WEST HAM UNITED
FOOTBALL PROGRAMMES &
Collectables through the Decade
theyflysohigh : Steve Marsh
A Pictorial History
1997-98 FA Carling Premiership
The first signing of the season was made when Israeli international midfielder Eyal Berkovic was purchased for a fee of £1.75 million. The first two games were won as the Hammers beat Barnsley 2–1 away and old rivals Tottenham 1–0 at home. In September there were mixed results; Newcastle won 1–0 at Upton Park followed by a poor 4–0 reverse at Arsenal. Both Hartson and Berkovic were on target in the 2–1 home victory against Liverpool and in the League Cup a hat-trick from Hartson saw Huddersfield Town beaten 3–0.
There was a flurry of transfer activity as Danny Williams went to Everton in a swap for defender David Unsworth, Danish defender Marc Rieper went to Celtic, while midfielder Michael Hughes joined Wimbledon. In their place West Ham signed defender Ian Pearce and winger Andy Impey.
In top form was John Hartson as he scored twice in the 3–0 League Cup win against Aston Villa. The away form was causing concern, with defeats at Leicester City, Chelsea and Leeds United. Young Frank Lampard scored a hat-trick as Walsall were knocked out of the League Cup 4–1 at Upton Park.
Striker Kitson was missing with a groin injury, which prompted the purchase of French forward Samassi Abou. Kitson returned from injury in December and scored the winning goals in victories over Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry City and Wimbledon. The Yorkshire non-league side Emley were the visitors in the FA Cup and were narrowly beaten 2–1. Days later the Hammers went out of the League Cup after losing 2–1 at home to Arsenal. At home to Barnsley Abou scored twice as the Yorkshire side were crushed 6–0.
Then the Irish pair Rowland and Dowie joined Queens Park Rangers in a swap deal for winger Trevor Sinclair, who scored twice on his Hammers debut against Everton. An in-form West Ham side then won 2–1 at Manchester City in the FA Cup and in the next round Blackburn Rovers were knocked out following a tense penalty shoot-out at Ewood Park. In March there were fine home wins against Chelsea and Leeds but the FA Cup game at home to Arsenal saw the Hammers this time lose on penalties.
A UEFA Cup place was looking likely until a 4–2 home defeat by Southampton was followed by a 5–0 thrashing at Liverpool. The final home game saw an exciting clash with Leicester City, with the Hammers winning 4–3. Former Hammer Tony Cottee was given a rousing welcome and repaid the ovation by scoring twice. An eighth-place finish was the Hammers highest finish in the Premier League.
Note:
Players in BOLD made their debuts for West Ham United
BARNSLEY
Oakwell
2 - 1 (Hartson, Lampard)
9 August 1997
Att: 18,667
Miklosko
Breacker (Lazaridis)
Potts
Rieper
Kitson (DAVID TERRIER)
Hartson
Lomas
Ferdinand
Moncur
Hughes
EYAL BERKOVIC (Lampard)
Frank Lampard gate-crashed Barnsley's opening day Premiership party as West Ham staged a late smash and grab raid. Lampard, son of the Hammers' former boss, had barely been on the field for a minute when he touched home a Michael Hughes cross 13 minutes from time.
It brought a sad end to a day which had started out so gloriously for Barnsley and the hoards of fans hoping to greet the dawn of a new era with a famous victory. After waiting 110 years for football among the game's elite, Barnsley set out their stall in sensational fashion following a rapturous welcome from the 19,000-strong crowd.
As the temperatures soared on one of the hottest days of the year, Barnsley warmed to their task and the Oakwell cauldron soon exploded when skipper Neil Redfearn grabbed the opener in the ninth minute. For the remainder of the half, Wilson's troops remained in control as the visitors were left with nothing but a series of long range shots to show for their efforts.
But within eight minutes of the restart it all went horribly wrong for Barnsley as Welsh international John Hartson, the saviour of manager Harry Redknapp's campaign last season, spared the London club's blushes again. Hartson, rose above a cluster of Barnsley defenders to head home into an empty net after keeper David Watson had needlessly raced off his line.
Watson almost handed West Ham the lead in the 58th minute when he failed to collect a simple Lazaridis cross delivered low from the left, but Hartson, seemingly caught unawares, failed to turn home the loose ball.
Within seconds Miklosko had raced out of his box to clear a long Barnsley through ball and this handed Hendrie the chance of a chip with the Czech keeper out of position, but his effort flew over the bar.
Then came the killer blow in the 77th minute after Lampard had been brought on just moments earlier for Israeli international Eyal Berkovic. Hughes delivered and Lampard flicked home with the outside of his right boot past the despairing dive of the helpless Watson to send Barnsley trudging off the field with the muted applause of the home fans to bring the curtain down on an unfortunate end to the day.
Barnsley:
Watson, Eaden, Moses, De Zeeuw, Hendrie, Redfearn, Wilkinson (Hristov), Bullock (Liddell), Shirtliff (Marcelle), Tinkler, Barnard.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Upton Park
2 - 1 (Berkovic, Hartson)
13 August 1997
Att: 25,354
Miklosko
Breacker
Lazaridis
Potts
Ferdinand
Rieper
Moncur (Lampard)
Berkovic
Kitson (Hughes)
Hartson (Dowie)
Lomas
The Hart versus the Sol. Rio versus Les. East versus North. You name the battle - Hammers won it! And from the very moment that John Hartson side-footed Stan Lazaridis' cross into the roof of the net with barely three minutes on the clock, there was only ever going to be one victor.
The Welshman's task was made that bit easier by Campbell's early retirement and, shortly afterwards, he forced Walker to tip over a point-blank header after Rieper nodded on one of those huge Lomas throws. Then, midway through the half, that well-rehearsed play saw the Tottenham goalie deny Kitson with a carbon copy save.
With Spurs held in a vice-like grip, the inventive and incisive Berkovic -who instantly bonded with the equally impressive Moncur - licked the base of a post as Hammers looked to seal it by the break. Apart from a couple of early Iversen efforts, the Tottenham target men had done little to ruffle the immaculate Rio and Co. But as the interval neared, the Norwegian's shot was brilliantly saved by Ludo who also produced another fantastic stop when Les Ferdinand at last shrugged off his younger cousin.
Early in the second half, Lomas diverted Breacker's cross wide, before seeing Kitson nod over another one of his massive throws. In between, though, the marauding midfielder was booked alongside the bemused Iversen after a mass shoving match saw the handbags flying following a skirmish between Berkovic and Carr.
By now, Hartson was struggling with a dodgy knee and it was left to the Hammers' impressive Israeli to land the knockout blow with 20 minutes left.
Once again, Lazaridis was the creator as he invited Berkovic to round Vega and clip an angled 10-yarder past Walker. Substitute Sinton set up Ferdinand for a simple slide-in with just minutes remaining and, although Clemence and Vega tested Ludo in the nervous nineties, Hammers held out for a deserved victory.
Tottenham Hotspur:
Walker, Edinburgh, Howells, Nielsen (Sinton), Ferdinand, Carr, Ginola, Vega, Scales, Iversen, Campbell (Clemence)
EVERTON
Upton Park
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COVENTRY CITY
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WIMBLEDON
Upton Park
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HUDDERSFIELD TOWN : Football League Cup (Second Round 1st leg)
Upton Park
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ARSENAL
Upton Park
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HUDDERSFIELD TOWN : Football League Cup (Second Round 2nd leg)
Upton Park
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SOUTHAMPTON
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ASTON VILLA : Football League Cup (Third Round)
Upton Park
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LEICESTER CITY
Upton Park
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CRYSTAL PALACE
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CHELSEA
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WALSALL: Football League Cup (Fourth Round)
Upton Park
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LEEDS UNITED
Upton Park
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ASTON VILLA
Upton Park
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CRYSTAL PALACE
Upton Park
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DERBY COUNTY
Upton Park
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SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
Upton Park
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BLACKBURN ROVERS
Upton Park
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COVENTRY CITY
Upton Park
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WIMBLEDON
Upton Park
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EMILEY : FA Cup (Third Round)
Upton Park
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ARSENAL : Football League Cup (Fifth Round)
Upton Park
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BARNSLEY
Upton Park
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TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Upton Park
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MANCHESTER CITY : FA Cup (Fourth Round)
Upton Park
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EVERTON
Upton Park
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NEWCASTLE UNITED
Upton Park
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BLACKBURN ROVERS : FA Cup (Fifth Round)
Upton Park
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BOLTON WANDERERS
Upton Park
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BLACKBURN ROVERS : FA Cup (Fifth Round Replay)
Upton Park
? - (?)
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Att:
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REPORT:
ARSENAL
Upton Park
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REPORT:
ARSENAL : FA Cup (Sixth Round)
Upton Park
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MANCHESTER UNITED
Upton Park
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REPORT:
CHELSEA
Upton Park
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REPORT:
ARSENAL : FA Cup (Sixth Round Replay)
Upton Park
? - (?)
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Att:
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REPORT:
LEEDS UNITED
Upton Park
? - (?)
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Att:
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REPORT:
ASTON VILLA
Upton Park
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REPORT:
DERBY COUNTY
Upton Park
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REPORT:
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
Upton Park
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REPORT:
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Upton Park
? - (?)
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Att:
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REPORT:
SOUTHAMPTON
Upton Park
? - (?)
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Att:
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REPORT:
LIVERPOOL
Upton Park
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REPORT:
CRYSTAL PALACE
Upton Park
? - (?)
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Att:
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REPORT:
LEICESTER CITY
Upton Park
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