West Ham: The Boys of '86

West Ham are currently chasing a place in the Champions League. But they have a long way to go to match the excitement of their 1985/86 season.

It may have settled many a pub argument amongst players and supporters alike, but surely there is more to football than purely "medals on the table". As Rob Smyth points out in this brilliant article on the Danish national team of the 1980s: "Winning is for losers. Many of life's more interesting stories focus on those who didn't quite make it."

West Ham United may not have won any trophies in 1985/86. But the achievements of John Lyall's squad are still rightly celebrated at the club. No other West Ham league season has touched the heights of the 1985/86 campaign; the Boys of '86 were this close to lifting the Division One title.

There was nothing to suggest that Lyall's squad could challenge for the title at the start of the season. Promoted in emphatic style in 1980/81, the club finished in the top ten in three consecutive seasons, but slumped alarmingly in the latter half of 1984/85, winning two of their last three matches to stay in the division.

"West Ham, Coventry, Queens Park Rangers and Leicester City, each of whom flirted with danger last time, will be lucky if they all escape again," David Lacey wrote in his Guardian preview of the season. Predicting a tight race between Everton and Liverpool, Lacey could be excused for his rather lowly expectations surrounding the Hammers. 

With Paul Allen and Dave Swindlehurst departing in the summer, Lyall brought in two players. The talented wideman Mark Ward arrived from Oldham, and forward Frank McAvennie made the move down south from St Mirren. Fate would play a big role in McAvennie's part in West Ham's successful season.

On the brink of signing for Luton until chairman David Evans irritated McAvennie by slapping him on the back of the head and saying "Welcome to Luton", and Lyall moved swiftly to bring the Scot to Upton Park. Meeting the player in the early hours of the morning at Toddington service station, Lyall went the extra mile by later flying to Glasgow to sign McAvennie. 

McAvennie and Ward would be joining a talented squad. Goalkeeper Phil Parkes enjoyed a fine season, with penalty taker extraordinaire Ray Stewart at right back and left back duties shared between Steve Walford and George Parris. Tony Gale and skipper Alvin Martin formed a solid partnership at the heart of the back four.

Gale points to the fact that the return of the gifted Alan Devonshire in midfield was like a new signing. Out of league action for 20 months due to a persistent knee injury, Devonshire added class to the team. With Alan Dickens, Ward, Neil Orr (and later Geoff Pike), Lyall was blessed with a fine engine room.

But it would be the partnership between Cottee and McAvennie that made headlines. Again, destiny would play its part. Originally signing McAvennie to play in the hole behind strikers Cottee and Paul Goddard, Lyall was forced to change his plans after the opening day defeat at Birmingham. When Goddard dislocated his shoulder, McAvennie was moved up front and Dickens slotted into midfield.

It would be a lucky moment for Lyall. Not that it appeared that way after West Ham's poor start to the season. McAvennie would score twice on his home debut in a 3-1 win over QPR, but this would be the only win in the opening seven league matches. Three defeats in the opening four matches led to stern words in the dressing room.

Unbeknown to Lyall, the players got together for a frank exchange of views. With Cottee reminded of his defensive duties - "he was a lazy sod," to quote McAvennie - slowly the team clicked. A club record 18-match unbeaten run in the league unexpectedly hurtled the Hammers into a title race.

McAvennie was the flavour of those months, netting 17 league goals before Christmas (finishing with 26 in total). Not that the public in general knew much of the man. With the dispute between clubs and television bosses leading to a blackout of football on our screens, there was an air of mystery surrounding the new kid on the block.

Articles described how McAvennie had gone through a number of jobs before finding football - mechanic, painter and decorator, waiter, tarmac layer - and how he had a reputation for liking a disco and a drink. His appearance on Wogan in November 1985 introduced him to the wider public, and immediately opened doors for him in the celebrity world.

McAvennie's commitment could not be questioned. Missing his only league match due to Scotland's World Cup play-off in Australia, he arrived back in England on the morning of West Ham's away match at QPR, but phoned Lyall to say that he wanted to play. "To be fair, you were crap," Parkes said wryly on Sky's Time of Our Lives. "I know," McAvennie replied. But he scored the winner.

The victory at QPR was part of nine consecutive wins in the 18-match run between the end of August and Boxing Day. Cottee and McAvennie scored twice as Aston Villa were hammered 4-1; McAvennie claimed another brace in a 2-1 win over champions Everton, also scoring in 1-0 victories at Coventry and QPR; defensively the team were rock solid, Parkes going 559 minutes without conceding a goal during the run.

Frustratingly the sequence was halted at White Hart Lane, Steve Perryman's late goal separating the teams, but West Ham would still be in touch with leaders Manchester United at the turn of the year, who were slowly coming back to the pack after their run of ten consecutive wins at the start of the season.

And then came the big freeze during the winter of 1986. Playing just three league matches in January and February, West Ham became embroiled in an FA Cup marathon with Ipswich - witness the iffy playing surface in the second replay - as a fixture backlog started to build up. A league defeat at Anfield was at least followed up with a home win in front of the ITV cameras against Manchester United at Upton Park. But from March onwards, the schedule was relentless.

The start of March appeared to end hopes of a double. After defeating Manchester United in a replay - gaining revenge for the Milk Cup exit earlier in the season - a disappointing Sixth round defeat to Sheffield Wednesday killed any hopes of FA Cup success. Back to back league defeats to Arsenal and Aston Villa completed a terrible seven days.

With four games in hand on leaders Everton, the 15-point deficit could be retrieved. Revenge over Sheffield Wednesday and Tottenham, sandwiched either side of a stunning 4-0 win at Chelsea, restored hope. Defeat at Nottingham Forest - notable for a thundering free kick by Johnny Metgod - was a setback. But West Ham were still in the hunt with ten matches remaining.

After the Forest loss, the only other defeat in April was sn untimely second home defeat of the season against Chelsea. Southampton and Oxford were beaten at home; Cottee and McAvennie scored in a 2-0 win at Watford; Martin notched a hat-trick past three different goalkeepers in a crazy 8-1 win over Newcastle; narrow homes wins over Coventry, Manchester City and Ipswich kept the dream alive.

Going into the final Saturday of the season, there was a realistic chance of the title coming to Upton Park. A Liverpool win at Stamford Bridge would settle the matter, but a draw would rule out Everton, and hand West Ham an opportunity if they could beat West Brom away and a potentially disinterested Everton at Goodison Park on the following Monday. A Chelsea win could set up a title shootout between the two hunting down Liverpool.

Alas, it wasn't to be. Despite winning 3-2 at the Hawthorns, Liverpool's 1-0 victory at Chelsea saw them clinch the first part of the double. Rumours circulated that Liverpool's match had ended goalless, but Lyall had to inform his men that in fact the title dream had gone. "It was heart-breaking," McAvennie admitted. "I had never seen so many grown men crying."

West Ham lost 3-1 at Goodison Park on the Monday, thus missing out on second place. But for a set of players who had been getting through matches on adrenaline, the motivation simply wasn't there. "I didn’t want to play on that Monday because of the heartbreak, and many of us didn't," McAvennie revealed. 

Things would never be the same again for Lyall or West Ham. A lack of investment in the squad led to a disappointing 1986/87 campaign, and the club suffered relegation in 1989. Sacked shortly afterwards, it was a sad end to Lyall's 15-year spell in charge at the club.

But what an era it was for Lyall and West Ham. Two FA Cups, a European final, a League Cup final, and the greatest league season in the history of the club. The 1985/86 campaign may not have ended with the glittering prize for the Hammers. Yet the Boys of '86 wrote a story that will be passed down generations of West Ham fans for years to come.