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 West Ham started the 2006–07 campaign brightly, but slipped down the table due to off-field distractions. They were knocked out from UEFA Cup by the Italian Serie A side Palermo (4–0 on aggregate) and saw themselves dragged into the relegation zone.
Eventually an Icelandic consortium led by Eggert Magnússon bought the club on 26 November 2006. "West Ham accept £85m takeover bid", BBC news report, 21 November 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2007. Following a poor run of form that left the club in 17th position, despite the signing of big name players Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez, the new owners sacked Alan Pardew, "Pardew sacked as West Ham manager", BBC news report, 11 December 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2007. replacing him with former West Ham player Alan Curbishley"Curbishley named West Ham manager", BBC news report, 13 December 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2007. who had recently ended a 15-year spell in charge of Charlton Athletic. West Ham won Curbishley's first game 1–0 at home against Manchester United, but went on to draw at fellow relegation strugglers Fulham, were crushed 6–0 at newly promoted Reading and were knocked out of the FA Cup by the bottom Premiership team, Watford. An end-to-end thriller at home to Tottenham Hotspur ended with West Ham losing 4–3 having been 3–2 in front with minutes to play, but the bright performance signified a change in form.
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 the influence of MSI, led by Kia Joorabchian, breached Premier League rules regarding third party ownership of players. The media touted the idea that Tevez's contract could be terminated, possibly resulting in a deduction of points for playing an ineligible player.West Ham handed record £5.5m fine 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's chairman Dave Whelan threatened legal action, supported by other relegation-threatened sides including Fulham and Sheffield United, saying "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."Whelan on Warpath Wigan's manager Paul Jewell suggested League officials had intimated they wished to see them relegated.
In a period that came to be known by the club's fans as "The Great Escape", West Ham avoided 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 the Premiership champions Manchester United 1–0 (becoming the first team in the Premier League era to complete league doubles over Arsenal and Manchester United in the same season) to finish outside the relegation zone in 15th. Sheffield United, who were relegated, later sued West Ham for up to £30m, and an FA arbitration panel found in their favour. The two clubs settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in 2009.
Final league table
Squad
Left club during season
Results
Premier League
League Cup
FA Cup
UEFA Cup
Statistics
Overview CompetitionRecord Premier League FA Cup League Cup UEFA Cup Total
Goalscorers NamePremier LeagueFA CupLeague CupUEFA CupTotal1ST25Bobby Zamora11000112ST32Carlos Tevez700073ST10Marlon Harewood301044ST12Carlton Cole21003MF15Yossi Benayoun30003MF17Hayden Mullins21003MF24Mark Noble210038ST8Teddy Sheringham200029MF13Luis Boa Morte10001MF20Nigel Reo-Coker10001ST37Kepa Blanco10001Totals3531039
League position by matchday
Appearances and goals
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
Transfers
In DatePos.NameFromFee8 June 2006MF Lee Bowyer Newcastle UnitedUndisclosed15 June 2006DF Jonathan Spector Manchester United£500,0005 July 2006ST Carlton Cole ChelseaUndisclosed6 July 2006DF Tyrone Mears Preston North End£1m1 August 2006DF John Paintsil Hapoel Tel Aviv£1m8 August 2006DF George McCartney Sunderland£1m16 August 2006GK Robert Green Norwich City£2m31 August 2006MF Javier Mascherano CorinthiansUndisclosedST Carlos Tevez31 August 2006GK Marek Štěch Sparta PragueUndisclosed18 November 2006GK Gábor Király Crystal PalaceLoan5 January 2007MF Luis Boa Morte Fulham£5m9 January 2007MF Nigel Quashie West Bromwich Albion£1.75m18 January 2007DF Calum Davenport Tottenham HotspurUndisclosed22 January 2007DF Lucas Neill Blackburn RoversUndisclosed22 January 2007ST Kepa Blanco SevillaLoan31 January 2007DF Matthew Upson Birmingham City£7.5m
Out
DatePos.NameToFee14 June 2006ST Yaniv Katan Maccabi HaifaLoan16 June 2006DF Elliott Ward Coventry City£1m1 July 2006GK Stephen Bywater Derby CountyUndisclosed1 July 2006GK Shaka Hislop FC DallasFree1 July 2006DF Trent McClenahan Hereford UnitedFree1 July 2006DF Chris Cohen Yeovil TownFree1 July 2006MF Sekou Baradji ToursFree1 July 2006ST Petr Mikolanda Mladá BoleslavFree29 July 2006MF Carl Fletcher Crystal Palace£400,0008 August 2006DF Clive Clarke Sunderland£400,00018 August 2006MF Mark Noble Ipswich TownLoan31 January 2007MF Javier Mascherano LiverpoolUndisclosed31 January 2007DF Tyrone Mears Derby CountyLoan10 March 2007MF Shaun Newton Leicester CityLoan
References