With the Hammers still battling to avoid relegation this season, it’s time to look back at the last time the club went down…all the way back to 2011. West Ham United’s most recent relegation journey was a tale of crushing heartbreak, ebullient hope, abject terror, and, ultimately, unforgettable glory.
In short, it was an adventure that encapsulates all the emotions that make this sport so painful but also so beautiful. Without further ado, let’s dive into the enthralling, dramatic story.
What led to the drop
The 2010/11 campaign was simply one of the worst in the club’s modern history. The Hammers won just seven matches and lost 19; their 33 points are still their lowest total of the Premier League era. Under manager Avram Grant, they scored only 43 goals in 33 matches while conceding 70.
The season began with four losses and 12 goals conceded in those defeats. In fact, the Hammers won just once in their first 14 games.
By October, they were firmly entrenched at the bottom of the table. Then, in January 2011, they signed French-Senegalese striker Demba Ba from Hoffenheim. Hehe gave them an immediate boost. Beginning in February, West Ham won three of five matches to offer supporters a ray of hope.
Unfortunately, the collapse followed. The Hammers lost seven of their last eight games to end the season, finished dead last in the table, tumbled down to the Championship, and Avram Grant was out.
Burning it down and building it up
Immediately following the disastrous 2010/11 season, the board responded by appointing Sam Allardyce, aka “Big Sam,” as manager in June 2011. Allardyce had built a reputation as one of English football’s most reliable operators in terms of organization, discipline, and promotion campaigns.
Big Sam quickly got to work that summer, bringing in a slew of new players. First, he signed defender Abdoulaye Faye, midfielder Kevin Nolan, fullback/DMF Joey O'Brien, and DF/MF Matt Taylor. The first three had all played for him at his former club, Bolton Wanderers, and Taylor came over from Bolton after Allardyce was sacked.
He also signed striker John Carew from Stoke City on a free, along with defender George McCartney on loan from Sunderland, striker Sam Baldock from Milton Keynes Dons, and midfielder Papa Bouba Diop on a free from AEK Athens. On summer transfer deadline day, he brought in midfielders David Bentley from Spurs and Henri Lansbury from Arsenal on loans, as well as all-arounder Guy Demel from Hamburg.
It's quite a testament to Allardyce’s reputation that he was able to attract so much new talent while retaining the services of longtime West Ham favorites like midfielder Mark Noble, striker Carlton Cole, and keeper Robert Green.
A strong start to the season
From the very beginning of the 2011/12 season, Big Sam deftly integrated all the new faces with the veteran Hammers to form a cohesive unit. After losing to Cardiff in London in the opener, they won five of their next seven, including a seven-goal thriller against Portsmouth.
In October and November, West Ham again won five of seven to cement their place as a true promotion contender.
The March wobble
By early 2012, West Ham were in contention for first place in the Championship table. In the January transfer window, they brought in a Portuguese forward from Barnsley named Ricardo Vaz Te to bolster the squad. Little did anyone know at the time, but Vaz Te would go on to carve his name into Hammers history.
Of course, West Ham being West Ham, success and defeat came hand in hand for the remainder of 2012. Their promotion push waned during an exasperating stretch in March when the team recorded five draws on the trot.
The run of poor form enabled Reading and Southampton to close the gap. On March 31, Reading defeated West Ham 4-2 at Upton Park to overtake them in the table. Southampton also leapfrogged the Hammers, despite them winning three of their last four matches.
At the close of the 2011-12 season, West Ham sat third with 86 points, just two behind Southampton and three below Reading. Both rivals were automatically promoted. The Hammers were thrown into a playoff despite finishing 10 points ahead of fourth-place Birmingham.
Playoff drama
The playoffs for the one remaining promotion spot involved West Ham, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Blackpool. The Hammers’ run began against Cardiff, the club that beat them in their first match in the Championship.
In the first leg of their two-legged tie, West Ham cruised past the Bluebirds in Wales, 2-0, thanks to a brace from Jack Collison, who had been with the club since 2005. Back at Upton Park, a crowd of more than 34,000 watched West Ham advance to the playoff final with a 3-0 victory. The Hammers got goals from Nolan, Vaz Te, and Nicky Maynard. Collison landed in the hospital with a suspected dislocated shoulder, but he would return for the final.
A back-and-forth battle
Then it was off to Wembley to face Blackpool, who had beaten Birmingham 3-2 on aggregate. It would be West Ham’s first visit to Wembley since the 1981 Football League Cup Final.
Before a crowd of more than 78,000, Blackpool would come out firing, with Matt Phillips missing two chances. The score could easily have been 2-0 early on.
West Ham would take the lead later in the first half. In the 34th minute, Taylor lofted a perfect 20-yard pass to a streaking Cole, who took a marvelous first touch with a defender on his shoulder and knocked the ball past Blackpool keeper Matt Gilks for a 1-0 advantage.
Blackpool came right back just three minutes into the second half with a goal that looked almost exactly like the Hammers’ first score. Thomas Ince received a perfect 40-yard pass from Phillips and fired it past Robert Green to draw Blackpool level in the 48th minute.
Return to glory
The next 40 minutes of the match would see supporters from both sides chew their nails down to the quick. For West Ham, Taylor would clear a certain Blackpool goal from nearly off the line. Nolan would see his shot ricochet off the keeper’s glove and onto the crossbar.
Then, finally, in the 87th minute, the January transfer of Vaz Te would become legend. Nolan crossed the ball from the right wing into the Blackpool penalty area. Cole found the ball at his feet and drove toward Blackpool keeper Gilks, who would knock the ball away…right into the path of Vaz Te.
The sights and sounds of him scoring and ripping off his jersey to flex his Adonis-like physique in front of tens of thousands of screaming West Ham supporters will never be forgotten by those who witnessed it.
Epilogue
So after just one season in the Championship, the Hammers jumped right back into the top flight. As for Big Sam, only two years after winning the Championship playoff, he was seeing “Fat Sam Out” banners flying in East London. At the end of the 2014/15 season, his contract was not renewed after the Hammers finished 12th.
Vaz Te, too, saw an ignominious fall after his moment of glory. Over the next three seasons, he appeared in just 36 Premier League matches, scoring five goals. At the close of the 2014-15 campaign, his contract was terminated. He signed with Turkish side Akhisar Belediyespor.
