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1985–86 West Ham United F.C. season

English football team season

Field	Value
club	West Ham United
season	1985–86
chairman	Len Cearns
manager	John Lyall
stadium	Boleyn Ground
league	First Division
league result	3rd
cup1	FA Cup
cup1 result	Sixth round
cup2	League Cup
cup2 result	Third round
league topscorer
Frank McAvennie (26)
season topscorer
Frank McAvennie (28)
highest attendance	31,121 vs Ipswich Town (30 April 1986)
lowest attendance	9,282 vs Swansea City (24 September 1985 League Cup)
average attendance	21,179
pattern_la1	_bluelines	pattern_b1=_shoulder_stripes_bluer_stripes	pattern_ra1=_bluelines	leftarm1=581515	body1=581515	rightarm1=581515
prevseason	1984–85
nextseason	1986–87

Frank McAvennie (26) Frank McAvennie (28) The 1985–1986 season saw manager John Lyall lead West Ham United (known as "The Hammers") to their highest ever league finish, coming a close third behind Liverpool and Everton. They won 26 of their 42 games and finished with 84 points, two behind Everton and four behind eventual double winners Liverpool. The Hammers team of 1985–86 became known as The Boys of 86.

Events of the season

August

The most notable pre-season changes to the West Ham side were midfielder Mark Ward and striker Frank McAvennie, signed from Oldham Athletic and St Mirren respectively.

Both players made their debuts on the opening day of the season in a 1–0 defeat by Birmingham City at St Andrew's. McAvennie played in midfield, but an injury to Paul Goddard gave the Scot 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 as they managed just one win from their five games in August, a 3–1 defeat of London rivals Queens Park Rangers in which McAvennie scored his first two goals for the club. He added two more in a 2–2 draw with Liverpool on 31 August. The month ended with West Ham lying 17th in a table led by Manchester United, who had a 100% record.

September

Things got better for the Hammers in September, as they completed the month unbeaten in the league, beating Leicester City 3–0 and Nottingham Forest 4–2 at Upton Park, and drawing at Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester City. They began their Milk Cup involvement by winning 3–0 at home to Swansea City in the second round first leg. The Hammers ended September in 13th place.

October

October was another successful month, as the Hammers completed an aggregate win over Swansea in the Milk Cup and also managed league successes over Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Ipswich Town which helped them climb to seventh by the end of the month. Manchester United still led the table, 10 points ahead of nearest challengers Liverpool and 15 ahead of the Hammers. Disappointment came in the Milk Cup on 29 October with a third round exit at Old Trafford.

November

The Hammers muscled in on the title challenge by winning all five of their games in November, bookended by a 2–1 win over defending champions Everton and a 4–0 demolition of relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion. The Hammers ended the month in third place, a mere five points behind leaders Manchester United, raising hopes that the league title would arrive at the club at long last.

Frank McAvennie was now the Football League's highest scorer with 17 First Division goals.

December

December was a mixed month for West Ham. They managed wins over Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham, but were held to a goalless draw at Luton Town and then beaten 1–0 by Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Boxing Day. The Hammers were still third in the league as 1985 drew to a close, level on points with second placed Liverpool and four adrift of a Manchester United side whose title bid appeared to be slowly falling apart after a blistering start to the season.

January

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

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

February

The Hammers' 2–1 win over Manchester United on 2 February proved to be the turning point in the title race, as Ron Atkinson's side were deposed from the top of the table for the first time, allowing Everton go top. The FA Cup replay against Ipswich at Portman Road ended in another draw before West Ham won a second replay 1–0 in extra time. Due to severe weather, however, there was no more action for the Hammers that month.

March

West Ham went head to head with Manchester United in the race for the double as the two met in 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 they were beaten 2–1 at Sheffield Wednesday.

The league title dream also appeared to be on the wane when the Hammers lost their next two games, but they ended the month on a high by avenging Sheffield Wednesday 1–0 before demolishing Chelsea 4–0 at Stamford Bridge (making a huge dent to their London rivals' title ambitions) and beating Tottenham 2–1 at Upton Park.

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

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 in which Alvin Martin joined the select group of defenders to score a hat-trick, scoring each goal against a different Newcastle goalkeeper!. They ended the month in third place, four points behind leaders Liverpool but with a game in hand. There was still a chance of title glory.

May

The final Saturday of the league season saw the Hammers win 3–2 at doomed West Bromwich Albion, but on the same day Liverpool sealed the title by winning at Chelsea. West Ham's final match of the season would be a straight shoot-out for second place between them and Everton. The contest was won by Everton, who triumphed 3–1.

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. West Ham had the best home record of all teams in the First Division in the 1985–86 season. Of 21 games they won 17 and lost only two.

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) to continue for a second season. On a more positive note, West Ham held onto their key players 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.

League table

Main article: 1985–86 Football League#First Division

Results

West Ham United's score comes first

Football League First Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
17 August 1985	Birmingham City	A	0–1	11,164
20 August 1985	Queens Park Rangers	H	3–1	15,530	McAvennie (2), Dickens
24 August 1985	Luton Town	H	0–1	14,104
26 August 1985	Manchester United	A	0–2	50,773
31 August 1985	Liverpool	H	2–2	19,762	McAvennie (2)
3 September 1985	Southampton	A	1–1	14,477	McAvennie
7 September 1985	Sheffield Wednesday	A	2–2	19,287	McAvennie, Cottee
14 September 1985	Leicester City	H	3–0	12,125	McAvennie, Devonshire, Cottee
21 September 1985	Manchester City	A	2–2	22,001	Cottee, McCarthy (o.g.)
28 September 1985	Nottingham Forest	H	4–2	14,540	Cottee, McAvennie (2), Dickens
5 October 1985	Newcastle United	A	2–1	26,709	McAvennie, Cottee
12 October 1985	Arsenal	H	0–0	24,057
19 October 1985	Aston Villa	H	4–1	15,034	McAvennie (2), Cottee (2)
26 October 1985	Ipswich Town	A	1–0	16,849	Cottee
2 November 1985	Everton	H	2–1	23,844	McAvennie (2)
9 November 1985	Oxford United	A	2–1	13,140	Cottee, Ward
16 November 1985	Watford	H	2–1	21,490	McAvennie, Ward
23 November 1985	Coventry City	A	1–0	11,042	McAvennie
30 November 1985	West Bromwich Albion	H	4–0	16,325	Cottee, Parris, Devonshire, Orr
7 December 1985	Queens Park Rangers	A	1–0	23,836	McAvennie
14 December 1985	Birmingham City	H	2–0	17,481	McAvennie, Stewart (pen)
21 December 1985	Luton Town	A	0–0	14,599
26 December 1985	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–1	33,835
11 January 1986	Leicester City	A	1–0	11,359	McAvennie
18 January 1986	Liverpool	A	1–3	41,056	Dickens
2 February 1986	Manchester United	H	2–1	22,642	Ward, Cottee
15 March 1986	Arsenal	A	0–1	31,240
19 March 1986	Aston Villa	A	1–2	11,579	Hunt (o.g.)
22 March 1986	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1–0	16,604	McAvennie
29 March 1986	Chelsea	A	4–0	29,955	Devonshire, Cottee (2), McAvennie
31 March 1986	Tottenham Hotspur	H	2–1	27,497	Cottee, McAvennie
2 April 1986	Nottingham Forest	A	1–2	17,498	Cottee
8 April 1986	Southampton	H	1–0	22,459	Martin
12 April 1986	Oxford United	H	3–1	23,956	Trewick (o.g.), McAvennie, Stewart (pen)
15 April 1986	Chelsea	H	1–2	29,361	Cottee
19 April 1986	Watford	A	2–0	16,651	Cottee, McAvennie
21 April 1986	Newcastle United	H	8–1	24,735	Martin (3; 1 pen), Stewart, Orr, Roeder (o.g.), Goddard, McAvennie
26 April 1986	Coventry City	H	1–0	27,251	Cottee
28 April 1986	Manchester City	H	1–0	27,153	Stewart (pen)
30 April 1986	Ipswich Town	H	2–1	31,131	Dickens, Stewart (pen)
3 May 1986	West Bromwich Albion	A	3–2	17,651	McAvennie, Cottee, Stewart (pen)
5 May 1986	Everton	A	1–3	40,073	Cottee

FA Cup

Main article: 1985–86 FA Cup

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	5 January 1986	Charlton Athletic	A	1–0	13,037	Cottee
R4	25 January 1986	Ipswich Town	H	0–0	25,035
R4R	4 February 1986	Ipswich Town	A	1–1aet	25,384	Cottee
R4RR	6 February 1986	Ipswich Town	A	1–0aet	14,515	Cottee
R5	5 March 1986	Manchester United	H	1–1	26,441	McAvennie
R5R	9 March 1986	Manchester United	A	2–0	30,441	Pike, Stewart (pen)
R6	12 March 1986	Sheffield Wednesday	A	1–2	35,522	Cottee

League Cup

Main article: 1985–86 Football League Cup

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2 1st leg	24 September 1985	Swansea City	H	3–0	9,282	Cottee, McAvennie, Stewart (pen)
R2 2nd leg	8 October 1985	Swansea City	A	3–2 (won 6–2 on agg)	3,584	Stewart (2 pen), Cottee
R3	29 October 1985	Manchester United	A	0–1	32,057

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)	Players with 10+ appearances	Other players with 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 (Hammer of the Year)	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
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
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

(4 December 2005). "Mark Ward: 'When my career ended, I wound up with nothing. I'd never been in trouble before, now I'm serving eight years'". The Guardian.
"On this day – 13 June". whufc.com.
[http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=3446&united=17_Aug_1985 Game played on 17 Aug 1985]. Westhamstats.info (17 August 1985). Retrieved on 25 January 2013.
(31 August 1985). "Snapshot Tables 1985–1986 31 Aug West Ham United — West Ham United FC — Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk.
[http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=3447&united=20_Aug_1985 Game played on 20 Aug 1985]. Westhamstats.info (20 August 1985). Retrieved on 25 January 2013.
[http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=3450&united=31_Aug_1985 Game played on 31 Aug 1985]. Westhamstats.info (31 August 1985). Retrieved on 25 January 2013.
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[http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=3454&united=21_Sep_1985 Game played on 21 Sep 1985]. Westhamstats.info (21 September 1985). Retrieved on 25 January 2013.
[http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=3453&united=14_Sep_1985 Game played on 14 Sep 1985]. Westhamstats.info (14 September 1985). Retrieved on 25 January 2013.
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[http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=3455&united=24_Sep_1985 Game played on 24 Sep 1985]. Westhamstats.info (24 September 1985). Retrieved on 25 January 2013.
(28 September 1985). "Snapshot Tables 1985–1986 28 Sep West Ham United — West Ham United FC — Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk.
[http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=3458&united=08_Oct_1985 Game played on 8 Oct 1985]. Westhamstats.info (8 October 1985). Retrieved on 25 January 2013.
[http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=3457&united=05_Oct_1985 Game played on 5 Oct 1985]. Westhamstats.info (5 October 1985). Retrieved on 25 January 2013.
[http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=3460&united=19_Oct_1985 Game played on 19 Oct 1985]. Westhamstats.info (19 October 1985). Retrieved on 25 January 2013.
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(26 October 1985). "Snapshot Tables 1985–1986 26 Oct West Ham United — West Ham United FC — Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk.
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(30 November 1985). "Snapshot Tables 1985–1986 30 Nov West Ham United — West Ham United FC — Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk.
(26 December 1985). "Snapshot Tables 1985–1986 26 Dec West Ham United — West Ham United FC — Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk.
(18 January 1986). "Snapshot Tables 1985–1986 18 Jan West Ham United — West Ham United FC — Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk.
"Sheff Wed 2–1 West Ham". 11v11.com.
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"West Ham 2–1 Tottenham". 11v11.com.
(31 March 1986). "Snapshot Tables 1985–1986 31 Mar West Ham United — West Ham United FC — Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk.
"Martin treble in Newcastle rout". whufc.com.
(28 April 1986). "Snapshot Tables 1985–1986 28 Apr West Ham United — West Ham United FC — Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk.
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(3 May 1986). "Snapshot Tables 1985–1986 3 May West Ham United — West Ham United FC — Hammers Mad". Westhamunited-mad.co.uk.
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