The 2014–15 season was West Ham Uniteds third campaign in the Premier League since being promoted in the 2011–12 season. It was West Ham's 19th Premier League campaign overall.
As well as competing in the Premier League, West Ham took part in the FA Cup and the League Cup entering at the third and second rounds respectively.
Sam Allardyce started his fourth full season as West Ham manager, with Kevin Nolan captaining the team for the fourth year. It was to be their penultimate season playing at the Boleyn Ground before moving to the Olympic Stadium for the start of the 2016–17 season.
West Ham got off to a very good start in the league. The team was 3rd in the Premier League table on Christmas Day but won just 3 matches between Boxing Day and the end of the season as their form collapsed dramatically and they finished in 12th place, one position higher than the previous season. Minutes after the last game of season- a 0–2 defeat away at Newcastle, the club announced that they would not be renewing manager Allardyce's contract.
Key events
23 May 2014: The release of players Joe Cole, Jack Collison, George McCartney, Callum Driver and Jordan Spence is announced. 28 May 2014: West Ham announce the signing of Argentine player Mauro Zárate from Vélez Sarsfield. 18 June 2014: Cheikhou Kouyaté signs from Belgian champions Anderlecht on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee. 3 July 2014: Left back Aaron Cresswell is signed from Ipswich Town on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee. 8 July 2014: Midfielder Diego Poyet, Charlton Athletic's Player of the Season for 2013–14, signs on a four-year contract. 29 July 2014: Ecuadorian Enner Valencia signs for an estimated £12 million fee from Mexican club Pachuca on a five-year contract. 31 July 2014: Carl Jenkinson of Arsenal is signed on a season-long loan. 14 August 2014: Senegalese forward, Diafra Sakho, is signed on a four-year contract from French club Metz for an undisclosed fee. 30 August 2014: Alex Song of Barcelona is signed on a season-long loan and becomes West Ham's eighth signing of the summer transfer window. 7 November 2014: Manager Sam Allardyce is named Manager of the Month and Diafra Sakho Player of the Month for October 2014. 28 November 2014: Both West Ham and Everton are fined £20,000 by the FA for failing to control their players, after an on-pitch brawl during the game at Goodison Park on 22 November. 3 January 2015: Doneil Henry, a Canada international defender, is signed for an undisclosed fee. 17 January 2015: Ricardo Vaz Tê has his contract with the club terminated. 8 February 2015: Ravel Morrison has his contract terminated with immediate effect. 18 February 2015: Nenê joins the club until the end of the season with an option on 2015–16. 6 May 2015: Aaron Cresswell is named Hammer of the Year.
Squad
First team squad Squad No. Name Nationality Position (s) Date of birth (age) Signed from Goalkeepers 13 Adrián GK Real Betis 22 Jussi Jääskeläinen GK Bolton Wanderers 34 Raphael Spiegel GK Grasshoppers Defenders 2 Winston Reid CB Midtjylland 3 Aaron Cresswell LB Ipswich Town 5 James Tomkins CB Academy 17 Joey O'Brien RB Bolton Wanderers 18 Carl Jenkinson RB Arsenal (On loan) 19 James Collins CB Aston Villa 20 Guy Demel CB Hamburg 32 Reece Burke CB Academy 33 Dan Potts LB Academy Midfielders 4 Kevin Nolan CM Newcastle United 7 Matt Jarvis LM Wolverhampton Wanderers 8 Cheikhou Kouyaté DM Anderlecht 11 Stewart Downing AM Liverpool 16 Mark Noble DM Academy 21 Morgan Amalfitano AM Marseille 23 Diego Poyet DM Charlton Athletic 30 Alex Song DM Barcelona (On loan) Forwards 9 Andy Carroll ST Liverpool 12 Nenê SS Free Agent 15 Diafra Sakho ST Metz 24 Carlton Cole ST Free Agent 31 Enner Valencia ST Pachuca
Squad statistics
No.Pos.NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalDisciplineAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssists2DF Winston Reid29+11020010032+1101003DF Aaron Cresswell38244000004224504MF Kevin Nolan19+10113+10000022+1111405DF James Tomkins20+21330100023+214607MF Matt Jarvis4+7002000006+700008MF Cheikhou Kouyaté30+14210000031+142509FW Andy Carroll12+25120200014+2532011MF Stewart Downing37684000+10041+1683013GK Adrián380040000042003115FW Diafra Sakho20+31021+11011022+41222016MF Mark Noble27+1234000+10031+2235017DF Joey O'Brien6+3000+2000006+5002018DF Carl Jenkinson29+30240000033+3022019DF James Collins21+60021000023+6106120DF Guy Demel3+3000+1001004+4000021MF Morgan Amalfitano14+10311+30100015+13324122GK Jussi Jääskeläinen0+1000001001+1000023MF Diego Poyet1+2000+1001003+2001024FW Carlton Cole8+15200+3100008+18303030MF Alex Song25+30330000028+3034031FW Enner Valencia25+74441010030+7542032DF Reece Burke4+1000001015+1010033DF Dan Potts00000010010000––Own goals–1–-0-–1–-2-––
Players who left the club during the season: No.Pos.NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalDisciplineAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssists12FW Ricardo Vaz Tê3+1000001005000021MF Mohamed Diamé0+3000001004000014MF Ravel Morrison0+1000001002001010FW Mauro Zárate5+2210000+10082110
Goalscorers
NamePremier LeagueFA CupLeague CupTotal1FW15Diafra Sakho1011122MF11Stewart Downing60063FW9Andy Carroll50053FW31Enner Valencia41055DF8Cheikhou Kouyaté40046MF21Morgan Amalfitano30036FW24Carlton Cole21038DF3Aaron Cresswell20028FW10Mauro Zárate20028MF16Mark Noble200211DF2Winston Reid100111MF4Kevin Nolan100111DF5James Tomkins100111DF19James Collins0101Own goals 1 0 0 1TOTALS444149
Disciplinary record {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 50%" |- ! rowspan="2" width=15px | ! rowspan="2" width=15px | ! rowspan="2" width=130px |Name ! colspan="3" width=50px |Premier League ! colspan="3" width=50px |FA Cup ! colspan="3" width=50px |League Cup ! colspan="3" width=50px |Total |- ! style="width:25px; background:#fe9;"| ! style="width:28px; background:#ff8888;"| ! style="width:25px; background:#ff8888;"| ! style="width:25px; background:#fe9;"| ! style="width:28px; background:#ff8888;"| ! style="width:25px; background:#ff8888;"| ! style="width:25px; background:#fe9;"| ! style="width:28px; background:#ff8888;"| ! style="width:25px; background:#ff8888;"| ! style="width:25px; background:#fe9;"| ! style="width:28px; background:#ff8888;"| ! style="width:25px; background:#ff8888;"| |- | 1 | 19 |align=left| James Collins |3 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |3 |1 |0 |- | 2 | 2 |align=left| Winston Reid |5 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |5 |0 |0 |- | 3 | 5 |align=left| James Tomkins |4 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |4 |0 |0 |- | 4 | 3 |align=left| Aaron Cresswell |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |2 |0 |0 |- | 4 | 8 |align=left| Cheikhou Kouyaté |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |2 |0 |0 |- | 4 | 13 |align=left| Adrián |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |2 |0 |0 |- | 4 | 17 |align=left| Joey O'Brien |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |2 |0 |0 |- | 4 | 30 |align=left| Alex Song |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |2 |0 |0 |- | 9 | 14 |align=left| Ravel Morrison |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |- | 9 | 15 |align=left| Diafra Sakho |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |- | 9 | 18 |align=left| Carl Jenkinson |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |- | 9 | 21 |align=left| Morgan Amalfitano |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |- !colspan=3|Total ! 21 !! 1 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 1 !! 0 !! 0 !! 22 !! 1 !! 0
Coaching staff
Pre-season West Ham played their first ever games in the country, on a pre-season tour of New Zealand. In July 2014 they played Wellington Phoenix at Eden Park, Auckland on 23 July and Sydney FC at Wellington's Westpac Stadium on 26 July. While in the country, the squad met with a huge fan base, including many from Australia-based supporters group Sydney Hammers. They also competed in the pre-season 2014 Schalke 04 Cup in August in Germany. Other teams competing were Newcastle United, Schalke 04 and Málaga.
On 28 June, it was announced that West Ham would participate in the inaugural Absolute Sports Travel Cup hosted by Football League Two side Cambridge United. They along with the hosts were joined by La Liga side Espanyol and Ukrainian Premier League side Shakhtar Donetsk. The fixtures for the pre-season tournament were released on 2 July, West Ham would face Shakhtar Donetsk on 19 July and Espanyol on 20 July.
Absolute Sports Travel Cup
Football United Tour
RankTeamWin (3)Loss (0)Goals forGoals ag.Differ.Points1 Newcastle United2 0 5 0 +5 62 Wellington Phoenix1 1 2 2 0 33 Sydney FC1 1 3 5 -2 34 West Ham United0 2 2 5 -3 0
Schalke 04 Cup Matches were played over 90 minutes, with no added time. If the scores were level, then a penalty shoot-out would determine the winner, gaining two points in the process. Winners within 90 minutes received three points. West Ham were successful from the spot in their first meeting against Schalke 04 but were beaten within 90 minutes by La Liga side Málaga, 2–0.
RankTeamWin (3)Pk win (2)Pk loss (0)Loss (0)Goals forGoals ag.Differ.Points1 Málaga2 0 0 0 5 1 +4 62 Newcastle United1 0 0 1 4 4 0 33 West Ham United0 1 0 1 0 2 -2 24 Schalke 040 0 1 1 1 3 -2 0
Marathonbet Cup West Ham faced Italian Serie A side Sampdoria in their final pre-season friendly at the Boleyn Ground. They found themselves 0–1 down approaching half time, but a Mark Noble penalty made it 1–1. A fine individual goal from Mohamed Diamé levelled the game at 2–2 in the second half before the winner in the 90th minute, courtesy of youngster Reece Burke.
Competitions
Premier League
August
West Ham opened the season at home to Tottenham Hotspur, whom they defeated three times last season in all competitions. It was an eventful game, seeing Mark Noble miss a penalty for the first time since 2009. Both sides went down to ten men after James Collins picked up two yellow cards, whilst Kyle Naughton saw straight red for handling the ball in the penalty area. Eric Dier scored his first competitive goal for Spurs in stoppage time to pick up all three points for the North London club. Next up for the Hammers was an away trip to managerless Crystal Palace. Mauro Zárate hit a spectacular volley to register his first West Ham goal and there were also goals from Stewart Downing and Carlton Cole. Senegalese player Diafra Sakho and Diego Poyet, son of Gus, also made their debuts. Southampton was the next challenge and the last game before the international break. The club unveiled Barcelona and Cameroon midfielder Alex Song before kick off, who joined for a season-long loan. Mark Noble put West Ham a goal up before half time but Southampton scored two second half goals to take all three points back to the South Coast. They finished the month in 11th place.
September West Ham played Hull City in their first game during September. A 2–2 draw at the KC Stadium produced a debut goal for Enner Valencia and club debut's for Carl Jenkinson, Morgan Amalfitano and Alex Song. The club's second win of the season came at home to Liverpool. Morgan Amalfitano scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win. Despite captain Wayne Rooney seeing red, West Ham could not overcome the ten men of Manchester United, losing 2–1.
October The first of a three-game winning streak came at home against struggling QPR in a 2–0 win that saw the club move up to seventh. Diafro Sakho scored his third consecutive league goal. A second-straight win came against promoted side Burnley. Sakho scored his fourth consecutive league goal and helped move West Ham to fourth in the table on the eve of Sam Allardyce's 60th birthday. West Ham secured their third-straight win and a 100% win rate for October in a 2–1 home win against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City. Sakho scored his fifth consecutive league goal and his sixth in a row in all competitions, breaking a club record.
November