1985–86 West Ham United F.C. season

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West Ham's highest ever league finish was during the 1985–1986 season, coming a close third behind the Merseyside giants of Liverpool and Everton. West Ham finished with 84 points; two behind Everton and four behind eventual double winners Liverpool. West Ham won 26 of their 42 games.

Events of the season

August

The most notable changes to the West Ham side for the 1985–86 season were midfielder Mark Ward from Oldham Athletic and Scotland striker Frank McAvennie from St Mirren.

McAvennie's debut came on the opening day of the season in a 1–0 defeat by Birmingham City at St Andrew's.[1] The Scot played in midfield, but an injury to Paul Goddard gave him the opportunity to establish himself as first choice strike partner to Tony Cottee, who was in his third full season as a regular player despite only being 21.

It was a slow start to the season for the Hammers, who managed just one win from their five games in August; a 3–1 home win over London rivals Queen's Park Rangers, a game which saw McAvennie's first two goals for the club. He scored two more goals in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool on 31 August, a month which ended with West Ham in 17th place in a table led by Manchester United, who had a 100% record.[2][3][4]

September

Things got better for the Hammers in September, as they completed the month unbeaten in the league, drawing with Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester City, and beating Leicester City 3–0 and Nottingham Forest 4–2 at Upton Park.[5][6][7][8][9] They began their Football League Cup involvement on a winning note by winning 3–0 at home to Swansea City in the second round first leg.[10] The Hammers ended September in 13th place.[11]

October

October was another successful month at Upton Park, as the Hammers eliminated Swansea City from the League Cup and also managed league successes over Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Ipswich Town which helped them climb to seventh in the league by the end of the month.[9][12][13][14][15] Manchester United led the league ahead of nearest challengers Liverpool by 10 points and 15 points ahead of the Hammers.[16] Disappointment came in the League Cup on 29 October with a third round exit against Manchester United. [17]

November

The Hammers muscled in on the title challenge by winning all five of their games in November, starting with a 2-1 win over defending champions Everton and ending in a 4–0 demolition of relegation threatened West Bromwich Albion. Frank McAvennie was now the Football League's highest goalscorer with 17 First Division goals. Manchester United were still top of the league when November ended, but their lead over Liverpool had been cut to two points, and the Hammers were now third placed and just five points off the top of the table – raising hopes that the league title would arrive at the club at long last.[18]

December

December was a mixed month for the Hammers, who managed wins over Queen's Park Rangers and Birmingham City but could only manage a goalless draw at Luton Town and were beaten 1–0 by Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Boxing Day. They were still third in the league as 1985 drew to a close, level on points with second placed Liverpool and a mere four points adrift of a Manchester United side whose title bid appeared to be slowly falling apart after a blistering start to the season.[19]

January

1986 began on a high note for the Hammers, who eliminated neighbours Charlton Athletic from the FA Cup in the third round before winning 1–0 at Leicester City in the league the following weekend. However, their title hopes suffered a major blow in the next game on 18 January when they lost 3–1 to Liverpool at Anfield and now found themselves fifth in the league and seven points behind leaders Manchester United, though with a game in hand.[20]

The month ended with a goalless home draw with struggling Ipswich Town in the FA Cup fourth round.

February

It was West Ham's 2–1 win over Manchester United on 2 February which proved to be the turning point in the title race, as Ron Atkinson's side fell off the top of the table for the first time and saw Everton go top. Then came the FA Cup replay against Ipswich Town at Portman Road, which ended in another goalless draw and forced a second replay at Upton Park, which the Hammers won 1–0 in extra time. Due to severe weather, however, there was no more action that month for the Hammers.

March

The long absence from action saw West Ham go head to head with Manchester United in the double race as they contested the FA Cup fifth round. The first match at Upton Park ended in a 1–1 draw, but the Hammers won the replay 2–0 at Old Trafford. However, the double dream died in the quarter-finals three days later when West Ham were beaten 2–1 by Sheffield Wednesday.[21]

The league title dream also appeared to be dying when the Hammers lost their next two league games, but ended the month on a high by avenging Sheffield Wednesday 1–0 before demolishing Chelsea 4–0 at Stamford Bridge[22] (making a huge dent to their title ambitions) and ending the month with a 2–1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur[23] side whose manager Peter Shreeves was under growing pressure after a disappointing season had seen West Ham's local rivals fail to make a serious challenge for a major honour for perhaps the first time in the 1980s.

As March ended, the title challenge was firmly back on track – the Hammers were fifth in the league and 10 points adrift of leaders Liverpool, but had the advantage of five games in hand.[24]

April

April 1986 was one of the most memorable months in the history of West Ham United Football Club.

It began on a disappointing note with a 2–1 defeat at Nottingham Forest, but the Hammers showed no sign of tiredness and went into overdrive by winning eight of their next nine games (including an 8–1 demolition of Newcastle United in which Alvin Martin joined the small group of defenders to score a hat-trick)[25] which saw them end the month in third place – four points behind leaders Liverpool but with a game in hand – there was still a chance of title glory.[26]

May

The final Saturday of the season saw the Hammers beat doomed West Bromwich Albion 3–2 in the Black Country,[27] but on the same day Liverpool sealed the title and the Hammers' final match of the season would be a straight shoot-out for second place between them and Everton.[28] The contest was won by Everton, who triumphed 3–1 over the Hammers.

Everton's prolific striker Gary Lineker also defeated Frank McAvennie in the contest for the title as First Division leading goalscorer, with Lineker on 30 goals and McAvennie on 26.

There would be no chance of a UEFA Cup challenge the following season, as UEFA voted for the ban on English clubs in European competitions (imposed the previous year in the wake of the Heysel disaster when 39 spectators died as a result of rioting by Liverpool fans at the European Cup final) to continue for a second season.

On a more positive note, West Ham held onto their key players Alvin Martin, Tony Cottee and Frank McAvennie for the 1986–87 season, despite a growing trend for the league's top players to move abroad in order to be able to play in European competitions following the ban on English clubs. Summer 1986 saw Manchester United lose Mark Hughes to FC Barcelona of Spain, where he was joined by Everton's Gary Lineker, while Ian Rush agreed to sign for Juventus of Italy after the 1986–87 season was over and Norwich City goalkeeper Chris Woods joined Ipswich Town defender Terry Butcher north of the border with Glasgow Rangers.

Squad statistics

No. Player Position Lge
Apps 		Lge
Gls 		FAC
Apps 		FAC
Gls 		LC
Apps 		LC
Gls 		Total
Apps 		Total
Gls 		Date Signed Previous Club
West Ham United F.C. 1985–86 First XI (Most appearances)
1 England Phil Parkes GK 42 7 3 52 - February 1979 Queens Park Rangers
2 Scotland Ray Stewart RB 39 6 6 1 3 3 48 10 September 1979 Dundee United
3 England Steve Walford LB 27 3 3 33 - August 1983 Norwich
4 England Tony Gale CB 42 7 3 52 - August 1983 Fulham
5 England Alvin Martin (Captain) CB 40 4 7 3 50 4 July 1976 Academy
6 England Alan Devonshire LM 38 3 6 3 47 3 October 1976 Southall
7 England Mark Ward RM 42 3 7 3 52 3 August 1985 Oldham Athletic
8 Scotland Frank McAvennie CF 41 26 7 1 3 1 51 28 June 1985 St. Mirren
9 England Alan Dickens CM 40 (1) 4 7 3 50 (1) 4 1982 Academy
10 England Tony Cottee (H.O.Y.) CF 41 (1) 20 7 4 3 2 51 (1) 26 September 1982 Academy
11 Scotland Neil Orr CM 33 (3) 2 1 (1) 3 37 (4) 2 January 1982 Morton
Players with 10+ appearances
3 England George Parris LB 23 (3) 1 7 0 (2) 30 (5) 1 1985 Academy
11 England Geoff Pike CM 10 5 1 15 1 September 1974 Academy
Other players with appearances
8 England Paul Goddard CF 1 (5) 1 0 (1) 1 (6) 1 August 1980 Queens Park Rangers
5 England Paul Hilton CB 2 2 - 1984 Bury
10 England Greg Campbell CF 1 (2) 1 (2) - 1984 Academy
12 England Bobby Barnes CF 0 (1) 0 (1) - 1980 Academy
12 England Steve Potts RB 0 (1) 0 (1) - May 1984 Academy

References

  1. ^ Game played on 17 Aug 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-08-17). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  2. ^ "Snapshot Tables 1985-1986 31 Aug West Ham United - West Ham United FC - Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk. 31 August 1985. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  3. ^ Game played on 20 Aug 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-08-20). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  4. ^ Game played on 31 Aug 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-08-31). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  5. ^ Game played on 03 Sep 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-09-03). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  6. ^ Game played on 07 Sep 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-09-07). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  7. ^ Game played on 21 Sep 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-09-21). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  8. ^ Game played on 14 Sep 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-09-14). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  9. ^ a b Game played on 28 Sep 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-09-28). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  10. ^ Game played on 24 Sep 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-09-24). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  11. ^ "Snapshot Tables 1985-1986 28 Sep West Ham United - West Ham United FC - Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk. 28 September 1985. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  12. ^ Game played on 08 Oct 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-10-08). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  13. ^ Game played on 05 Oct 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-10-05). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  14. ^ Game played on 19 Oct 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-10-19). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  15. ^ Game played on 26 Oct 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-10-26). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  16. ^ "Snapshot Tables 1985-1986 26 Oct West Ham United - West Ham United FC - Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk. 26 October 1985. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  17. ^ Game played on 29 Oct 1985. Westhamstats.info (1985-10-29). Retrieved on 2013-01-25.
  18. ^ "Snapshot Tables 1985-1986 30 Nov West Ham United - West Ham United FC - Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk. 30 November 1985. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  19. ^ "Snapshot Tables 1985-1986 26 Dec West Ham United - West Ham United FC - Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk. 26 December 1985. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  20. ^ "Snapshot Tables 1985-1986 18 Jan West Ham United - West Ham United FC - Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk. 18 January 1986. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  21. ^ "Sheff Wed 2-1 West Ham". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  22. ^ "On this day 29 March". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  23. ^ "West Ham 2-1 Tottenham". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  24. ^ "Snapshot Tables 1985-1986 31 Mar West Ham United - West Ham United FC - Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk. 31 March 1986. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  25. ^ "Martin treble in Newcastle rout". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  26. ^ "Snapshot Tables 1985-1986 28 Apr West Ham United - West Ham United FC - Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk. 28 April 1986. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  27. ^ "West Brom 2-3 West Ham". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  28. ^ "Snapshot Tables 1985-1986 3 May West Ham United - West Ham United FC - Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk. 3 May 1986. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
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