There were two new faces in the Hammers side as they kicked off the season away to Norwich City. Inside-forward Peter Simpson had arrived from Crystal Palace and goalkeeper Vince Blore came from Derby County. The Hammers scored three times at Norwich but conceded four, with Blore having a nightmare debut. Dave Mangnall was brought in for the visit of Nottingham Forest and obliged with a hat-trick in a 5–2 victory. By the end of September there had been five defeats in eight games and both new boys lost their place in the side. Mangnall then went on a scoring spree, scoring nine goals in nine games as the Hammers climbed the table.

At home both Swansea Town and Port Vale were beaten 4–0 while Hull City suffered a 4–1 defeat. On Boxing Day there was a good 4–2 win at Southampton, with Mangnall scoring twice, and two days later he scored another hat-trick in a 3–2 home win against Norwich City.

There was a shock in the FA Cup as Third Division Luton Town knocked the Hammers out, winning 4–0 in a replay at Kenilworth Road. The league results were good, however, with six successive wins after Boxing Day including a 6–0 home win over Bury, where Harry Lewis claimed a hat-trick. In March there was a narrow 2–1 defeat to champions elect Manchester United, but this was followed up by two excellent victories.

Before a crowd of 57,417 Spurs were beaten 3–1 at White Hart Lane and a week later Newcastle United were thrashed 4–1 at the Boleyn Ground. The final home game of the season against Charlton Athletic saw both teams with 50 points, with Charlton in second place and the Hammers just below in third. This crucial clash attracted an attendance of 41,254 to the ground. On the day Charlton proved to be the better team, winning 3–1 and going on to gain promotion. For West Ham, finishing fourth had been a good achievement and the 39 goals scored away from home could not be bettered by any other team in the Football League.