«Вест Хэм Юнайтед» маусымы 1985–86

1985–86 season of West Ham United

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 17 August 1985 Birmingham CityA0–111,164 20 August 1985 Queens Park RangersH3–115,530McAvennie (2), Dickens 24 August 1985 Luton TownH0–114,104 26 August 1985 Manchester UnitedA0–250,773 31 August 1985 LiverpoolH2–219,762McAvennie (2) 3 September 1985 SouthamptonA1–114,477McAvennie 7 September 1985 Sheffield WednesdayA2–219,287McAvennie, Cottee 14 September 1985 Leicester CityH3–012,125McAvennie, Devonshire, Cottee 21 September 1985 Manchester CityA2–222,001Cottee, McCarthy (o. g.) 28 September 1985 Nottingham ForestH4–214,540Cottee, McAvennie (2), Dickens 5 October 1985 Newcastle UnitedA2–126,709McAvennie, Cottee 12 October 1985 ArsenalH0–024,057 19 October 1985 Aston VillaH4–115,034McAvennie (2), Cottee (2) 26 October 1985 Ipswich TownA1–016,849Cottee 2 November 1985 EvertonH2–123,844McAvennie (2) 9 November 1985 Oxford UnitedA2–113,140Cottee, Ward 16 November 1985 WatfordH2–121,490McAvennie, Ward 23 November 1985 Coventry CityA1–011,042McAvennie 30 November 1985 West Bromwich AlbionH4–016,325Cottee, Parris, Devonshire, Orr 7 December 1985 Queens Park RangersA1–023,836McAvennie 14 December 1985 Birmingham CityH2–017,481McAvennie, Stewart (pen) 21 December 1985 Luton TownA0–014,599 26 December 1985 Tottenham HotspurA0–133,835 11 January 1986 Leicester CityA1–011,359McAvennie 18 January 1986 LiverpoolA1–341,056Dickens 2 February 1986 Manchester UnitedH2–122,642Ward, Cottee 15 March 1986 ArsenalA0–131,240 19 March 1986 Aston VillaA1–211,579Hunt (o. g.) 22 March 1986 Sheffield WednesdayH1–016,604McAvennie 29 March 1986 ChelseaA4–029,955Devonshire, Cottee (2), McAvennie 31 March 1986 Tottenham HotspurH2–127,497Cottee, McAvennie 2 April 1986 Nottingham ForestA1–217,498Cottee 8 April 1986 SouthamptonH1–022,459Martin 12 April 1986 Oxford UnitedH3–123,956Trewick (o. g.), McAvennie, Stewart (pen) 15 April 1986 ChelseaH1–229,361Cottee 19 April 1986 WatfordA2–016,651Cottee, McAvennie 21 April 1986 Newcastle UnitedH8–124,735Martin (3; 1 pen), Stewart, Orr, Roeder (o. g.), Goddard, McAvennie 26 April 1986 Coventry CityH1–027,251Cottee 28 April 1986 Manchester CityH1–027,153Stewart (pen) 30 April 1986 Ipswich TownH2–131,131Dickens, Stewart (pen) 3 May 1986 West Bromwich AlbionA3–217,651McAvennie, Cottee, Stewart (pen) 5 May 1986 EvertonA1–340,073Cottee

No. PlayerPositionLgeAppsLgeGlsFACAppsFACGlsLCAppsLCGlsTotalAppsTotalGlsDate SignedPrevious ClubWest Ham United F. C. 1985–86 First XI (Most appearances)1Phil ParkesGK427352 February 1979Queens Park Rangers2Ray StewartRB39661334810September 1979Dundee United3Steve WalfordLB273333 August 1983Norwich4Tony GaleCB427352 August 1983Fulham5Alvin Martin (Captain)CB40473504July 1976Academy6Alan DevonshireLM38363473October 1976Southall7Mark WardRM42373523August 1985Oldham Athletic8Frank McAvennieCF412671315128June 1985St Mirren9Alan DickensCM40 (1)47350 (1)41982Academy10Tony Cottee (Hammer of the Year)CF41 (1)20743251 (1)26September 1982Academy11Neil OrrCM33 (3)21 (1)337 (4)2January 1982MortonPlayers with 10+ appearances3George ParrisLB23 (3)170 (2)30 (5)11985Academy11Geoff PikeCM1051151September 1974AcademyOther players with appearances8Paul GoddardCF1 (5)10 (1)1 (6)1August 1980Queens Park Rangers5Paul HiltonCB22 1984Bury10Greg CampbellCF1 (2)1 (2) 1984Academy12Bobby BarnesCF0 (1)0 (1) 1980Academy12Steve PottsRB0 (1)0 (1) May 1984Academy