West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United F.C. suck

Crest
Full name	West Ham United Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Fa,The Irons The Academy of Football
Founded	1895 as Thames Ironworks
Ground	Boleyn Ground (Upton Park)
Capacity	35,647
Chairman	Björgólfur Guðmundsson
Manager	Gianfranco Zola
League	Premier League
2007–08	Premier League,10th
Home colours Away colours Third colours

West Ham United Football Club is an English football club based in Upton Park, London Borough of Newham, East London, who have played their home matches at the Boleyn Ground stadium since 1904.

The club was originally founded as Thames Ironworks F.C. in 1895 and was later reformed, in 1905, as West Ham United. They initially competed in the Southern League and Western League before joining the full Football League in 1919 and enjoyed their first top flight season in 1923, also featuring in the first FA Cup Final to be held at Wembley that year against Bolton Wanderers. The club have won the FA Cup three times: in 1964, 1975 and 1980. They have also been runners-up twice, in 1923 and most recently in 2006. In 1965, they won the European Cup Winners Cup (now defunct), and in 1999 they won the Intertoto Cup. They also won the inaugral Football League War Cup in 1940. The club's best final league position is third place in the 1985-86 (old) First Division. They currently compete in the Premier League, finishing in 10th position in the 2007-08 season. They are currently managed by Gianfranco Zola.

History

Main article: History of West Ham United F.C.

See also: West Ham United F.C. timeline

Earliest club shot, during its founding year as Thames Ironworks in 1895.

1895-1896: First kit.

The earliest generally accepted incarnation of West Ham United was founded in 1895 as the Thames Ironworks works team by foreman and local league referee Dave Taylor and owner Arnold Hills and was announced in the Thames Ironworks Gazette of June 1895.

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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 F.C. 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 F.C. in a relegation play-off, 5-1 in late April 1900 and retained their First Division status.

See also: Thames Ironworks F.C.

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 F.C. players.

See also: Colours of West Ham Utd F.C.

Following growing disputes over the running and financing of the club in June 1900 Thames Ironworks F.C. was wound up, 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.

The reborn club continued to play their games at the Memorial Ground in Plaistow (funded by Arnold Hills) but moved to a pitch in the Upton Park area when the team officially severed ties with the company (losing their works provisioned offices in the process). After being made groundless in 1901 the team became transient, playing their home games on a number of local teams grounds. However, in 1904 the team moved to its current home of Upton Park in the guise of the Boleyn Ground stadium.

Their first game in their new home was against local rivals Millwall F.C. (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:

"Favoured by the weather turning fine after heavy rains of the morning, West Ham United began their season most auspiciously yesterday evening; when they beat Milwall by 3 goals to 0 on their new enclosure at Upton Park."

West Ham Utd F.C. had joined the Western League for the 1901 season 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 and were promoted to Division One in 1923, making the FA Cup final at the same time. The team enjoyed mixed success in Division 1 but retained their status for 10 years and reached an FA Cup semi final in 1927, 4 years later.

In 1932 the club was relegated to Division Two and long term custodian Sydney King was sacked after serving the club in the role of Manager for 32 years, and as a player from 1899 to 1903. He was replaced with his assistant manager Charlie Paynter who himself had been with West Ham in a number of roles since 1897 and who went on to serve the team in this role until 1950 for a total of 480 games.

The club spent most of the next 30 years in this division, first under Paynter and then later under the leadership of former player Ted Fenton. Fenton succeeded in getting the club once again promoted to the top level of English football in 1958 and in helping develop both the initial batch of future West Ham stars and West Ham's approach to the game.

Ron Greenwood was appointed as Fenton's successor in 1961 and he soon led the club to two major trophies, winning the FA Cup in 1964 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965. During the 1966 World Cup, an important part of the England national football team was composed of West Ham players, including the captain, Bobby Moore, Martin Peters (who scored in the final), and Geoff Hurst, who scored the only ever hat-trick to-date in a World Cup final. After a difficult start to the 1974-75 season, Greenwood moved himself "upstairs" to become General Manager and without informing the board, appointed his assistant John Lyall to the role of Team manager. The result was instant success as the team went on an incredible goalscoring run hitting the net no fewer than 20 times in their first 4 games under the new manager who then led them on to win the FA Cup in his first season.

Lyall then guided West Ham to another European Cup Winners' Cup final in 1976, though the team lost the match 4-2 to Anderlecht. Greenwood's new role within the club lasted less than three years as he was appointed to manage England in the wake of Don Revie's resignation in 1977.

In 1978, the club were again relegated to Division Two but the board stuck by their manager and Lyall was able to lead West Ham to another FA Cup win in 1980. No team since has won the trophy from outside the top division. They were promoted to Division One in 1981, having spent only 3 years in the lower league, although they were relegated after 8 seasons in 1989. This second relegation resulted in John Lyall's sacking, in spite of the fact that this stay in Division One saw West Ham achieve their highest ever placing in the top division, finishing 3rd in 1986.

Very briefly, they were led by Lou Macari, though he resigned after less than a single season in order to clear his name of allegations of illegal betting whilst manager of Swindon Town, and former player Billy Bonds was the next West Ham manager in charge. In his first full season, 1990-91, West Ham again secured promotion to Division One. The following season, 1991-92, they were relegated, to the newly christened Division One (formerly Division 2), missing out on the inaugural Premier league season. West Ham again only spent one year in Division One, before finishing 2nd and gaining promotion to the Premier League in May 1993.

After a more stable season in the Premier League, Bonds acrimoniously and controversially quit, and was replaced by Harry Redknapp in August 1994. Redknapp was active in the transfer market, and gained a reputation as a "wheeler-dealer" especially with foreign players being more available following the Bosman ruling. He led West Ham to 5th place in 1998/99 but they missed out on automatic qualification for the UEFA Cup (despite seasons prior to and since where 5th was good enough), but did indeed qualify for that competition as winners of the Intertoto Cup. Despite consolidating the league placings for a handful of seasons, a disagreement with the board of directors during the close of the 2000-01 season, found Redknapp replaced with Glenn Roeder, promoted from Youth team coach.

In Roeder's first season the team finished 7th (an improvement on Redknapp's last finish of 15th.), but there were worrying signs as West Ham lost 7-1 to Blackburn and 5-0 and 5-1 to Everton and Chelsea respectively. The subsequent season started badly and eventually resulted in relegation. Just before relegation, Roeder had been taken into hospital with a brain tumour, from which he made a full recovery. He was sacked on 24 August 2003 just 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 and gained re-entry to the Premiership.

On their return to the top division, West Ham finished in 9th place, restoring pride to many West Ham supporters. The highlight of the 2005-06 season, however, was reaching the FA Cup final, and taking favourites Liverpool to a penalty shootout, after a thrilling three-all draw. Although West Ham lost the resultant shootout, they gained entry to the UEFA Cup as Liverpool had already qualified for the Champions League through league position.

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 Icelandic 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 and the club was found guilty and in April 2007 fined 5.5 million pounds. However, the Club avoided a points deduction which, ultimately, ended up being critical in their fight to avoid relegation at the end of the 2006/07 season. Following on from this event, the Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan threatened legal action supported by other sides facing possible relegation, including Fulham and Sheffield Utd.

West Ham ultimately escaped relegation by winning seven of their last nine games, including a 1-0 win over Arsenal, and on the last day of the season defeating newly crowned League Champions Manchester United 1-0 with a goal by Carlos Tevez to finish outside the relegation zone in 15th. The contribution of Carlos Tevez ended up being critical to the survival of the club in the Premiership as he scored seven goals, five of them crucial, in the last couple of months of the season to enable the team to stay up.

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; with new signings Craig Bellamy and Kieron Dyer missing most of the campaign. The last game of the season, at the Boleyn Ground, saw West Ham draw 2-2 against Aston Villa; ensuring their spot in 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 FC, manager Alan Curbishley resigned on the 3rd September 2008. His successor, Gianfranco Zola taking over on the 11th September 2008 and in so doing becomes the first foreign manager to coach the club and West Ham's 12th in total.

Crest

The previous club crest 1904-1996

The original club crest was a crossed pair of rivet hammers; tools commonly used in the iron and shipbuilding industry. A castle was later (circa 1903/4) added to the crest and represents a prominent local building, Green Street House, which was known as "Boleyn Castle" through an association with Anne Boleyn. The manor was reportedly one of the sites at which Henry VIII courted his second queen, though in truth there is no factual evidence other than the tradition of rumour.

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 that had previously made it appear more akin to Disneyland Sleeping Beauty's Castle than a functioning fortress. The designer also altered shape of the hammer heads, border and other small changes in order to give a more substantial feel to the iconography.

When the club redesigned the facade of the stadium (construction finished 2001/02) the 'castle' from the later badge was incorporated into the structure at the main entrance to the ground. A pair of towers are now prominent features of the grounds appearance, both bearing the clubs modern insignia (which is also located in the foyer, and other strategic locations).

Colours

The original colours of the team were dark blue, due to Thames Ironworks 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 uniforms.

The Irons permanently adopted claret and blue for home colours in the summer of 1899. Thames Ironworks right-half Charlie Dove received the kit from his father William Dove, who was a professional sprinter of national repute, as well as being involved with the coaching at Thames Ironworks. Bill Dove had been at a fair in Birmingham, close to Villa Park, the home ground of Aston Villa and was challenged to a race against four Villa players, who wagered money that one of them would win.

Bill Dove defeated them and, when they were unable to pay the bet, one of the Villa players who was responsible for washing the team's kit offered a complete side's 'uniforms' to Dove in payment. The Aston Villa player subsequently reported to his club that the kit was 'missing'.

Thames Ironworks, and later West Ham United, retained the claret yoke/blue sleeves design, but also continued to use their previously favoured colours for their away kits, and indeed, in recent years the club have committed to a dark blue-white-sky blue rotation for the away colours. For instance, the 2008-09 squad will wear sky blue away kits, while last year's campaign saw white away kits, the year before saw navy blue, etc. However, last year's away kit will be the Hammers' third kit for the coming season.

West Ham announced on 2 March 2007 their new kit supplier will be Umbro for the next 3 seasons but has since been extended to the 2013/2014 season, with the club also announcing they will be changing the home and away kits at the end of every season for the next 3 years.

On 7 June 2007 the club announced their new kit sponsor will be XL.com.. On 12 September 2008 XL Leisure Group had been put into administration. This now leaves the club without a sponsor.

Supporters, and hooliganism and rivalries

Supporters

I'm forever blowing bubbles,

Pretty bubbles in the air.
They fly so high, nearly reach the sky,
And like my dreams they fade and die.
Fortune's always hiding,
I've looked everywhere...
I'm forever blowing bubbles,

pretty bubbles in the air.

— original lyrics to "Bubbles", from John Helliar

The team's supporters are famous for their rendition of the chorus of their team's anthem, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" introduced to the club by former manager Charlie Paynter in the late 1920s. At the time, a Pears soap commercial featuring the curly haired child in the Millais "Bubbles" painting who resembled a player Billy J. "Bubbles" Murray in a local schoolboy team of Park School for whom the headmaster Cornelius Beal coined singing the tune "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" with amended lyrics.

Beal was a friend of Paynter, whilst Murray was a West Ham trialist and played football at schoolboy level with a number of West Ham players such as Jim Barrett. Through this contrivance of association the clubs fans took it upon themselves to begin singing the popular music hall tune before home games, sometimes reinforced by the presence of a house band requested to play the refrain by Charlie Paynter.

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.

Bow Bells are ringing, for the Claret and Blue,

Bow Bells are ringing, for the Claret and Blue,
When the Hammers are scoring, and the South Bank are roaring,
And the money is pouring, for the Claret and Blue,
Claret and Blue,
No relegation for the Claret and Blue,
Just celebration for the Claret and Blue,
One day we'll win a cup or two, or three,

Or four or more, for West Ham and the Claret and Blue.

— Supporters song to the tune of 'The Bells are Ringing', circa 1960

The 1975 FA Cup version - which contains the original lyrics, and features vocals from the teams then current players - is always played before home games, with the home crowd joining in and carrying the song on after the music stops at the verse line "Fortune's always hiding". The song was originally released as a single by the 1975 Cup Final squad and has been covered on occasion by such as the Cockney Rejects.

Like other teams (such as Liverpool F.C.'s adoption of "You'll Never Walk Alone") the team also have a history of adopting or adapting popular songs of the day to fit particular events, themes, players or personas. These have included serious renditions of theatre and movie classics such as "The Bells are Ringing", along with more pun laden or humorous efforts such as chanting former player Paolo di Canio's name to the canzone La donna è mobile by Verdi, or D.I.Canio to the tune of Ottawans D.I.S.C.O., or singing That's Zamora to the tune of Dean Martins 1953 classic That's Amore in honour of Bobby Zamora.

On the fans' darker side, they gained national attention after giving a torrid time to David Beckham in his first away match of 1998-9 the season after the England midfielder was sent off for a petulant foul on Diego Simeone. 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 ("Judas, Judas"), Frank Lampard("Fat Lumpolard") Jermain Defoe ("You're just a small Paul Ince") 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 and Carlos Tevez receive applause and even standing ovations in honour of their contributions during their time at the club.

West Ham fans display their rosettes, scarves and novelty hammers at an FA Cup match in 1933

Many West Ham fans also follow Leyton Orient and Dagenham and Redbridge, West Ham fans can be seen at either Leyton Orient or Dagenham and Redbridge, whenever West Ham are playing away from home, although the warmth felt by West Ham fans for Orient is not usually reciprocated by the Orient supporters.

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.

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 "Inter City" 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.

During the 1990s, and to the present day, sophisticated surveillance and policing coupled with club supported promotions and community action has reduced the level of violence, though the intense rivalry and association with Millwall, Chelsea and other major players in the 'firm' scheme remains.

The 2005 film "Green Street" (an allusion to the road on which the Boleyn Ground stands) depicted an American student played by Elijah Wood becoming involved with a fictional firm associated with West Ham, with an emphasis on the rivalry with Millwall. The two teams and their Chairmen moved to distance the clubs from the movie at the time.

Rivalries

West Ham have strong rivalries with several other clubs. Most of these are with other London clubs, especially with their neighbours Tottenham Hotspur and also with Chelsea, which sublimates the age-old East versus West London rivalry.

The strongest and oldest rivalry is with Millwall. The two sides are local rivals, 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 rivalry between West Ham and Millwall has involved considerable violence and is one of the most notorious within the world of football hooliganism. However, the two clubs have not played each other in 4 years.

Another rivalry which has recently developed is with Sheffield United. The Blades have tried to sue West Ham and the Premier League for damages, over their claim that West Ham had an unfair advantage by playing Carlos Tevez.The FA fined West Ham a record £5.5 million for a third party contract agreement (illegal in the English Premier League) in the deal that brought Tevez to Upton Park, but ruled that the player was registered to play and had always been registered. The FA has sat twice on the matter and have thrown the case out twice. Sheffield United still continue to pursue damages, as they believe that West Ham should have been docked points instead of fined.

The day after West Ham were fined, they continued their fight to stay in the Premier League by defeating Wigan Athletic 3-0. In their last 9 games West Ham picked up 21 points by winning 7 of their last 9 games. Sheffield United only won 2 of their last 9 games, one of which was by defeating West Ham 3-0 at home to initially go 5 points above them. Their 2-1 defeat by Wigan on the last day of the season sealed their relegation. Meanwhile, West Ham won 1-0 away to Manchester United, with Carlos Tevez scoring the only goal, to ensure that they remained in the Premier league. This action by Sheffield United has increased fan and club rivalry and they are now seen as fierce rivals.

Nicknames

The fans and club alike are known as "The Hammers" by the media, partly because of the club's origins as Thames Ironworks company football team (see club crest) and also (incorrectly) due to the club's name. However, they are also known as "The Irons" by their own supporters. They are also known as "The Cockney Boys" from their history of being a Cockney team. Yet another nickname is "The Academy of Football", or just "The Academy", a nickname given, then adopted by West Ham United, by the London media.

Trivia

Billie the White Horse, saviour of the 1923 FA Cup Final.

• The first ever FA Cup final to be held at the old Wembley stadium, in 1923, featured West Ham United vs Bolton Wanderers. This was also known as the White Horse Final. This is because so many people turned up to the game, (estimated at 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 P.C. George Scorey. The cup final match itself ended at 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers. Some West Ham supporters felt because of crowd encroachment the game should have been postponed. It was not postponed because King George V was in attendance to present the Cup and it was thought too impolite to ask the King to return. It was considered that it was very appropriate that West Ham United appeared at the first Wembley final on the basis that the club name is an anagram of "The New Stadium". Had the new Wembley Stadium been completed on schedule for the 2006 FA Cup final West Ham would also have featured in the opening of the new stadium.

• West Ham are the most recent team to win the FA Cup with an all English side when they beat Fulham 2-0 in the 1975 final. They were also the last team to win the competition whilst outside of the top flight of English football, this occurred when they beat Arsenal 1-0 in the 1980 FA Cup Final.

• West Ham are the last team to ever win at Arsenal's old ground Highbury, and became the first team to win at Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium on April 7th 2007 winning 1-0. In that same season West Ham did the league 'double' over Arsenal and Manchester United winning all four games 1-0.

Champions Statue on Barking Road.

• There is a "Champions" statue in Barking Road, opposite The Boleyn pub, commemorating West Ham's three sons who helped win the 1966 World Cup: Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. Also included on the statue is Everton's Ray Wilson.

• The character Alf Garnett in the TV series Till Death Us Do Part is a West Ham supporter. Episodes of the series featured Bobby Moore and other members of the team.

• Also, the character Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter series is a West Ham supporter. Dean keeps a poster of the West Ham team in the dormitory he shares with Harry and others in his year.

• A 2005 film entitled Green Street Hooligans is based around the exploits of a fictional West Ham firm (loosely based on the ICF).

• Iron Maiden founder and bassist Steve Harris is a die-hard fan of the team, and it shows on his bass guitar, which sports the West Ham United crest. During the mid 1970s he was a youth team footballer for West Ham United. He still is a talented amateur football player, and he has stated his first ambition in life before music was to become a professional footballer.

• United States Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack Obama has been a fan of West Ham since a trip to the UK.

• On the 11th of August 2008 before the pre-season friendly versus Villareal the famous number 6 shirt worn by Bobby Moore throughout his time at West Ham was retired as a mark of respect for the former defender. This was the first shirt to be retired by the Hammers.

Stadium

See also: Boleyn Ground

The Boleyn Ground.

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 35,303. This has been West Ham's ground since 1904. Prior to this, in their previous incarnation of Thames Ironworks F.C., they played at Hermit Road in Canning Town and briefly at Browning Road in East Ham, before moving to the Memorial Grounds in Plaistow in 1897. They retained the stadium during their transition to becoming West Ham United and were there for a further four seasons before moving to the Boleyn Ground in 1904.

Former chairman Eggert Magnússon made clear his ambition for West Ham United to move to the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Olympics. However, the move to the Olympic Stadium was abandoned when it was revealed that the stadium would have a reduced capacity from the current Boleyn Ground, and would have to remain primarily an athletics venue.

As the move is no longer possible, Magnússon is eager to find another venue, and insists West Ham will preferably move from the Boleyn Ground in the future.

Magnusson along with Legal and Commercial Director,- Scott Duxbury, have said that a move to a new ground is likely by approximately 2011, with the site for the new stadium likely to be the current Royal Mail depot next to West Ham station.

The Academy of Football

"Academy of Football".

Main article: The Academy of Football

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. More recently, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson and Frank Lampard have begun their careers at the club. Frustratingly, for the fans and managers alike, 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 Premiership 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'.

Players

Current squad

As of 5 September 2008.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Robert Green
2	DF	AUS	Lucas Neill (captain)
3	DF	COD	Hérita Ilunga (on loan from Toulouse)
4	DF	WAL	Daniel Gabbidon
5	DF	URU	Walter López
7	MF	ENG	Kieron Dyer
8	MF	ENG	Scott Parker
9	FW	ENG	Dean Ashton
10	FW	WAL	Craig Bellamy
11	MF	ENG	Matthew Etherington
12	FW	ENG	Carlton Cole
13	MF	POR	Luís Boa Morte
15	DF	ENG	Matthew Upson
16	MF	ENG	Mark Noble
17	MF	ENG	Hayden Mullins
18	DF	USA	Jonathan Spector
19	DF	WAL	James Collins
20	MF	FRA	Julien Faubert
21	DF	SUI	Valon Behrami
22	MF	ENG	Tony Stokes

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
23	GK	ENG	James Walker
24	GK	CZE	Jan Laštůvka (on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk)
25	FW	ESP	Diego Tristán
26	MF	SCO	Nigel Quashie
27	DF	ENG	Calum Davenport
28	MF	ENG	Kyel Reid
29	MF	ENG	Lee Bowyer
30	DF	ENG	James Tomkins
31	MF	WAL	Jack Collison
32	FW	ITA	David Di Michele (on loan from Torino)
33	FW	ENG	Freddie Sears
34	GK	CZE	Marek Štěch
35	DF	ISL	Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson
40	DF	ENG	Joe Widdowson
41	FW	ENG	Zavon Hines
42	FW	ENG	Jack Jeffery
44	DF	ENG	Bondz N'Gala
45	DF	ENG	Jordan Spence
46	MF	ENG	Junior Stanislas

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
––	FW	ENG	Josh Payne (at Cheltenham Town)

Retired numbers

Main article: Retired numbers in association football

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
6	DF	ENG	Bobby Moore (posthumous honour)

Under 18

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Peter Loveday
—	GK	CAN	Adam Street
—	DF	ENG	Anthony Ashman
—	DF	ENG	Tony Brookes
—	DF	ENG	Jordan Brown
—	DF	ENG	Matthew Fry
—	DF	ENG	Callum McNaughton
—	DF	NIR	Ryan O'Neill
—	MF	ENG	Nicholas Barrett
—	MF	ENG	Oli Baxter-Hughes
—	MF	ENG	Anthony Edger

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	AUT	Georg Grasser
—	MF	ENG	Tom Harvey
—	MF	NIR	Daniel Kearns
—	MF	ENG	Oliver Lee
—	MF	ENG	Conor Okus
—	MF	ENG	Josh Payne
—	FW	KSA	Ahmed Abdulla
—	FW	HUN	Bálint Bajner
—	FW	ENG	Christian Montano
—		ENG	Callum Driver
—		ENG	Dennis Mehmet
—		ENG	Andrew Westlake

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.

Parkes Stewart Martin Moore Dicks Peters Bonds Brooking Hurst Di Canio Devonshire

1	GK	ENG	Phil Parkes
2	DF	SCO	Ray Stewart
3	DF	ENG	Julian Dicks
4	MF	ENG	Billy Bonds
5	DF	ENG	Alvin Martin
6	DF	ENG	Bobby Moore
7	MF	ENG	Martin Peters
8	MF	ENG	Trevor Brooking
9	FW	ENG	Geoff Hurst
10	FW	ITA	Paolo Di Canio
11	MF	ENG	Alan Devonshire

See also Category:West Ham United F.C. players

Hammer of the Year

The following is a list of the "Hammer of the Year award" won by West Ham United players.

Year Winner 1958 Andy Malcolm 1959 Ken Brown 1960 Malcolm Musgrove 1961 Bobby Moore 1962 Lawrie Leslie 1963 Bobby Moore 1964 Johnny Byrne 1965 Martin Peters 1966 Geoff Hurst 1967 Geoff Hurst 1968 Bobby Moore 1969 Geoff Hurst 1970 Bobby Moore

Year Winner 1971 Billy Bonds 1972 Trevor Brooking 1973 Bryan 'Pop' Robson 1974 Billy Bonds 1975 Billy Bonds 1976 Trevor Brooking 1977 Trevor Brooking 1978 Trevor Brooking 1979 Alan Devonshire 1980 Alvin Martin 1981 Phil Parkes 1982 Alvin Martin 1983 Alvin Martin

Year Winner 1984 Trevor Brooking 1985 Paul Allen 1986 Tony Cottee 1987 Billy Bonds 1988 Stewart Robson 1989 Paul Ince 1990 Julian Dicks 1991 Luděk Mikloško 1992 Julian Dicks 1993 Steve Potts 1994 Trevor Morley 1995 Steve Potts 1996 Julian Dicks

Year Winner 1997 Julian Dicks 1998 Rio Ferdinand 1999 Shaka Hislop 2000 Paolo Di Canio 2001 Stuart Pearce 2002 Sebastian Schemmel 2003 Joe Cole 2004 Matthew Etherington 2005 Teddy Sheringham 2006 Danny Gabbidon 2007 Carlos Tevez 2008 Robert Green

Current staff

Position	Name
Technical Director	Gianluca Nani
Manager	Gianfranco Zola
Assistant First-Team Coach	Steve Clarke
Reserve Coach	Kevin Keen
Head of Sports Science	Nick Davies
Head of Physiotherapy	George Cooper
Reserve Team Physiotherapist	Dave Singleton
Conditioning Coach	Alex Dyer
Fitness Coach	Antonio Pintus
Youth Academy Director	Tony Carr
Goalkeeping Coach	Luděk Mikloško
Chief Scout	Roger Cross
Kit Manager	Steve Rigby

Managers

West Ham have had only 12 managers in their history, fewer than any other major English club. Up until 1989 the club had only had five different managers. Before the appointment of Gianfranco Zola in 2008 the club never had an overseas manager, with the only non-Englishman being the Scot, Lou Macari. 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 was a brief caretaker manager (just 1 game), prior to Zola's reign.

Manager	Period	G	W	D	L	Win %	Honours
Gianfranco Zola	2008-	3	2	0	1	66.66	Club's first foreign manager
Alan Curbishley	2006-2008	71	29	14	28	40.85
Alan Pardew	2003-2006	163	67	38	58	41.10	Championship Play Off Winners 2005, FA Cup runners-up 2006
Glenn Roeder	2001-2003	86	27	23	36	31.39
Harry Redknapp	1994-2001	327	121	85	121	37.00	UEFA Intertoto Cup winners 1999
Billy Bonds	1990-1994	227	99	61	67	43.61
Lou Macari	1989-1990	38	14	12	12	36.84	Shortest spell as manager
John Lyall	1974-1989	708	277	176	255	39.12	FA Cup winners 1975, 1980 Old Division Two Champions 1980-81, UEFA Cup Winners Cup runners-up 1976, League Cup runners-up 1981
Ron Greenwood	1961-1974	613	215	165	233	35.07	FA Cup winners 1964, Charity Shield (shared) 1964, UEFA Cup Winners Cup winners 1965, League Cup runners-up 1966
Ted Fenton	1950-1961	483	192	107	184	39.75	Old Division Two Champions 1957-58
Charlie Paynter	1932-1950	480	198	116	166	41.25
Syd King	1901-1932	638	248	146	244	38.87	FA Cup runners-up 1923

Ownership

West Ham United was owned by Terry Brown 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, 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 mis-management.

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 managemant 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. He has since been blamed for West Ham´s overindulgence in the summer of 2007 when the team agreed sky-high wages for some players who then didn´t live up to expectations, Fredrik Ljungberg being a particular example.

Shirt sponsors and kit suppliers

On 11 September 2008 the BBC News Channel reported that teams main sponsor, XL Leisure Group 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 includes 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 does not affect the German and French divisions of the company's operations.

As of 12 September 2008 the club terminated its contract with XL Leisure group.

Shirt sponsors

Years	Sponsor
1983-89	AVCO Trust
1989-93	BAC Windows
1993-97	Dagenham Motors
1998-2003	Dr. Martens
2003-07	JobServe
2007-08	XL.com

Kit suppliers

Years	Kit Supplier
1976-80	Admiral
1980-87	Adidas
1987-89	Scoreline
1989-93	Bukta
1993-99	Pony
1999-2003	Fila
2003-07	Reebok
2007 - present	Umbro

Honours

Senior Domestic League Premier League: Highest placing: 5th 1998-99 First Division (Top tier) Highest placing: 3rd 1985-86 First Division (Second tier) Runners-up: 1992-93 Second Division: 2 Champions: 1957-58, 1980-81 Runners-up: 1922-23, 1990-91 Football League Championship Play-Off: 1 Winners: 2005 Runners-up: 2004 Southern League First Division: Highest placing: 3rd 1912-13 Cups FA Cup: 3 Winners: 1964, 1975, 1980 Runners-up 1923, 2006 League Cup Runners-up 1966, 1981 FA Charity Shield:: 1 Winners: 1964 (shared) Football League War Cup: 1 Winners: 1940 Bobby Moore Cup: 1 Winners:West Ham United 2008 Shared European UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1 Winners: 1965 Runners-up: 1976 UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1 Winners: 1999 International International Soccer League: 1 Champions: 1963 Other BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award: 1965

Youth FA Premier Academy Under-19 League: 2 Champions: 1998-99, 1999-2000 FA Youth Cup: 3 Winners: 1963, 1981, 1999 Runners-up: 1957, 1959, 1975, 1996 South East Counties League: 3 Champions: 1984-85, 1995-96, 1997-98 Milk Cup Junior: 2 Winners: 1996, 1997 Reserve Western Football League: 1 Champions: 1907-08 London League Premier Division: 1 Champions: 1901-02 As Thames Ironworks F.C. Southern League Division Two: 1 Champions: 1898-99 London League: 1 Champions: 1897-98 Runners-up: 1896-97 West Ham Charity Cup: 1 Winners: 1896 Runners-up: 1897

Statistics and records

Attendance

• Highest league attendance: 42,322 v Tottenham Hotspur Division One, 17 October 1970
• Lowest league attendance: 4,373 v Doncaster Rovers, Division Two, 24 February 1955

Transfers

• Biggest Transfer fee paid: £7.50 million to Liverpool for Craig Bellamy (July 2007)
• Biggest Transfer fee received: £18 million from Leeds United for Rio Ferdinand (November 2000)

Record results and performances

Victories League: Premiership: Home: 6-0 v Barnsley, 1998 Away: 5-0 v Derby County, 10/11/2007 Division One: Home: 8-1 v Newcastle, 21/4/86 Home: 8-0 v Sunderland, 19/10/68 Away: 6-1 v Manchester City, 8/9/62 Division Two: Home: 8-0 Rotherham United, 8/3/58 Away: 6-0 Leicester City, Home: 5-0 Plymouth Argyle, FA Cup: Home: 8-1 v Chesterfield (Rd 1), 10/1/14 Away: 5-0 v Chatham (Rd 5 Q), 28/11/1903 League Cup: Home: 10-0 v Bury (Rd 2 leg 2), 25/10/83 Away: 5-1 v Cardiff City (sf leg 2), 2/2/66 & 5-1 v Walsall (Rd 2), 13/9/67 UEFA Cup: Home: 3-0 v NK Osijek (Rd 1 leg 2) 1999 Away: 3-1 v NK Osijek (Rd 1 leg 1) 1999

Defeats League: Premiership: Away: 1-7 v Manchester United 2000 Away: 1-7 v Blackburn Rovers 2001 Away: 0-6 v Reading 2007 Away: 0-5 v Sheffield Wednesday 1993 Home: 0-4 v Sheffield Wednesday 1996 Home: 0-4 v Arsenal 1997 Home: 0-4 v Everton 1999 Home: 1-4 v Chelsea 2008 Division One: Home: 2-8 v Blackburn Rovers 26/12/63 Away: 0-7 Everton 22/10/27 & 0-7 v Sheffield Wednesday 28/11/59 Division Two: Home: 0-6 v Sheffield Wednesday 8/12/51 Away: 0-7 v Barnsley 1/9/19 FA Cup: Home: 1-5 v Huddersfield Town (Rd 3 Replay) 13/1/60 Away: 0-6 v Manchester United (Rd 4) 26/1/03 League Cup: Home: 2-5 v Barnsley (Rd 2 leg 2) 6/10/87 Away: 0-6 v Oldham Athletic (SF leg 1) 14/2/90 UEFA Cup: Home:0-1 v Palermo 2006 Away:0-3 v Palermo 2006

Club League highs and lows

See also West Ham United F.C. by season

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) 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: 9 (1987-88, 1991-92) 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)

Club goal records Most League Goals In A Season: 101, Division Two 1957-58 Top League Scorer In A Season: Vic Watson (42) Div. One 1929-30 Top Scorer In A Season: Vic Watson (50) Div. One 1929-30 Most Goals In One Match: Vic Watson (6) v Leeds United (h) 9/2/29 Geoff Hurst (6) v Sunderland (h) 19/10/68 Brian Dear (5) v West Brom (h) 16/4/65 Follow link to Official West Ham United Records Page

Player records Appearances 793 Billy Bonds 1967-88 674 Frank Lampard Sr. 1967-85 646 Bobby Moore 1958-74 635 Trevor Brooking 1967-84 601 Alvin Martin 1977-96 548 Jimmy Ruffell 1921-37 505 Steve Potts 1985-2002 505 Vic Watson 1920-35 502 Geoff Hurst 1959-72 467 Jim Barrett 1924-43 West Ham United F.C. appearance records   Goals 326 Vic Watson 1920-35 252 Geoff Hurst 1959-72 166 John Dick 1953-63 166 Jimmy Ruffell 1921-37 146 Tony Cottee 1983-88/1994-96 107 Johnny Byrne 1961-67 104 Bryan 'Pop' Robson 1970-74/1976-79 102 Trevor Brooking 1967-84 100 Malcolm Musgrove 1953-63 100 Martin Peters 1962-70 West Ham United F.C. goal records

See also

• Forbes' list of the most valuable football clubs
• West Ham United L.F.C., the affiliated women's team.

Sources

• Belton, Brian (2007). "BROWN OUT": The Biography of West Ham Chairmen, Terence Brown. Pennant Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-906015112.
• Belton, Brian (2006). West Ham United Miscellany. Pennant Books. ISBN 0-9550394-4-4.
• Blows, Kirk & Hogg, Tony (2000). The Essential History of West Ham United. Headline. ISBN 0-7472-7036-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Hellier, John & Leatherdale, Clive (2000). West Ham United: The Elite Era - A Complete Record. Desert Island. ISBN 1-874287-31-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. Profile Sports Media. ISBN 1-903135-50-8.
• Kerrigan, Colm (1997). Gatling Gun George Hilsdon. Football Lives. ISBN 0-9530718-0-4.
• Nawrat, Chris & Hutchings, Steve (1996). The Sunday Times Illustrated History of Football. Hamlyn. ISBN 1-85613-341-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Pickering, David (1994). The Cassell Soccer Companion. ISBN 0-304-34231-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
• Redknapp, Harry With Derek McGovern (1998). Harry Redknapp - My Autobiography. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-218872-4.
• Ward, Adam & Smith, Dave (2003). The Official West Ham United Dream Team. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-60835-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

Official

• West Ham United FC Official Website
• Premierleague.com - West Ham United
• West Ham United F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures

Unofficial

• Knees Up Mother Brown (Fans Forum, Match Reports, Statistics, Articles)
• Westhamonline (Fans Forum, Match Reports, Statistics, Articles)
• Hammers Mad (Fans Forum, Match Reports, Statistics, Articles)

External references

• West Ham players, past and present
• West Ham Memorabilia Collection - Claret & Blue Reference Source: Steve Marsh
• West Ham United Football Programmes - A Pictorial History: Steve Marsh and Stuart Allen