1976–77 West Ham United F.C. season

West Ham United
1976–77 season
ChairmanReg Pratt
ManagerJohn Lyall & Ron Greenwood
StadiumBoleyn Ground
First Division17th
FA CupFourth round
League CupFourth round
Top goalscorerLeague: Pop Robson (14)
All: Pop Robson (14)
Highest home attendance32,079 (vs Derby County, 7 May 1977)
Lowest home attendance17,889 (vs Barnsley, 1 September 1976)
Average home league attendance26,015

West Ham United narrowly escaped relegation by finishing 17th in the First Division in the 1976–77 season.

Season summary

Although West Ham ended their run of seven months without a League victory in August 1976 by beating Queens Park Rangers, they dropped to the bottom of the table after failing to win any of their other first twelve League games. At the start of April 1977, they still occupied last place, but after a succession of draws they beat Manchester United 4–2 at Upton Park[1] in their last fixture to avoid relegation by two points, having lost just one of their last thirteen matches. Perversely, many of their better performances came against teams towards the top of the table: as well as doing a League double over Manchester United, they took three points off the champions Liverpool and also beat Arsenal at Highbury and Manchester City at home. Pop Robson, who had re-signed for the club from Sunderland, was their top scorer with 14 goals.[2]

West Ham also struggled in the cups, and they were convincingly beaten by Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

League table

Main article: 1976–77 Football League § First Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
15 Derby County 42 9 19 14 50 55 −5 37
16 Norwich City 42 14 9 19 47 64 −17 37
17 West Ham United 42 11 14 17 46 65 −19 36
18 Bristol City 42 11 13 18 38 48 −10 35
19 Coventry City 42 10 15 17 48 59 −11 35
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

Results

Football League First Division

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
21 August 1976 Aston Villa A 0–4 39,012
23 August 1976 Queens Park Rangers H 1–0 31,668 Paddon
28 August 1976 Leicester City H 0–0 24,960
4 September 1976 Stoke City H 1–2 19,131 A Taylor
11 September 1976 Arsenal H 0–2 31,965
18 September 1976 Bristol City A 1–1 28,932 A Taylor
25 September 1976 Sunderland H 1–1 24,319 Jennings
2 October 1976 Manchester City A 2–4 37,795 A Taylor, Doyle (o.g.)
6 October 1976 Leeds United H 1–3 21,909 Jennings
16 October 1976 Ipswich Town H 0–2 24,534
23 October 1976 Everton A 2–3 23,163 McNaught (o.g.), Bonds
30 October 1976 West Bromwich Albion A 0–3 19,856
6 November 1976 Tottenham Hotspur H 5–3 28,997 P Robson, Bonds, Jennings, Brooking, Curbishley
10 November 1976 Norwich City A 0–1 24,762
20 November 1976 Newcastle United A 1–2 21,324 P Robson
27 November 1976 Manchester United A 2–0 55,366 Brooking, Jennings
4 December 1976 Middlesbrough H 0–1 20,184
18 December 1976 Liverpool H 2–0 24,175 Brooking, Jennings
27 December 1976 Birmingham City A 0–0 39,978
1 January 1977 Tottenham Hotspur A 1–2 44,972 Brooking
3 January 1977 West Bromwich Albion H 0–0 25,236
22 January 1977 Aston Villa H 0–1 27,577
5 February 1977 Leicester City A 0–2 16,201
12 February 1977 Stoke City H 1–0 20,160 P Robson
19 February 1977 Arsenal A 3–2 38,221 A Taylor (2), Jennings
26 February 1977 Bristol City H 2–0 29,713 Bonds (pen), Jennings
5 March 1977 Sunderland A 0–6 35,357
12 March 1977 Manchester City H 1–0 24,974 P Robson
22 March 1977 Ipswich Town A 1–4 27,315 P Robson (pen)
2 April 1977 Everton H 2–2 22,518 P Robson (2)
4 April 1977 Queens Park Rangers A 1–1 24,930 P Robson
8 April 1977 Birmingham City H 2–2 28,167 Jennings, Pike
9 April 1977 Coventry City A 1–1 15,816 P Robson
11 April 1977 Norwich City H 1–0 27,084 Pike
16 April 1977 Newcastle United A 0–3 30,967
20 April 1977 Derby County A 1–1 21,380 Pike (pen)
26 April 1977 Leeds United A 1–1 16,891 P Robson
29 April 1977 Middlesbrough A 1–1 16,500 P Robson
4 May 1977 Coventry City H 2–0 25,461 P Robson, Pike (pen)
7 May 1977 Derby County H 2–2 32,079 Pike, Jennings
14 May 1977 Liverpool A 0–0 55,675
16 May 1977 Manchester United H 4–2 29,311 Lampard, Pike, P Robson (2)

FA Cup

Main article: 1976–77 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 8 January 1977 Bolton Wanderers H 2–1 24,147 Jennings, Pike
R4 29 January 1977 Aston Villa A 0–3 46,954

League Cup

Main article: 1976–77 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R2 1 September 1976 Barnsley H 3–0 17,889 Holland (2), Paddon
R3 21 September 1976 Charlton Athletic A 1–0 32,898 A Taylor
R4 27 October 1976 Queens Park Rangers H 0–2 24,565

Players

Player Pos Lge Apps Lge Gls FAC Apps FAC Gls LC Apps LC Gls Date Signed Previous Club
First Team
England Mervyn Day GK 42 2 3 1973 Academy
England Frank Lampard LB 36 1 2 1 1967 Academy
England Billy Bonds (Capt) CM 41 3 2 3 1967 Charlton Athletic
England Bill Green CH 22 2 2 1976 Carlisle United
England Tommy Taylor D 36 2 3 1970 Leyton Orient
England Kevin Lock CH 25 (1) 2 2 1971 Academy
England Alan Devonshire LM 27 (1) 3 1 1976 Southall
England Billy Jennings F 27 (4) 9 2 1 2 1974 Watford
England Trevor Brooking CM 42 4 2 3 1967 Academy
England Pop Robson CF 30 14 2 1976 Sunderland
England Alan Taylor CF 24 (1) 5 1 2 1 1974 Rochdale
Other Players
England Johnny Ayris RW 1 (2) 1970 Academy
England Keith Coleman RB 12 (1) 2 1973 Sunderland
England Alan Curbishley M 8 (2) 1 1 1 1974 Academy
England Pat Holland M 6 1 2 1969 Academy
England Mick McGiven CH 15 (1) 2 1973 Sunderland
Cyprus Yılmaz Orhan F 1 (2) 1 1975 Aveley
England Anton Otulakowski M 10 (2) 1976 Barnsley
England Graham Paddon M 12 1 3 1 1973 Norwich City
England Geoff Pike M 20 6 1 1 1975 Academy
England John Radford M 18 1 1976 Arsenal
England Keith Robson W 7 (2) 1 1974 Newcastle United

References

  1. ^ "West Ham celebrate in 1977". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  2. ^ Helliar, John (2009). West Ham United: The Elite Era (4th ed.). Bodmin & King's Lynn: MPG Books Group. ISBN 978-1-905328-68-0.