West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is a professional English football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London.

They play their home matches at The Boleyn Ground, referred to as Upton Park by most followers of football. They are nicknamed "The Hammers" "The Academy of Football" by the media, but are better known as "The Irons" by their own fans (due to the club's origins at the Thames Ironworks - see below). The club has a training facility at Chadwell Heath, adjacent to the railway line from which the team may occasionally be viewed at practice during the week. The club currently appear to play in the FA Premier League. After the club first returned to the Premier League, they finished 9th and led the FA Cup Final match on May 13, 2006 first 2-0 in the first half and then 3-2 in the second half before being tied 3-3 and lost 3-1 on penalties after a nail biting match. They will be playing European football next season (2006-2007) in the UEFA Cup.

History

The club was founded in 1895 as the works side Thames Ironworks F.C. by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd company chairman Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor. "The Irons" joined the London League in 1896 winning it in the 1897-98 season. They turned professional upon entering the Southern League Second Division in 1898, which they won at the first attempt. When the club became a limited company in 1900 the club name was changed to West Ham United F.C..

The club moved to the Memorial Ground in Plaistow in 1900 and then to a pitch in the Upton Park area, originally named The Castle for the 1905-06 season. The original gates to the ground, with the original Hammers crest (now painted in claret and blue, can be seen in Grange Road, London, E13. They joined the Football League in 1919 and were first promoted to the top division in 1923. They have won the FA Cup three times: in 1963-64, 1974-75 and 1979-80. In 2002-2003, after a poor campaign in which it took them nearly six months to win their first home match, they were relegated from the Premiership. The following season they reached the play-off final but were defeated by Crystal Palace. At the end of the 2004-05 season, which saw huge pressure placed on manager Alan Pardew by the team's supporters, West Ham managed to finish sixth in the Championship, securing a play-off place for the second successive season. After a 2-2 draw at Upton Park, West Ham went on to beat Ipswich (who had finished 3rd, 12 points ahead of West Ham) 2-0 at their homeground of Portman Road, thereby qualifying for the playoff final. The Hammers went on to win the promotion final 1-0 over Preston North End to secure a return to the Premiership.

Greenwood and Lyall: The Glory days

West Ham United first established themselves in 1964, when manager Ron Greenwood guided the club to their first major trophy in the shape of an FA Cup final victory over Preston North End. Their captain, Bobby Moore, would skipper the England team to World Cup success in 1966, while striker Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick in the final against West Germany. (The other goal in the 4-2 victory was scored by Martin Peters, also a Hammer). The success of 1964 was repeated a year later, this time with a European Cup Winners Cup triumph over 1860 Munich at Wembley. Greenwood guided West Ham to another FA Cup success in 1975, this time against Fulham, before being promoted to the position of general manager - a role which he occupied for two years before beginning a five-year reign as England manager.

Ron Greenwood was succeeded as team manager by John Lyall, who guided West Ham to another Cup Winners Cup final in his first season in charge (1975-76). But this time West Ham were on the losing side, and were relegated to the Second Division soon afterwards. In 1980, while still a Second Division side, Lyall inspired West Ham to an FA Cup victory over Arsenal - a feat which no side outside the top division has achieved since. It is also West Ham's most recent major trophy. In 1981, West Ham finished runners-up in the League Cup. Between 1982 and 1985 West Ham achieved three consecutive top ten finishes. Lyall helped them achieve their highest league finish of third in 1986, but was sacked three years later as they suffered relegation to the Second Division.

The Billy Bonds era: Up and down

Lyall was replaced by Lou Macari for the 1989-90 season, but Macari resigned after just one season as manager to concentrate on clearing his name in connection with financial irregularities at his previous club Swindon Town. The next manager to occupy the hot seat at West Ham was Billy Bonds, whose first season at the helm (1990-91) ended with runners-up spot in the Second Division and a place back in the top division. But West Ham struggled throughout the 1991-92 season and were relegated in bottom place, missing the first season of the new Premier League.

West Ham regained their top flight status at the first attempt, finishing Division One runners-up in 1992-93 and securing promotion to the Premiership. They survived relegation by a comfortable margin in 1993-94, but Bonds walked out on the club the following summer to be succeeded by Harry Redknapp.

The Harry Redknapp era: Consolidation

One of Harry Redknapp's first actions as West Ham manager was to re-sign striker Tony Cottee from Everton. He also signed Liverpool's Don Hutchison and Julian Dicks, as well as re-signing striker Iain Dowie from Southampton. West Ham avoided relegation again in 1994-95 and played their part in the final-day drama of the season, holding Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Upton Park and denying them a third successive Premiership title.

West Ham progressed to 10th place in 1995-96. That summer Redknapp made two of the least productive signings in the club's history - Romanian striker Florin Răducioiu and Portuguese winger Paulo Futre. Răducioiu left after six months at the club and returned to Romania after falling out with the manager, while Futre played just one first-team game before being beaten by a long-term knee injury and announcing his retirement. But Redknapp's remaining players pulled together and achieved Premiership survival, bolstered by the £3.3million acquisition of 21-year-old striker John Hartson from Arsenal in March. But let's not forget he would then go on to sign Paulo Di Cano in Jan 1999 and despite his well chronicled difficulties, he became a firm favourite and scored the goal of the season in 2000. West Ham progressed further in 1997-98, finishing eighth in the Premiership and missing European qualification by just one place - they were in the hunt for a UEFA Cup place right up to the last day of the season. They progressed further in 1998-99, finishing fifth in the Premiership and thus becoming eligible to play in the Intertoto Cup; the thrilling victory over Metz in the two-legged final earned the Hammers a place in the UEFA Cup - ending an absence of almost 20 years from European competition.

A 10th place finish followed in 1999-2000, but West Ham's form slipped in 2000-01 after the (then) record English fee of £18million which saw brilliant central defender Rio Ferdinand move to Leeds United. A succession of bizarre signings followed, including notable failures such as Rigobert Song, Titi Camara, Ragnvald Soma, Hayden Foxe and Svetoslav Todorov. This saw West Ham finish 15th in the final table, their lowest-ever finish in the history of the Premiership, clocking up only 42 points, which West Ham were relegated with two seasons later under a different manager.

Redknapp requested that a warchest of £12m to get the club back into the top six, with a sizeable fee of his requested budget wanting to go towards bringing in Paris Saint-Germain left-winger Laurent Robert, a client of football agent, and close Harry Redknapp associate, Willie McKay.

Slanderous comments followed in direction of the West Ham board as Redknapp gave an interview in the unofficial West Ham fanzine Over Land and Sea, focusing his tirade on the lack of funding. The outburst caused so much friction which made his position as manager untenable, and Redknapp was sacked before the end of the season.

The Glenn Roeder era: Down again

Several big names were linked with the vacant manager's job. Former West Ham player Alan Curbishley, who had rebuilt Charlton Athletic on and off the field since becoming their manager in 1991, instantly became favourite for the job but insisted he wasn't interested. Steve McClaren, who had been assistant manager of Manchester United in three successive title-winning seasons (including the 1999 treble campaign), was also linked with the job, but he was then appointed manager of Middlesbrough. So West Ham turned to highly respected youth team manager Glenn Roeder to fill the role. People doubted Roeder's suitability for the job, as his only managerial exploits had been short-lived and perceived to be unsuccessful with Gillingham (1992-93) and Watford (1993-96) a viewpoint not shared by Glenn himself who had dealt with difficulties both on the pitch and off it at both teams (soon to be repeated).

West Ham had a slow start to the 2001-02 season, hampered by injuries to key players (new signing David James injured before he even made an appearance whilst on International duty, Frederic Kanoute, Michael Carrick and Paolo Di Canio nursing groin and knee problems) and the need for clearing out some of the dead wood from the previous term. The board made money available for strengthening the squad and Glenn acquired respected Czech International defender Tomáš Řepka from ACF Fiorentina, and Don Hutchison for his second term with the Hammers. However Glenn Roeder was soon under immense pressure from fans who were calling for him to be sacked, especially after witnessing back to back maulings at the hands of Everton (5-0) and Blackburn (7-1). He responded by turning the club's fortunes around and guiding them to a seventh-place finish in the final table, just one place short of European qualification - although there was a 12-point gap between West Ham and sixth-placed Chelsea. Had West Ham been more consistent over the season, then UEFA Cup or even Champions League qualification could have been achieved.

The summer of 2002-03 did not bode well for the season ahead. Despite a glaring need for squad reinforcements, the only positive transfer activity involved Irish international Gary Breen signing on a free transfer (he was to be later to be reviled as one of the poorest players ever to wear the West Ham shirt). Out the door went a number of experienced pro's such as Paul Kitson, a hatful of youth players and a number of fringe element. Another (now traditional) poor start plagued West Ham United through to 2002-03, and this time Roeder was unable to turn things round quickly enough. The loss of Kanoute for nearly 1/3rd of the season, and Di Canio at the exact same period resulted in the teenage Jermain Defoe leading the line on his own. The loss of form of key players such as Trevor Sinclair, 01/02 Hammer of the Year Sebastian Schemmel, Michael Carrick (still nursing a groin problem), plus the absence of a dependable left back, left midfielder or suitable reserves to call upon merely exacerbated a difficult situation. The Hammers failed to win a single home game until January and suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Manchester United in the FA Cup. The much maligned Gary Breen was pointedly at fault for a number of errors, but his play was under no circumstances helped by the lack of any cohesive team. During the transfer window the club acquired Les Ferdinand and Rufus Brevett, and more importantly got Di Canio and Kanoute both back on the pitch and off the treatment table. The clubs form improved tremendously and began to claw their way up towards safety. In April Glenn collapsed in his office and was diagnosed with having a brain tumour. He was immediately given a leave of absence and 1980 FA Cup final hero Trevor Brooking took over for the final 3 games of the Premiership season, but despite an upturn in the teams form (winning 2 and drawing only 1) they were unable to overhaul Bolton Wanderers and finished 18th in the final table, 2pts short (West Ham drew early in the season and then lost against Bolton during the run in, a draw against Bolton in their second match would have been sufficient to see West Ham survive). Their 10-year spell in the Premiership was over. Not since 1994-95 had a club been relegated from the division with more than 40 points (West Ham had 42), but this was no consolation for a disappointed West Ham side filled with some of the most promising young English players, all tipped for International Honours. The relegation forced the sale of key players Joe Cole and Glen Johnson (both to Chelsea), Kanoute to Spurs (and later Jermain Defoe), Trevor Sinclair and David James to Manchester City F.C., in a bid to prevent a financial crisis at Upton Park. Glenn Roeder was sacked soon after the start of the 2003-04 season.

Alan Pardew era: Rising back to the top

Alan Pardew was the eventual replacement for Roeder, following Brooking's second brief stint as caretaker manager. Pardew was head hunted by West Ham and given the objective of promotion back to the FA Premier League, within two seasons. He achieved this by the backdoor, finishing sixth in the Football League Championship at the end of the 2004-05 season, the last place available to qualify for the playoff games. Having beaten Ipswich Town over two legs to qualify for the final at the Millennium Stadium, they achieved their aim with a 1-0 win against Preston North End, with Bobby Zamora scoring the only goal of the game in the second half.

Following promotion, the club have exceeded expectations and the ultimate target of survival for 2005-06 is certain, as Alan Pardew's men occupy a top-half place in the Premiership. Pardew has claimed that he will not sell the club's best players, and he appears to have the backing of the board on this issue. Alan Pardew spent a club record of seven million Pounds on a transfer fee to bring Dean Ashton to West Ham United. Ashton has been touted as "the next Alan Shearer", and a career playing for England looks likely to follow with an extra £250,000 of the transfer fee going to Norwich when Ashton wins his first cap. In January and February 2006, following a 3-1 home defeat by Chelsea, West Ham embarked on their best sequence of results for twenty years, winning seven games in a row in all competitions (five in the league and two in the FA Cup). The 3-2 win away to Arsenal on February 1st, on West Ham's last visit to Highbury Stadium, was the most noteworthy victory during this run, with the Hammers recording their first win over Arsenal at their stadium since 1995.

This seven-game winning streak ended when they drew 0-0 with Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup Fifth Round, however their unbeaten run continued when they drew 2-2 against Everton in the Premiership, before coming to an abrupt halt with a heavy defeat against Bolton Wanderers, losing 4-1. However Alan Pardew fielded a weakened team in that game in preparation for the FA Cup replay against Bolton again, where they won 2-1 aet with a Marlon Harewood winner. They then played, on the 18th March, their former manager and player Harry Redknapp's club Portsmouth, on his first return to Upton Park. Portsmouth won 4-2 as Pardew rested some key players. However, two days later the Hammers beat Manchester City 2-1 to reach the FA Cup semi-finals. On Sunday 23rd April, less than a week following a loss to Middlesbrough in a league fixture, West Ham defeated them 1-0 at Villa Park in the FA Cup semi, with Marlon Harewood scoring the goal that sent the Hammers through to their first FA Cup final since they beat Arsenal in 1980. This also secured the Hammers a place in the 2006-07 UEFA Cup, as Liverpool, their final opponent, are now assured of no worse than a spot in the final qualifying round of the that season's Champions League. The Hammers, with a place in next year's 2006-07 UEFA Cup and a FA Cup Final, now had to secure a top 10 finish, a position they had held since the start of the campaign. With this in mind and the FA Cup final on May 13th, Pardew had a dilemma, whether to stick out his first team and run the risk of injuries and suspensions or hold back. A mock run up of the FA Cup final saw Liverpool beat the Irons 2-1, with a late confrontation involving Mullins and Luis Garcia seeing them both sent off, missing the Final. Mullins, a key to their Premiership success would be dearly missed as he had been a defensive stronghold against many a worthy attacking force. On the back of that troubled match, the Hammers beat an already relegated West Brom team 1-0, in which Dean Ashton limped off with a hamstring injury, a huge doubt for the final. This win was the sixth time the Hammers had played on a Monday night and their sixth win was a huge step towards achieving a top ten finish.

West Ham won their final game of the season 2-1 over rivals Tottenham Hotspur, cementing 9th place in the Premier League. Tottenham's loss to West Ham on the final day would result in Tottenham being overtaken in the league by Arsenal and therefore missing out on a Champions League place. The match was marred by controversy as many of the Tottenham players were ill on the evening before the match; this was initially believed to be "food poisoning", but was later found to be a virus that had gone round. The FA offered Tottenham a delayed kickoff which they refused. Tottenham ended up getting outplayed by their superior East London rivals and lost the match by a final score of 2-1. West Ham scored first when midfielder Carl Fletcher launched an immaculate strike past Spurs keeper Paul Robinson. Tottenham then equalised through former West Ham striker Jermain Defoe. The Hammers had a chance to win the game when former Spurs player, Teddy Sheringham took a penalty kick. Sheringham's kick was saved. Israel international Yossi Benayoun was the hero and scored the game winning goal with a stunning strike.

Also this season, two of West Ham's longest serving managers passed away, Ron Greenwood and John Lyall. Greenwood and Lyall both led West Ham to FA Cup victories in 1964, 1975 and 1980.

If Pardew had guided West Ham to FA Cup glory, he would have been the first English manager to win the trophy since Joe Royle won it with Everton back in 1995. It would also have ended West Ham's 26-year wait for a major trophy which began after their FA Cup triumph in 1980. However, the game ended 3-3, despite West Ham taking a two goal lead early in the match. Eventually West Ham lost 3-1 on penalties, in what was considered by many as the best cup final in recent years.Pardew has got closer then any one to restoring the glory years back at Upton Park.

Current squad

Correct as of 05 July 2006

Out on loan

See also West Ham United F.C. 2005-2006

Management

Manager: Alan Pardew
Assistant Manager: Peter Grant
First Team Coach: Keith Peacock
Goalkeeping Coach: Ludek Miklosko
Youth Academy Director: Tony Carr
Reserve Team Coach: Kevin Keen

Honours

European

European Cup Winners' Cup Winners: 1964-65, Runners Up: 1975-76
UEFA Intertoto Cup Winners: 1999-2000

Domestic

FA Cup Winners: 1964, 1975, 1980, Runners Up: 1923, 2006
Division Two Champions: 1957-58, 1980-81;
Charity Shield: 1964 (shared)
Football League Championship Play-Off Winners: 2004-05

Youth

FA Youth Cup Winners: 1963, 1981, 1999;
South-East Counties Champions: 1984-85, 1995-96, 1997-98
FA Premier Youth Academy Under-19 Champions: 1998-99, 1999-2000

War years

Football League War Cup Winners: 1940

As Thames Ironworks F.C.

Southern League Division Two Champions: 1898-99
London League Champions: 1897-98
West Ham Charity Cup Winners: 1895-96

Other

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award: 1965

Hammer Of The Year (1958–2006)

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
1971	Billy Bonds
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

Year	Winner
1983	Alvin Martin
1984	Trevor Brooking
1985	Paul Allen
1986	Tony Cottee
1987	Billy Bonds
1988	Stewart Robson
1989	Paul Ince
1990	Julian Dicks
1991	Ludek Miklosko
1992	Julian Dicks
1993	Steve Potts
1994	Trevor Morley
1995	Steve Potts
1996	Julian Dicks
1997	Julian Dicks
1998	Rio Ferdinand
1999	Shaka Hislop
2000	Paolo Di Canio
2001	Stuart Pearce
2002	Sebastien Schemmel
2003	Joe Cole
2004	Matthew Etherington
2005	Teddy Sheringham
2006	Daniel Gabbidon

Famous players

The 1966 World Cup winning trio

The Official West Ham United 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, so legends such as Vic Watson and Jimmy Ruffell were not included.

Other past players of note

Player records

Appearances

793 Billy Bonds 1967-88
674 Frank Lampard Sr. 1967-85
646 Bobby Moore 1958-74
635 Trevor Brooking 1967-84
600 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 G. 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

Managers

West Ham have only had ten managers in their history, fewer than any major English clubs have had. Indeed, up until 1989 the club had only had five different managers. Also, the club have never had an overseas manager, the only non-Englishman being Lou Macari, who was Scottish.

Manager	Period
Alan Pardew	2003-present
Glenn Roeder	2001-2003
Harry Redknapp	1994-2001
Billy Bonds	1990-1994
Lou Macari	1989-1990
John Lyall	1974-1989
Ron Greenwood	1961-1974
Ted Fenton	1950-1961
Charlie Paynter	1932-1950
Syd King	1902-1932

Trevor Brooking has been caretaker-manager on two separate occasions, between April-May 2003 and August-October 2003.

League status

1896-1898: London League
1898-1899: Southern League Division Two ~ Promoted as Champions
1899-1915: Southern League Division One ~ Elected to The Football League.
1919-1923: Division Two ~ Promoted as Runners Up.
1923-1932: Division One
1932-1958: Division Two ~ Promoted as Champions
1958-1978: Division One
1978-1981: Division Two ~ Promoted as Champions
1981-1989: Division One
1989-1991: Division Two ~ Promoted as Runners Up.
1991-1992: Division One
1992-1993: Division One (Renamed) ~ Promoted as Runners Up.
1993-2003: FA Premier League
2003-2005: Division One/Football League Championship ~ Promoted via Play-Offs
2005–present: FA Premier League

Most successful teams

1958-1959, 6th place in Division One.
1963-1964, FA Cup Winners.
1964-1965, Cup Winners' Cup Winners. Perhaps West Ham's greatest achievement.
1972-1973, 6th place in Division One.
1974-1975, FA Cup Winners.
1975-1976, Cup Winners' Cup Runners Up
1979-1980, FA Cup Winners.
1985-1986, 3rd place in Division One, West Ham's highest ever league finish
1998-1999, 5th place in FA Premier League, ensuring European football for the first time in 18 years
1999-2000, Intertoto Cup Winners.
2005-2006, FA Cup Runners Up.

Trivia

The Academy of Football

See main article.

The club is often known as "The Academy of Football" due to the club's claimed reputation for developing talented young players from an early age, and for playing a free-flowing, passing game. The title was attributed to the club by the media in the 1960s, and has since been adopted by the club itself. The title has been printed underneath the club crest on the artificial surface surrounding the pitch at Upton Park.

This self-styled image is often derided by supporters of other clubs, but others consider West Ham's youth development system to be one of the most successful in England. The claim is a source of pride to West Ham supporters, whose club has not seen the same successes as many other clubs (such as Liverpool or Manchester United), and in fact has never won the League.

Players to have "graduated" from the Academy include Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Sir Trevor Brooking, Tony Cottee, Paul Ince, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard Jnr., Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson and current first team player Anton Ferdinand.

More current players due to force the way into the spotlight include: Kyel Reid and Mark Noble

Club crest and colours

The original club crest was, indeed, a crossed pair of riveting hammers, used in the shipbuilding process. A castle was added to the crest in around 1900 and represents the prominent local building, Green Street House, which was known as "Boleyn Castle" through an association with Anne Boleyn. "Boleyn Castle" is represented in the West Ham crest by the traditional turreted castle image, which is behind the crossed hammers. The castle may have also been added as a result of the contribution made to the club by players of Old Castle Swifts F.C.. The crest was redesigned by London design agency Springett Associates in the late 1990's, featuring a wider yellow castle with fewer crucifix-style "windows" and differently shaped hammer heads.

Claret and sky blue were the house colours of the Thames Ironworks so it is thought that that Aston Villa's kit was used as a basis for West Ham's. Although the home shirt has almost always retained the claret yoke/blue sleeves design, the away shirt has changed over the years. It has generally been white or sky blue, but has also been based on colours such as dark blue and ecru. In recent years the club have committed to a sky-white-dark blue rotation, each kit having a one season shelf life. The away shirt will be dark blue for the 2006/7 season. Rumours also persist that a limited edition white 'retro' kit will be worn for UEFA Cup games in the upcoming season.

Kit Suppliers

1962-1976 Bukta

1976-1980 Admiral

1980-1987 Adidas

1987-1993 Bukta 1993-1999 Pony

1999-2003 Fila

2003- Reebok

Shirt Sponsors

1983-1989 AVCO Trust

1989-1993 BAC Windows

1993-1997 Dagenham Motors

1998-2003 Dr. Martens

2003- Jobserve

Nicknames

West Ham's nicknames "The Hammers" and "The Irons" both date from the club's foundations in the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, who employed many riveters whose main tool was a hammer.

The club would remember its roots when the club badge was created featuring crossed hammers on its crest.

The modern media, and many football fans, mainly refer to the club as "The Hammers", although West Ham fans themselves very rarely sing or chant this at games, preferring the club's original nickname of "The Irons."

Supporters

The team's supporters are famed for their passionate rendition of the chorus of their team's anthem, I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles, the lyrics which are as follows:

I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air
They fly so high, nearly reach the sky
Then 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
United! (clap hands) United! (clap hands) United! (clap hands)

There is a slight change to the lyrics sung by the Upton Park faithful though. The second line's nearly reach the sky is changed to they reach the sky by the crowd. Then like my dreams is also changed to And like my dreams. However, the 1980 FA Cup Squad's version (released as a single that year) - which contains the original lyrics - is always played before home games, with the home crowd joining in.

In the last five years these lyrics have been also heard to be sung to the tune of the theme to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, changing the first line to end pretty little bubbles to allow scansion.

Another popular chant is, Come on you Irons or simply Irons! Irons! Irons!

As with many clubs, a rhythmic clapping chant incorporates the current manager's name and team colours. For the present day West Ham, the chat is Alan Pardew's Claret and Blue Army. Interestingly this chant can reflect the crowd's overall satisfaction of the manager, with ommittance of the manager's name something of a rebuke.. At the end of Glenn Roeder's stewardship the chant had changed to East London's Claret and Blue Army. Before West Ham's successful Play-Off campaign, Pardew's name had been dropped in favour of We are West Ham's Claret and Blue Army. A popular chant heard at home and away matches (especially in London derby games) is East, East, East London, a pronouncement of the pride that West Ham fans have for their area.

Rivalries and hooliganism

As with most football clubs, West Ham have strong rivalries with other clubs. Most of these are with other London clubs such as Chelsea (East London versus West London rivalry) and Tottenham Hotspur (near neighbours). However the strongest rivalry is with Millwall. The rivalry began before either club was formed, in the days when the Thames Iron Works and Millwall Iron Works shipbuilding companies were rivals for the same contracts. What continued as a local rivalry between football clubs developed into open hostility during the General Strike of 1926. The shipbuilders and dockers of the Royal Docks on the north bank of the River Thames (West Ham) went on strike but Millwall Docks and Surrey Docks continued to work. The intense feeling of conflict between those dockers working and those striking was transferred back into the club rivalry.

During the 1970s and 1980s (the main era for organised football-related violence) the hostilities continued as "firms" associated with the clubs continued to fight. West Ham gained some notoriety for the amount of hooliganism in their fan base; the Inter City Firm was an infamous West Ham-aligned gang. The firms' violent activities were not confined to local derbies, however - the hooligans were content to cause trouble at any game, though nearby teams bore the brunt of their venom. During the 1990s, and to the present day, sophisticated surveillance and heavy policing has reduced the level of violence, though the intense rivalry with Millwall remains. The 2005 film Green Street (Hooligans) depicts an American student who becomes involved with a fictional firm associated with West Ham, with an emphasis on the rivalry with Millwall.

The Premier League club located closest to West Ham is Charlton Athletic and, perhaps strangely, no significant additional rivalry appears to exist at all, Charlton being one of the more family-orientated clubs.

The League club which is located even closer than Charlton are East London team Leyton Orient F.C., but the two clubs have only occasionally played each other in both League and Cup competitions. However, when they do meet, it is usually a very special occasion; Orient's club record attendance was against The Hammers in an F.A. Cup tie in 1964.

References

External links

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