The pre-season new signings brought expectancy of an exciting season. Central defender Richard Hall arrived for £1.9 million, a free transfer saw the Portuguese superstar Paulo Futre join from AC Milan and a club record fee of £2.4 million was paid for the Romanian international forward Florin Raducioiu. Unfortunately there were many injuries in the pre-season matches and the early league results were poor. Both Romanian forwards, Dumitrescu and Raducioiu, were finding it difficult to adjust to the demands of the Premier League.

The League Cup brought a 2–1 aggregate victory over Barnet and another signing was made with the acquisition of forward Hugo Porfirio on loan from Sporting Lisbon. Results improved, with league wins over Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers and a 4–1 home win in the League Cup against Nottingham Forest. Dicks and Bilic were superb at the heart of the defence but a striker was needed to convert the chances. Centre-forward Iain Dowie had a night to forget in the League Cup at Stockport County – he headed an own goal and then broke his ankle in a tie which saw the Hammers beaten 2–1. During December and January there was only one win and further misery came when Second Division Wrexham knocked the Hammers out of the FA Cup after winning 1–0 at Upton Park.

Now out of both cup competitions and eighteenth in the league, the fans were getting frustrated. Manager Harry Redknapp then signed two quality forwards in Paul Kitson and John Hartson, and there was an immediate effect as Tottenham were beaten 4–3, Kitson scored twice against Chelsea in a 3–2 win and two goals from Hartson at Coventry saw the Hammers win 3–1. The pair finally rescued West Ham from relegation when a hat-trick from Kitson and two goals from Hartson gave West Ham a 5–1 home victory against Sheffield Wednesday. The season ended with Slaven Bilic being sold to Everton for a decent fee of £4.5 million; waiting to replace him was young Rio Ferdinand – a star of the future.