lampard to guide a header over the line for the winner;  I still get goose-bumps watching videos of this game.  The mystery as to why full-back Lampard, recalled to the team due to an Alvin Martin illness,  was still lingering in the area plus his celebratory corner flag jig would become part of West Ham folklore and spawned the ‘I’m dreaming of a Frank Lampard goal, just like the one at Elland Road’ chant.

Parkes, Lampard, Brush, Bonds, Stewart, Devonshire, Allen, Pearson, Cross, Brooking, Pike

Notable Birthdays

12 April    Bobby Moore    d. 1993
13 April    Alan Devonshire (61)
15 April    Edmilson Fernandes (21)

It was semi-final time in the European Cup Winner’s Cup campaign of 1965 and having had a relatively easy draw beforehand West Ham now faced formidable opposition in the shape of Spanish side Real Zaragoza. In the first leg at Upton Park West Ham raced into a 2-0 interval lead. Brian Dear scored the first heading home from a John Sissons cross and Johnny Byrne added the second when Sissons touched on a cross from centre-half Ken Brown. The Hammers were unable to keep up the momentum in the second period and came under increasing pressure from the Spaniards who got their reward with an away goal ten minutes after the break. That was the end of the scoring allowing West Ham to take a slender lead into the return leg.

Standen, Kirkup, Burkett, Peters, Brown, Moore, Boyce, Dear, Byrne, Hurst, Sissons

A year later it was again the same stage of the same competition with West Ham avoiding Liverpool and Celtic in the semi-final draw to earn a tie against West Germany’s Borussia Dortmund. Ron Greenwood stripped transfer seeking Bobby Moore of the captaincy prior to the first leg match at Upton Park which nonetheless was a thrilling affair. Martin Peters put the Hammers ahead early in the second half and looked like holding on to their lead until conceding twice in the last five minutes to end the night with a 2-1 deficit. It would now be an uphill task for West Ham to keep their hands on the trophy that they had won the previous year.

Standen, Brown, Charles, Peters, Boyce, Moore, Brabrook, Bloomfield, Byrne, Hurst, Dear

In 1975 West Ham had reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first time since 1964 and faced a strong Ipswich Town side at Villa Park. In a largely uneventful game Ipswich dominated play but were unable to breakthrough the Hammers defence with the game ending goal-less. The replay took place four days later at an icy Stamford Bridge. Continuing his fine FA Cup form Alan Taylor put the Hammers a goal up before Billy Jennings sliced a spectacular own goal to level the score. Ipswich had two goals disallowed for offside by referee Clive Thomas but it was that man Taylor once more who struck from the edge of the area to put West Ham through to Wembley.

Day, McDowell, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Lock, Jennings, Paddon, Taylor, Brooking, Gould (Holland)

Day, McDowell, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Lock, Jennings (Holland), Paddon, Taylor, Brooking, Gould

In league action this week has witnessed two 4-1 away victories at White Hart Lane; in 1966 (Redknapp, Boyce, Byrne and Hurst) and then again in 1994 (Morley 2, Marsh and Jones). Finally a potential omen was the 2007 victory over Arsenal at The Emirates; Bobby Zamora scoring the only goal of the game.

There are some results that we can only look back at while hiding behind the sofa and two games played in the week 27 March to 2 April fall firmly into that category.

On April Fool’s Day in the 1999/ 2000, Harry Redknapp’s Hammers visited Old Trafford and after 11 minutes had taken an unlikely lead through Paulo Wanchope.  It didn’t remain unlikely for long, however, as goals from Scholes and Irwin quickly put the hosts into a lead that they would not lose.  Two more goals from Scholes and one each from Cole, Beckham and Solksjaer rattled past Craig Forrest to send the Hammers away with a humiliating 7-1 defeat.

The same week in 1985 West Ham were at Vicarage Road on the wrong end of a 5-0 thrashing by Graham Taylor’s Watford – Luther Blissett and John Barnes among the scorers.  Little evidence at the time that the following season would become the best ever in Hammer’s history.

The fixture backlog in 1985/86 required West Ham to play 16 league games between 15 March and 5 May, three of which took place this week.  It started with the highest high of a 4-0 away win at Stamford Bridge against a Chelsea side also very much in the title race at the time.  Goals from Cottee (2), McAvennie and Devonshire doing the damage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLgWr2SZhVc

Two days later the momentum continued with a 2-1 home win against Tottenham; a goal apiece again for deadly duo Cottee and McAvennie lifting West Ham to 5^th in the table, 10 points behind the leaders, Everton, having played 5 games fewer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWRKM8lAfZI

The week was to end in something of a low, however, as the Hammers went down 2-1 away to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.  Cottee scored the West Ham goal but the game is best remembered for a goal scored from a free-kick by Dutchman Johnny Metgod.  Taking a fast bowler’s run up Metgod struck the ball with such venom that it went straight through the despairing hands of Phil Parkes.

In 1976 the first leg of the European Cup Winners Cup semi-final had West Ham travelling to play Eintracht Frankfurt at the Waldstadion. A spirited performance resulted in a 2-1 defeat to set up the second leg for one of the all-time great floodlit nights at Upton Park.  In the game a fine Graham Paddon strike had put the Hammers into the lead before the Germans hit back twice either side of half-time.

Day, Coleman, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, McDowell, Holland, Paddon, Jennings, Brooking, K Robson

The 1981 League Cup Final Replay against Liverpool also took place during this week at neutral Villa Park.  Liverpool had drafted in a young Ian Rush for the game but it was West Ham who took the lead after 10 minutes with a diving Paul Goddard header from a Jimmy Neighbour cross.  Liverpool stepped up the pressure in response and goals by Dalglish and Hansen were enough to secure a first League Cup success for the Merseysiders.

Parkes, Stewart, Lampard, Bonds, Martin, Devonshire, Neighbour, Goddard, Cross, Brooking, Pike (Pearson)  

Notable Birthdays:

27 March             Hayden Mullins                 38
27 March             Pedro Obiang                      25
27 March             Stuart Slater                       48
28 March             Michail Antonio                27
29 March             James Tomkins                  28
2 April                   Eyal Berkovic                     45
2 April                   Teddy Sheringham           51

It is straight into pulsating cup action for the week 20 to 26 March in Hammer’s History.

Looking for a third cup victory in as many years West Ham had reached the final of the Football League Cup in 1966.  The competition was still in its infancy with participation optional and at the time there was no Wembley final and no European prize for the victors – both were implemented for the following season.

The 1966 final was a two legged affair between West Ham and West Bromwich Albion and going into the second leg at The Hawthorns the Hammers held a slender 2-1 advantage.    To prove that slow starts and sloppy defending are not a recent phenomenon West Brom were 4-0 up within 34 minutes with goals from Astle, Brown, Clark and Williams.  Martin Peters, playing out of position at right back, managed to pull a goal back in the second half but it was not enough and the Hammers lost out 5-3 on aggregate.

Standen, Peters, Burnett, Bovington, Brown, Moore, Brabrook, Boyce, Byrne, Hurst, Sissons

Exactly one year earlier there was another second leg tie but this time in the European Cup Winner’s Cup 3^rd round against Lausanne of Switzerland.  Leading 2-1 from the away leg the expectation was that progress to the semi-finals would be a formality against the un-fancied Swiss side.  However, any notion of a stroll in the Upton Park was kicked swiftly into touch when Lausanne opened the scoring after 37 minutes.  The setback sparked an immediate West Ham reaction and by the break an own goal and a Brian Dear effort had put the Hammers into the lead.  Lausanne scored again early in the second period, Martin Peters restored the advantage on the hour, but only for the Swiss to draw level once more with 10 minutes remaining.  With the aggregate score standing at 5-4 in the Hammer’s favour it was a tense finale but just before the final whistle Dear scored again to settle events at 4-3 on the night, 6-4 on aggregate.

Standen, Kirkup, Peters, Boyce, Brown, Moore, Sealey, Hurst, Byrne, Dear, Sissons

In 2006, it was 6^th round FA Cup action away to Manchester City at Eastlands.  Having only won their 5^th round replay a week earlier Alan Pardew had fielded a weakened team in the intervening Premier League clash with Portsmouth (which West Ham lost 4-2).  Back to the cup and City exerted early pressure but the West Ham defence managed to stand firm and after 41 minutes Dean Ashton scored an excellent goal when evading the challenge of Dunne and Distin to fire past David James in the City goal.  To further the Hammer’s cause referee Howard Webb sent off Chinaman Sun Jihai for swinging an arm at Matthew Etherington.  Ashton then scored his second as both teams played on, despite Christian Dailly going down injured, with Deano converting a Yossi Benayoun cross to double the lead.  City pulled a goal back with 5 minutes to play but it was the Hammers who progressed to the semi-finals.

Hislop, Dailly (Scaloni), Gabbidon, Collins, Konchesky, Benayoun, Mullins, Reo-Coker (Fletcher), Etherington, Ashton (Zamora), Harewood

Another memorable game was played between West Ham and Manchester City in 1970 this time at Maine Road.  The game, played on a pitch that was devoid of almost any grass, saw the West Ham debut of Jimmy Greaves following the exchange deal that took Peters in the other direction to north London.  It took Greaves just 10 minutes to maintain his record of scoring on his debut for every club that he played for; he later went on to add a second.  The match was also notable for a 40 yarder from Ronnie Boyce when he volleyed Joe Corrigan’s attempted clearance straight back into the net.  Geoff Hurst also scored twice in a 5-1 victory.

Grotier, Bonds, Lampard, Boyce, Stephenson, Moore, Holland, Eustace (Llewellyn), Hurst, Greaves, Howe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKU4oNqOQWo

Finally, a day that most will not want to remember was a 4-1 defeat in a 2004 Division 1 defeat to Millwall at the New Den.  It was a feeble Hammers performance against their fierce rivals that saw a Dailly own goal, Stephen Bywater sent off, two missed Millwall penalties and the appearance of riot police. Ouch!

Bywater, Dailly, Harley, Melville, Reo-Coker, Repka, Carrick, Etherington, Horlock (Deane), Harewood (McAnuff), Zamora

Notable Birthdays

20 March    Trevor Morley      56

Back in the memorable 1985/86 season West Ham did not play a league game between 2 February and 15 March due to a combination of inclement weather and FA Cup commitments.  When league action re-commenced with an away fixture at Highbury, the Hammers were lying in seventh place but had played five games less than leaders Everton and 6 less than second placed Liverpool.  It turned out to be a disappointing period for the Boys of 86, however, as in the period of 10 days they had defeated Manchester United in a replayed FA Cup 5^th round tie, were eliminated in a 6^th round match at Sheffield Wednesday just three days later and then lost two league matches on the bounce; away at Arsenal and Aston Villa.

In the Highbury game West Ham dominated much of the game but went behind to a goal scored by Tony Woodcock after an obvious handball.  In an attempt to rescue the match Alvin Martin was pushed up front, was booked for a bad foul and then sent off for a spot of fisticuffs with David O’Leary (who escaped punishment) as the game became bad tempered.  With no further scoring West Ham lost the game 1-0.

Four days later dreams of the title appeared to have completely evaporated as West Ham were beaten again this time by lowly Aston Villa in a game that ended 2-1 to the home side.  Steve Hodge scored both Villa’s goals while a Steve Hunt own goal was all that the Hammers could muster in front of the paltry 11,500 crowd rattling around inside Villa Park.

In European action West Ham travelled to face Lausanne Sports of Switzerland in the 3^rd round 1^st leg of the Cup Winner’s Cup in 1965 but made heavy alpine weather against their Swiss opponents.  West Ham took the lead when a goalkeeping error from a Boyce free kick allowed Brain Dear to force the ball home and doubled their lead through a fine Budgie Byrne solo effort.  Lausanne pulled one back late on to give them a lifeline for the second leg.

In 1976 West Ham were facing a 2-4 deficit when the second leg tie against Den Haag kicked off.  By half time the Hammers were 5-4 to the good on aggregate with goals from Alan Taylor, Frank Lampard and a Billy Bonds penalty.  Den Haag pulled one back after the break to set up a nervy last period but with no further goals the tie ended 5-5 with West Ham progressing through to the semi-finals on away goals.

 

March 1981 witnessed West Ham’s solitary Wembley League Cup final appearance.  The Hammers were romping away with the second division at the time but faced a difficult task against league champions Liverpool.  In a largely unmemorable game all the action took place in the last few minutes of extra time.  With just three minutes to play Alan Kennedy scored (and Clive Thomas allowed) the disputed Sammy Lee offside to put the cup in Liverpool’s hands.  With the minutes ticking away West Ham were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area and a Ray Stewart rocket was brilliant pushed behind by Ray Clemence.  From the resulting corner Alvin Martin headed for goal but was denied by the hand of Terry McDermott (not a red card offence back then).  Up steps Stewart for a cool-as-you-like equaliser from the penalty spot to take the tie to a replay.

Parkes, Stewart, Lampard, Bonds, Martin, Devonshire, Neighbour, Goddard (Pearson), Cross, Brooking, Pike

In the 2006 path to the FA Cup final it was Sam Allardyce’s Bolton visiting Upton Park for a replayed 5^th round tie.  The visitors had the better chances in the game but had gone behind early on when a poor clearance from a Marlon Harewood cross bounced into the net off keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.  Bolton equalised just after the half hour when Kevin Nolan fed namesake Davies to outwit Hammer’s keeper Shaka Hislop from 20 yards.  Despite the usual aerial bombardment the Hammers held firm and won the tie in extra time when Harewood turned in Yossi Benayoun’s teasing cross.

Hislop, Scaloni, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Konchesky, Mullins, Benayoun, Etherington (Zamora), Reo-Coker (Dailly), Ashton (Sheringham) , Harewood

Possibly one of the finest ever West Ham performances was in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United on 14 March 1964.  The game was played in front of 65,000 on a soggy Hillsborough pitch saw the Hammers face a strong Manchester side that included the famous Best, Law and Charlton triumvirate.  A competitive and evenly contested first-half had ended goal-less despite near misses at both ends but two goals by Ronnie Boyce in the first 20 minutes of the second half put West Ham firmly in control.  The Red Devils fought back and following a scare where Jim Standen was injured in a collision, Denis Law reduced the arrears firing past the still groggy keeper.  With Manchester throwing everything forward for the equaliser West Ham sealed victory, and booked their first final appearance since 1923,  when Bobby Moore set up Geoff Hurst to score from an excellent counter attack.

Standen, Bond, Burkett, Bovington, Brown, Moore, Brabrook, Boyce, Byrne, Hurst, Sissons

 

It was cup fever all the way in the week 6 – 12 March in Hammer’s history as the FA Cup heads towards its exciting climax.

Having been held to a draw in a 1985 5^th round tie at Plough Lane on Saturday by second division Wimbledon replay was scheduled for just two days later at Upton Park.  The Hammers made no mistake on the second time of asking rattling in 5 goals (to a single Wimbledon replay) courtesy of a Tony Cottee hat-trick and goals from Alan Dickens and Paul Allen.  The reward was a 6^th round tie on the following Saturday away at Old Trafford  where three goals from Norman Whiteside steered Manchester United to a 4-2 victory; the West Ham goals coming when a Manchester defender deflected a Paul Allen cross into his own goal before Allen himself notched West Ham’s second.

There was revenge just one a year later though when the teams met again in a 5^th round tie.  West Ham had only been able to play one league game since mid-January due to frozen pitches but were strangely able to fulfil cup fixtures which included seeing off Ipswich in a three match 4^th round marathon and then drawing at home to Manchester United in the initial 5^th round tie.  The replay at Old Trafford on 9 March saw a superb Hammer’s performance end in a 2-0 victory thanks to a spectacular 18 yard headed Geoff Pike goal and a Ray Stewart penalty bravely awarded for a foul on Alvin Martin.

 

Other 6^th round matches to mention before getting on to the main event were a 2-1 home victory over Everton (in what I remember as the Stuart Slater match) with goals from Slater and Colin Foster; a creditable 1998 draw at Highbury (Ian Pearce) when I really had a feeling that we were on our way to Wembley; and a frustrating 3-2 defeat at home by Tottenham in 2001 where two fine goals from Sergei Rebrov (later to become another in a long line of West Ham flops) gave the visitors the advantage; the Hammers goals coming from a Stuart Pearce bullet and a neat Svetoslav Todorov finish.

In the victorious 1975 campaign West Ham were drawn away in the 6^th round to a struggling Arsenal side which gave some hope as we made the short trip across to north London.  Of all the matches in the 1975 cup run this is the most memorable for me (including the Final) with the game was played on a sodden Highbury pitch where the ball frequently got stuck in the mud.  The unlikely hero was Alan Taylor who had only previously played in a handful of league games since his transfer from Rochdale at the end of 1974.  Taylor had been injured when Rochdale played their early round FA cup games and so was not cup tied and was surprisingly given a start in the quarter final tie.  A goal in each half were Taylor’s first for West Ham with the pitch having a hand in both goals, the first after a Graham Paddon cross and the second following a smart interchange with Trevor Brooking.   A contentious decision that unusually went West Ham’s way occurred when goalkeeper Mervyn Day raced out to clatter John Radford to the ground, probably a red card offence by today’s standard but the referee waved play on.

Day, McDowell, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Lock, Jennings, Paddon, Taylor, Brooking, K Robson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CukesRqyqn8

On the same day five years later, second division West Ham were at home in the quarter final to Aston Villa, at the time riding high in the first division.   Despite the difference in league status the match was dominated by the Hammers but they struggled to get past a resolute Villa defence and when they did keeper Jimmy Rimmer was in fine form.  With the game looking to be headed for a replay at Villa Park the game changed with just two minutes remaining when Ken McNaught inexplicably knocked a cross away with his hand.  Up stepped Ray Stewart and despite the pressure (and a few of his team-mates refusing to watch) placed the perfect penalty low to Rimmer’s right.  West Ham did make it to Villa Park but for a semi-final appointment with Everton.

Parkes, Lampard, Brush, Stewart, Martin, Devonshire, Allen, Pearson, Cross, Brooking, Pike.

Finally, this week in 1966 witnessed our first ever League Cup final appearance in the first match of a two legged affair against West Bromwich Albion.   Looking to make it a hat-trick of cup victories in successive years, goals from Bobby Moore and Johnny Byrne gave West Ham a 2-1 advantage to take into the second leg.

The European Cup Winners Cup is at the forefront of the action in this week’s Hammer’s History.  Having won the competition at the first attempt in 1965 the Hammers were in the following year’s competition as holders.  In the 3^rd round (Quarter Final) stage in 1966 the opponents were FC Magdeburg from East Germany, a country not recognised by the UK at the time.  In a closely fought game in the first leg at Upton Park Magdeburg came close to causing an upset but the tie was settled in the first minute of the second half when Geoff Hurst nodded down a Martin Peters cross for Johnny Byrne to score from close range.

Ten years later at the same stage of the competition it was Dutch opponents in the form of FC Den Haag (now ADO Den Haag).  The first leg was away in The Hague and with manager John Lyall incapacitated through illness there was a brief return to the manager’s chair for Ron Greenwood.  The Hammers found themselves 4-0 by half time which included two very soft penalty decisions and another that was scored from a breakaway amid confusion after the (East German) referee awarded a drop ball.  Tactical changes at half-time altered the shape of the game and two goals by Billy Jennings put some respectability on the scoreline and gave the Hammers hope for the return leg.

It is not often that you will find supporters including a 4-1 home defeat among the list of their favourite games yet the first leg 3^rd round ECWC defeat by Dynamo Tiblisi is often cited among the most memorable games at Upton Park.  In 1981 West Ham were flying high as runaway leaders in Division 2 as well as having already booked a League Cup final appointment against Liverpool.  Dynamo Tiblisi from Georgia were, at the time, representing the Soviet Union and their performance at Upton Park was a masterclass, with spectacular performances particularly from Chivadze, Kipiani and Shengelia.  The Hammers were 2-0 down at half time and although they momentarily offered a glimmer of hope when David Cross pulled one back early in the second half, the Georgians restored their two goal advantage a minute later and added another to make it 4-1 with twenty minutes to play.  To their credit West Ham won the second leg in Georgia by the only goal, just a few days after the League Cup final,  but it was not enough to prevent Tiblisi going on to win the tournament.

In domestic competition there was a 6^th round tie in the 1963/64 FA Cup as West Ham saw off the challenge of Burnley to set up a semi-final clash with Manchester United.  A more detailed review of this game will appear shortly in Richard Bennett’s series of Favourite Games.  In the same week West Ham also faced Burnley in the league, losing 3-1 at Turf Moor.

In League action two home games against local rivals Tottenham stand out in relegation threatened seasons where the outcomes of the games and the seasons brought very different emotions.  In 2003, transfer-window signing Les Ferdinand scored his first goal for West Ham against his former club to put the Hammers en route to a well deserved 2-0 victory, the second goal converted by Michael Carrick.  The victory left West Ham level on points with Bolton Wanderers in the fight to avoid the third relegation spot which was ultimately beyond them.

A thrilling encounter between the two teams in 2007 produced a first West Ham goal for Carlos Tevez as the Hammers took a 2-0 lead, were pegged back to 2-2, went ahead again with just 5 minutes remaining only to concede two late goals to lose the game 4-3.  Defeat left West Ham bottom of the table and seven points behind fourth from bottom Wigan Athletic.  Despite the set-back the performance signalled the start of the great escape that would then trigger the Tevezgate saga.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uYCN2ktEng

Notable Birthdays

28 February        Noel Cantwell                    d. 2005
1 March                Bobby Ferguson               72
2 March                Harry Redknapp               70
2 March                Trevor Sinclair                    44

Love is in the air but it has not always been a week of romance (even of the cup variety) with West Ham victims of a variety of harrowing Valentine’s Day massacres over the years.

The most painful of these occurred in a 1990 League Cup semi-final first leg against fellow Division 2 side Oldham Athletic.  The Latics were in fine cup form that season and West Ham were no match on their ‘plastic’ pitch providing little resistance and going down by six goals to nil.  West Ham did win the second leg 3-0 but it was all rather academic by then.  In 1996, it was banana skins rather than roses courtesy of an away defeat in an FA Cup 4^th round replay to lowly Grimsby Town and just two years ago a particularly limp performance was on show when surrender 4-0 in a 4^th round tie to West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.

A game very close to my heart, and one with a more pleasing outcome, took place in 1972 when West Ham faced a 4^th round replay with non League Hereford United.  The country was in the middle of severe power restrictions at the time due to a long running miner’s strike and the associated picketing of power stations.  With electricity rationed the midweek game was moved to an usual kick-off time of 2:15 pm.   Nevertheless a crowd of over 42,000 took the opportunity to leave work or school early and packed into Upton Park to watch the game against the Southern League part-timers.  In the end West Ham were comfortable 3-1 winners, with Geoff Hurst’s final hat-trick for the club, despite a spirited performance from Hereford who left the pitch to a standing ovation.

One final 14^th of February game to mention was a match in 1981 when West Ham hosted Chelsea in what was at the time a Second Division fixture.  This was an all-conquering season for the Hammers who had gone top of the table in mid-November and remained there for the duration and collected a record points haul for the division (in the days of two points for a win).  Chelsea had been early season challengers but were easily brushed aside; the game ending with a decisive 4-0 West Ham victory (Devonshire, Brooking (2), Cross).

This week being 5^th round cup week it also featured further games on the road to Wembley (& Cardiff) for each of our post-war FA cup finals.  In 1964, West Ham were visitors to the County Ground in Swindon, having taken an early lead through John Sissons the Hammers were well on top before easing up to let the host level the scores before half time.  The second period was evenly contested before Peter Brabrook provided crosses that were converted by Byrne and then Hurst to ease the Hammers into the 6^th round.

Standen, Bond, Burkett, Bovington, Brown, Moore, Brabrook, Boyce, Byrne, Hurst, Sissons

The 5^th round opponents in 1975 were west Londoner’s Queens Park Rangers.  It was one of those games played in the Upton Park mud where players ploughed rather than glided over the surface.  Dave Clement put Rangers into the lead before Trevor Brooking took control; first setting up Pat Holland for the equaliser and then with a cheeky back-heel to start a move that ended with Keith Robson’s winner.

Day, McDowell, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Lock, Jennings, Paddon, Robson, Brooking, Holland

In 1980, the 5^th round saw the Hammers drawn at home, for the first time in that season’s competition, against fellow second division side Swansea City.  The Swans with player/ manager John Toshack and fellow ex-Liverpool star Ian Callaghan in their lineup came to frustrate and as the minutes ticked by it looked that a replay at the Vetch Field was the most probable outcome.  However, with just 5 minutes remaining a shot from David Cross ran loose in the area and Paul Allen, on as a substitute for Stuart Pearson, pounced to give West Ham the lead.  Within a minute it was game over as Cross, himself, doubled the lead with a fine strike.

Parkes, Lampard, Brush, Stewart, Martin, Devonshire, Neighbour, Pearson (Allen) , Cross, Brooking, Pike

For the under 40s, with no trophy winning memories to fall back on, the road to Cardiff in 2006 was the closest to glory that has been witnessed.  The 5^th round draw in 2006 had West Ham visiting Sam Allardyce’s Bolton Wanderers who were also competing in the UEFA Cup at the time.  Both sides had chances to score but the tie ended goalless to set up a replay at Upton Park, which would not take place until almost a month later. An interesting feature of the matchday squad (by contemporary standards) is the presence of four strikers for manager Alan Pardew to call on.

Hislop, Scaloni, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Konchesky, Benayoun (Dailly), Etherington, Mullins, Reo-Coker, Ashton (Sheringham), Harewood (Zamora)

Some Hammer’s Birthdays

13 February     Liam Brady  (61)
15 February     Manuel Lanzini (24)
16 February     Ken Brown (83)
18 February     Anton Ferdinand (32)