During the 2005–06 season, West Ham United competed in the FA Premier League, following promotion from the Football League Championship the previous season.
Season summary West Ham had barely scraped into the top six of the Championship the previous season before gaining promotion via the play-offs, so few gave the Hammers much hope of Premiership survival. However, West Ham surprised their naysayers to stand fourth at the end of October after 11 points from their opening six games. A run of mediocre form saw West Ham fall to tenth, before a run of five straight wins between January and February, including a 3–2 win at Arsenal, which saw the Hammers become the last side to beat Arsenal at Highbury, saw them rise to sixth. Alan Pardew won the Manager of the Month award for February. Several more good results, including a 2–1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the season that denied the North London side Champions League qualification, saw West Ham finish in ninth, above Everton, Middlesbrough and Manchester City.
West Ham's best form came in the FA Cup, where they overcame Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Middlesbrough to reach the FA Cup final – their first since 1980 – against a Liverpool side that were the reigning European champions and finished third in the Premiership. In spite of the odds, West Ham took a 2–0 lead within the first half-hour and also led 3–2 before a Steven Gerrard equalised at the end of normal time. Extra time proved goalless and a penalty shoot-out was required. Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who had made several errors in the match, saved from Bobby Zamora, Paul Konchesky and Anton Ferdinand to give Liverpool a 3–1 win. However, as Liverpool had already qualified for the Champions League, West Ham qualified for the UEFA Cup.
Final league table
First-team squad Squad at end of season
Left club during season
Results
Premier League
Results per matchday
League Cup
FA Cup
Statistics
Overview CompetitionRecord Premier League FA Cup League Cup Total
Goalscorers NamePremier LeagueFA CupLeague CupTotal1ST10Marlon Harewood1420162ST25Bobby Zamora622103ST8Teddy Sheringham6107Own goals40045ST9Dean Ashton33066MF15Yossi Benayoun5005MF20Nigel Reo-Coker50058MF11Matthew Etherington21039DF3Paul Konchesky1102DF5Anton Ferdinand2002DF19James Collins200212MF6Carl Fletcher1001DF7Christian Dailly0011MF17Hayden Mullins0101ST20David Bellion0011MF26Shaun Newton1001Totals5214466
Appearances and goals
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
Transfers
In DatePos.NameFromFee5 July 2005DF Paul Konchesky Charlton Athletic£2m5 July 2005DF Danny Gabbidon Cardiff City£4.5mThe £4.5m to Cardiff City was a joint fee for both Daniel Gabbidon and James CollinsDF James Collins7 July 2005ST Petr Mikolanda Viktoria ŽižkovUndisclosed19 July 2005MF Yossi Benayoun Racing Santander£2.5M29 July 2005GK Shaka Hislop PortsmouthFree1 August 2005DF Clive Clarke Stoke City£275,00031 August 2005MF Sekou Baradji LensUndisclosed1 January 2006ST Yaniv Katan Maccabi HaifaUndisclosed23 January 2006ST Dean Ashton Norwich City£7.25m
Out
DatePos.NameToFee1 June 2005DF Andy MelvilleRetired7 June 2005ST Serhii Rebrov Dynamo KyivFree22 June 2005DF Rufus Brevett Plymouth ArgyleFree22 June 2005ST Greg Pearson Rushden & DiamondsUndisclosed11 July 2005DF Chris Powell Charlton AthleticFree5 August 2005MF Don Hutchison MillwallFree19 August 2005DF Malky Mackay WatfordFree31 August 2005MF Steve Lomas Queens Park RangersFree14 October 2005ST Youssef Sofiane Coventry CityFree4 January 2006MF Luke Chadwick Stoke City£100,00011 January 2006ST Moses Ashikodi RangersFree23 January 2006DF Tomáš Řepka Sparta PragueFree
Loan In DatePos.NameFromLength17 August 2005ST David Bellion Manchester UnitedFull Season (ended 9 January 2006)25 August 2005ST Jérémie Aliadière ArsenalFull Season (ended 31 January 2006)1 February 2006DF Lionel Scaloni Deportivo La CoruñaUntil end of season
Loan Out DatePos.NameToLength3 August 2005GK Stephen Bywater Coventry CityUntil December4 August 2005MF Luke Chadwick Stoke CitySix Months15 August 2005ST Moses Ashikodi GillinghamUntil December31 August 2005MF Sekou Baradji ReadingSix Months7 November 2005DF Chris Cohen Yeovil TownOne Month8 November 2005MF Gavin Williams Ipswich TownOne Month3 January 2006DF Trent McClenahan MK DonsUntil end of season31 January 2006ST Petr Mikolanda Rushden & DiamondsUntil end of season
References