West Ham kicked off the season without injured goalkeeper Phil Parkes in a drab 0–0 draw at home to Ipswich Town. At Southampton Paul Goddard scored twice and put the Hammers on the road to three successive wins. A bad 3–0 defeat at Chelsea caused a riot on the terraces and led to a government inquiry into hooliganism. Leicester City were beaten 3–1 at home, which took the side up to fifth.

Third Division Bristol City were beaten 8–3 on aggregate in the League Cup but the Hammers bowed out in the next round after losing 2–1 at home to Manchester City in a replay. A 5–1 thrashing at Manchester United was followed by good victories at Stoke and home to Arsenal. Goalkeeper Tom McAlister was proving an excellent deputy and Cottee and Goddard were looking sharp up front. December proved to be a poor month, with injuries to Bonds and Stewart and a run of five games without a win.

The FA Cup began with a Goddard hat-trick in the 4–1 home win against Port Vale, after which the Arctic weather took over with no further fixtures during January. February brought an FA Cup win over Norwich City and an exciting 2–2 home draw with Manchester United that left the side in thirteenth spot. In March the fifth-round FA Cup tie with Wimbledon saw Cottee score a hat-trick in a 5–1 replay victory, but days later the Hammers went out of the competition after losing 4–2 at Manchester United. Their league form then suffered badly with a 5–0 reverse at Watford and a 5–1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion. The Hammers were in trouble and relegation was looming until a late goal from Barnes was enough to beat Norwich 1–0 and a Billy Bonds-inspired side beat Stoke City 5–1. Injuries and poor home form summed up the campaign in which West Ham finished sixteenth.