2006–07 West Ham United F.C. season

West Ham United
2006–07 season
Chairman Eggert Magnússon
Manager Alan Pardew (until 11 December)
Alan Curbishley (from 13 December)
Stadium Boleyn Ground
FA Premier League 15th
FA Cup Fourth round
League Cup Third round
UEFA Cup First round
Top goalscorer Zamora (11)
Average home league attendance 34,719

During the 2006–07 English football season, West Ham United competed in the FA Premier League. They finished the season in 15th place.

Season summary

The team started the 2006-2007 campaign brightly, but slipped down the table due to off-field distractions. West Ham were knocked out from UEFA Cup by Italian Serie A side Palermo (0–1 and 0–3) and saw themselves dragged into the relegation zone.

Eventually an Icelandic consortium, led by Eggert Magnússon, bought the club on 26 November 2006.[1] Following a poor run of form leaving the club in 17th position (despite the signing of big name players like Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez, who both failed to perform to expectation for much of the season), the new owners sacked Alan Pardew,[2] replacing him with former West Ham player Alan Curbishley[3] who had recently ended a 15-year spell in charge of Charlton. Curbishley's first game was at home against Manchester United; West Ham won 1–0, but went on to draw at fellow relegation strugglers Fulham, get crushed 6–0 at newly promoted Reading and get knocked out of the FA Cup by rock bottom Premiership team Watford. An end-to-end thriller at home to Tottenham Hotspur ended with West Ham losing 4–3 after having been 3–2 in front with minutes to play, but the bright performance signified a change in form.

Former West Ham player Carlos Tevez

At the same time the signings of Mascherano and Tevez were being investigated by the Premier League, who were concerned that details regarding the transfers had been omitted from official records and whether or not the influence of MSI (led by Kia Joorabchian) breached Premier League rules regarding third party ownership of players (rules U.18 and B.13[4]) came into question. The media at this time touted the idea Tevez's contract could be terminated, possibly resulting in a deduction of points for playing an "ineligible" player (despite Premier League statements to the contrary).[5] On 27 April 2007, West Ham pleaded guilty and were handed a record £5.5 million fine by the Premier League, but avoided a points deduction. Liverpool's signing of Mascherano was investigated and he was cleared to play after a two-week delay.

Following the verdict, Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan threatened legal action, supported by other relegation threatened sides including Fulham and Sheffield United: "This is a very serious offence West Ham committed...They broke the law, told blatant lies and should have got a 10-point penalty. If we can sue West Ham or the Premier League, I am sure that will happen."[6] Wigan manager Paul Jewell suggested League officials had intimated they wished to see them relegated.

West Ham ultimately escaped relegation by winning seven of their last nine games, including a 1–0 win over Arsenal, and on the last day of the season, defeating newly crowned Premiership champions Manchester United 1–0 to finish outside the relegation zone in 15th.

Final league table

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Manchester United (C) 38 28 5 5 83 27+56 89 2007–08 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2 Chelsea 38 24 11 3 64 24+40 83
3 Liverpool 38 20 8 10 57 27+30 68 2007–08 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
4 Arsenal 38 19 11 8 63 35+28 68
5 Tottenham Hotspur 38 17 9 12 57 54+3 60 2007–08 UEFA Cup First round 1
6 Everton 38 15 13 10 52 36+16 58
7 Bolton Wanderers 38 16 8 14 47 525 56
8 Reading 38 16 7 15 52 47+5 55
9 Portsmouth 38 14 12 12 45 42+3 54
10 Blackburn Rovers 38 15 7 16 52 542 52 2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup Third round 2
11 Aston Villa 38 11 17 10 43 41+2 50
12 Middlesbrough 38 12 10 16 44 495 46
13 Newcastle United 38 11 10 17 38 479 43
14 Manchester City 38 11 9 18 29 4415 42
15 West Ham United 38 12 5 21 35 5924 41
16 Fulham 38 8 15 15 38 6022 39
17 Wigan Athletic 38 10 8 20 37 5922 38
18 Sheffield United (R) 38 10 8 20 32 5523 38 Relegation to League Championship
19 Charlton Athletic (R) 38 8 10 20 34 6026 34
20 Watford (R) 38 5 13 20 29 5930 28

Source: Barclays Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
For further information on European qualification see Premier League – Qualification for European competitions.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

1. Since the finalists of the 2006–07 FA Cup (Manchester United and Chelsea) and the League Cup winners (Chelsea) had already qualified for the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League through their Premier League positions, their 2007–08 UEFA Cup places were given to the sixth- and seventh-placed Premier League teams.

2.The highest-placed team who applied for the Intertoto Cup and not in an automatic UEFA Cup spot was awarded with a place in that competition. Blackburn Rovers occupied the Intertoto place, because Portsmouth and Reading did not apply.[7] A further place in the UEFA Cup was up for grabs via the Premiership Fair Play League. The winner is placed into a draw with the winners of Fair Play leagues in other countries. The representatives from the two countries that come out of the hat first are given a place in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round. Since the winners of the Premiership Fair Play League, Tottenham Hotspur, had already qualified for the UEFA Cup by virtue of their league position, their place in the Fair Play draw was given to Aston Villa. However, the places in the UEFA Cup were awarded to the representatives from Finland and Norway.

For further information on European qualification see Premier League – Competition.

Results

West Ham United's score comes first[8]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
19 August 2006 Charlton AthleticH3-134,937Zamora (2), Cole
22 August 2006 WatfordA1-118,344Zamora
26 August 2006 LiverpoolA1-243,965Zamora
10 September 2006 Aston VillaH1-134,576Zamora
17 September 2006 Newcastle UnitedH0-234,938
23 September 2006 Manchester CityA0-241,073
1 October 2006 ReadingH0-134,872
14 October 2006 PortsmouthA0-220,142
22 October 2006 Tottenham HotspurA0-136,162
29 October 2006 Blackburn RoversH2-133,833Sheringham, Mullins
5 November 2006 ArsenalH1-034,969Harewood
11 November 2006 MiddlesbroughA0-125,898
18 November 2006 ChelseaA0-141,916
25 November 2006 Sheffield UnitedH1-034,454Mullins
3 December 2006 EvertonA0-232,968
6 December 2006 Wigan AthleticH0-233,805
9 December 2006 Bolton WanderersA0-422,283
17 December 2006 Manchester UnitedH1-034,966Reo-Coker
23 December 2006 FulhamA0-022,452
26 December 2006 PortsmouthH1-234,913Sheringham
30 December 2006 Manchester CityH0-134,574
1 January 2007 ReadingA0-624,073
13 January 2007 FulhamH3-334,977Zamora, Benayoun (2)
20 January 2007 Newcastle UnitedA2-252,095Cole, Harewood
30 January 2007 LiverpoolH1-234,966Kepa
3 February 2007 Aston VillaA0-141,202
10 February 2007 WatfordH0-134,625
24 February 2007 Charlton AthleticA0-427,111
4 March 2007 Tottenham HotspurH3-434,966Noble, Tevez, Zamora
17 March 2007 Blackburn RoversA2-118,591Tevez (pen), Zamora
31 March 2007 MiddlesbroughH2-034,977Zamora, Tevez
7 April 2007 ArsenalA1-060,098Zamora
14 April 2007 Sheffield UnitedA0-331,593
18 April 2007 ChelseaH1-434,966Tevez
21 April 2007 EvertonH1-034,945Zamora
28 April 2007 Wigan AthleticA3-024,726Boa Morte, Benayoun, Harewood
5 May 2007 Bolton WanderersH3-134,404Tevez (2), Noble
13 May 2007 Manchester UnitedA1-075,927Tevez

FA Cup

Main article: 2006-07 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R36 January 2007 Brighton & Hove AlbionH3-032,874Noble, Cole, Mullins
R427 January 2007 WatfordH0-131,168

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R324 October 2006 ChesterfieldA1-27,787Harewood

UEFA Cup

Main article: 2006-07 UEFA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R1 First Leg 14 September 2006 PalermoH0–132,222
R1 Second Leg 28 September 2006 PalermoA0–3 (lost 0–4 on agg)19,284

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Northern Ireland GK Roy Carroll
2 Australia DF Lucas Neill
3 England DF Paul Konchesky
4 Wales DF Danny Gabbidon
5 England DF Anton Ferdinand
6 Northern Ireland DF George McCartney
7 Scotland MF Christian Dailly
8 England FW Teddy Sheringham
9 England FW Dean Ashton
10 England FW Marlon Harewood
11 England MF Matthew Etherington
12 England FW Carlton Cole
13 Portugal MF Luís Boa Morte
14 Ghana DF John Paintsil
15 Israel MF Yossi Benayoun
17 England MF Hayden Mullins
18 United States DF Jonathan Spector
No. Position Player
19 Wales DF James Collins
20 England MF Nigel Reo-Coker (captain)
21 England GK Robert Green
22 England MF Tony Stokes
23 England GK Jimmy Walker
24 England MF Mark Noble
25 England FW Bobby Zamora
26 England MF Shaun Newton
27 England DF Calum Davenport
28 England MF Kyel Reid
29 England MF Lee Bowyer
30 England DF James Tomkins
31 Czech Republic GK Marek Štěch
32 Argentina FW Carlos Tevez
33 Scotland MF Nigel Quashie[9]
35 England DF Matthew Upson
37 Spain FW Kepa (on loan from Sevilla)

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
2 England DF Tyrone Mears[10] (on loan to Derby County)
13 England GK Stephen Bywater (to Derby County)
13 Hungary GK Gábor Király (on loan from Crystal Palace)
No. Position Player
16 Argentina MF Javier Mascherano (to Liverpool)
27 England FW Hogan Ephraim (on loan to Colchester United)

References

  1. "West Ham accept £85m takeover bid", BBC news report, 21 November 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  2. "Pardew sacked as West Ham manager", BBC news report, 11 December 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  3. "Curbishley named West Ham manager", BBC news report, 13 December 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  4. Daily Mail article on fine.
  5. West Ham handed record £5.5m fine
  6. Whelan on Warpath
  7. Spurs win may harm Rovers' Intertoto chances
  8. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/west-ham-united/2006-2007/results
  9. Quashie was born in Southwark, London, England, and has represented England at U-21 and B-level, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally through his grandfather and made his international debut for Scotland in May 2004.
  10. Mears was born in Chadderton, England, but would represent Jamaica in an international friendly game in 2009 despite not being eligible to do so.
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