History of West Ham Football Club

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Description
In 1895, the clubs were the first time champions of the West Ham Charity Cup which was contested by the local clubs. This win was followed by the London League victory in 1897. The team stepped into the professional football circuit after entering the Southern League Second Division and was readily promoted to the First Division in their first attempt. The following year, West Ham United tried to establish themselves as a full fledged competitive team. In the late 1900s, they easily defeated Fulham F.C. in the play-off match and retained their First Division status.


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History

By June 1900, there were many differences within the management plus financial issues so that the club was relaunched as the West Ham United F.C. The reborn club played its first game against Millwall in front of 10000 supporters and emerged out as clear winners by 3-0. In 1901, West Ham United joined the Western League but continued playing for the Southern Division 1. In 1907, the team was crowned as the Western League Champions (Division 1B) and later was named as the Western Leagues Overall Champions after defeating Fulham by 1-0. The period from 1919-1923 was quite remarkable for West Ham as they gained entry to the Football League Second Division, got promoted to Division One and made it to the FA Cup final. Though the team enjoyed early success they retained their level of hard work and again reached the semi finals of the FA Cup in 1927.

After serving the club as a manager for 32 years, Sydney King was sacked after the club relegated to Division Two in 1932. The club spent the next 30 years, under Charlie Paynter who went on to manage thee team for a total of 480 games. However, in 1958 under the leadership of Ted Fenton, a former player, the club got again promoted to the top level of English football. Fenton played a crucial role in improving West Ham's overall approach to the game and helped in designing the careers of some the future West Ham stars. In 1961, the club won another two major trophies by winning the FA Cup in 1964 and European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965. During the 1966 World Cup, a significant element of the England national football team comprised of West Ham players like Martin Peters, Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst.
 


 

European Cup

In the 1974-75 season, after Greenwood went on to become the General Manager, he was replaced by John Lyall as a successor. This appointment led to instant success as the team went on and displayed some incredible on-field performance to win the FA Cup. He also guided the team to another European Cup Winners' Cup final in 1976 but unfortunately the team lost the finals to Anderlecht. Though the team was again demoted in 1978, Lyall led West Ham to FA Cup victory in 1980. The 1980s seemed to a good period for the West Ham’s but the real moment came when they were promoted to Division One in 1990-91. West Ham could spend only 1 year in Division One before gaining a promotion to the Premier League in May 1993. They had a stable period in the Premier League and Harry Redknapp led West Ham United to the fifth place in 1998/99. A series of disagreements between the board of directors and Harry Redknapp led to the appointment of Glenn Roeder during the 2000-01 season. Roeder's first season with West Ham led to a poor start with the team finishing 7th and subsequently losing matches against Blackburn, Everton and Chelsea. Following poor results and illness, Roeder was sacked in 2003 and was replaced by Trevor Brooking. The highlight of the 2005-06 seasons was the efficient way in which the team managed to reach the FA Cup final and their entry to the UEFA Cup.


 

Profile

Name: West Ham United Football Club
Nick names: The Hammers, The Irons
League: Premier League
Stadium: Boleyn Ground (Upton Park)
Founded: 1895 as Thames Ironworks F.C.
Manager: Alan Curbishley
 


 

European
1 European Cup Winners' Cup Winners (1964-65)
1 UEFA Intertoto Cup Winners (1999)


 

League

2 Division Two Champions (1957-1958, 1980-81)

1 Football League Championship Play-Off Winners (2005)

1 Western Football League Champions (1907-08)


 

Cup
3 FA Cup Winners (1964, 1975, 1980)
1 Charity Shield (1964 (shared))
1 Football League War Cup Winners (1940)
2 Milk Cup Winners (1996 & 1997)


 

Others
3 FA Youth Cup Winners (1963, 1981, 1999)
3 South-East Counties Champions (1984-85, 1995-96, 1997-98)
2 FA Premier Youth Academy Under-19 Champions (1998-99, 1999-2000)
1 Southern League Division Two Champions (1898-99)
1 London League Champions (1897-98)
1 West Ham Charity Cup Winners (1895-96)
1 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award (1965)