West Ham United Season 2005-2006

PREMIER LEAGUE/COCA COLA CUP/FA CUP
= Dublin Hammers Meeting (Live on television). LP = League Position.

JULY 2005

PRE SEASON TOUR OF SWEDEN.
Falkenbergs FF (a). 3-1. (harewood x2, zamora).
Trollhattens IF (a). 3-0. (fletcher, zamora, sheringham).
Vastra Frolunda (a). 3-0. (mikolanda x2, og).

FRIENDLY
Yoevil Town (a). 2-2. (mikolanda, zamora).

CUP WINNERS CUP 40th ANNIVERSARY.
1860 Munich (a). 1-1. (harewood).

FRIENDLIES
Crystal Palace (a). 1-0. (etherington).
Den Hagg (a). 1-1. (zamora).
Osasuna (h). 1-1. (ferdinand).

AUGUST 2005

13th Blackburn Rovers (h). 3-1. (sheringham, reo-coker, etherington). LP:1st
"Their premiership return began with a spine-tingling rendition of I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles", "Pedersen's low outswinging corner bobbled through a platoon of bodies before Andy Todd turned to roll a slow-motion daisy cutter into Carroll's net", "West Ham continued to pour forwards. The tireless Benayoun's through ball was hardley perfect, but it clipped Todd's heel and fell perfectly for Sheringham, who gleefully beat Friedel from 12 yards", "In the 59th minute Paul Konchesky headed off the line for a second time", "With his first touch Reo-Coker by-passed a snoozing Mokoena, with his second, he fired a glorious drive past Friedel from 20 yards", "Benayoun collected the errant pass, looked up and unselfishly squared across goal for the unmarked Etherington to tap home". from The Sunday Times.

20th Newcastle United (a). 0-0. LP:4th
"West Ham had turned up with a reputation for fraility in defence, but with Repkas called on at the expense of Dailly they were demonstrating unexpected discipline. By closing their opponents down, in defence as well as misfield, the ball often sprung forward to the twin towers of Harewood and Sheringham, who were unsettling their markers. When the two combined to set up Benayoun, only Given's deflection and a clearance by Babayaro averted an opening goal", "West Ham were incensed by the dubious decision that reduced them to 10 men". from The Sunday Times.

27th Bolton (h). 1-2. (sheringham-pen).
"West Ham had most of the possession, the overwhelming bulk of the goalscoring chances but none of their visitors street-smart guile", "Marlon Harewood, who already had one horrible miss to his name, wasted another golden opportunity", "Nicky Hunt felled Hayden Mullins in the penalty area and Sheringham reduced the deficit from the spot". from The Sunday Times.

SEPTEMBER 2005

12th Aston Villa (h). 4-0. (harewood x3, benayoun). LP:7th
"A magnificent performance by West Ham followed on England's Ashes victory a few hours earlier, and Aston Villa were put to the sword as the Hammers crushed them with a four-nil win at Upton Park", "Marlon Harewood, criticised for missing chances against Bolton, put that behind him with a hat-trick scored inside half an hour, either side of half-time. But this was a thorough and comprehensive team performance, and the result was a true reflection of the dominance the Hammers exerted from the first whistle to the last", "Yossi Benayoun rounded the evening off with a wonderful goal of his creation, a superb strike which highlighted just what a dangerous player he can be and what a talent Alan Pardew has on his hands". from the OTT website.
Team; Carroll, Repka, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Konchesky, Benayoun, Reo-Coker, Mullins, Etherington, Harewood, Sheringham.

17th Fulham (a). 2-0. (harewood, own goal). LP:6th.
"Barely a minute had gone in the second half before Marlon Harewood, Hammers' Man of the Moment - as far as goals go - drove the ball past Warner to send the massed ranks of visiting fans behind the goal into raptures", "the Hammers had the bit between their teeth and did not want to let go. Harewood could arguably claim the second goal as well, as his spin and shot rebounded off the post and went in after striking Warner; it's doubtful the keeper will want to be credited with an own goal", "Fulham halved the deficit to set up an anxious final fifteen minutes. That the lead was held on to was down to a real team effort rather than any individual, and that is no doubt how Pardew wants it, every player could leave the field at the end with their heads held high". from the OTT website.

20th Sheff. Wednesday (a). 4-2. (zamora x2, dailly, bellion). Carling Cup 2nd Rd.
"Alan Pardew chose to rest many players who've got the team off to such a flying start in the Premiership", " He got excatly the reaction he was looking for, from many of those he brought in. From goal keeper Shaka Hislop, making his second debut, through the Hammers' young home produced players Bobby Stokes and Hogan Ephraim, and on loan debutant David Bellion, all making their first first team appearances, there were good things for West Ham to take from the game", "They got off to a great start, with Zamora on target with barely a minute gone", "Christian Dailly bulleted a header for the Hammers' second, and when Zamora made it three, they seemed no way back, but Wednesday threw everything forward and were rewarded by two quick goals and on course for a shock comeback, even more so when they then hit the crossbar", "Gaps appeared at the back and substitute David Bellion killed the tie off with an 84th minute goal". from the OTT website.

24th Arsenal (h). 0-0. LP:4th.
"Alan Pardew said that he would not change the way his team plays for the visit of Arsenal to Upton Park in the Premiership, and with the visitors missing many key players, there was no reason for him to", "A Teddy Sheringham free-kick was curled brilliantly round the Arsenal wall, it had the keeper beaten all ends up, only for the ball to pass a foot wide of the post.", "West Ham maintained their go for it attitude, and but for some curious refereeing decisions, might have been playing against ten men for much of the second half, Harewood mysteriously prevented going in on goal when Lehmann came out of his area and handled the ball, and minutes later, Sol Campbell handled the ball inside the area but nothing was given, save a yellow card for Sheringham for questioning the (lack of a) penalty.", "few would argue that it is West Ham who carried the day, and who will take great heart from their performance, as well as the point which lifted them up to third in the table - heady days, indeed..." from the OTT website.

OCTOBER 2005

01st Sunderland (a). 1-1. (benayoun). LP:6th.
"Benayoun magic dents Sunderland resolve", "Only a late equaliser against the run of play denied Sunderland the win they deserved", "Sunderland gave West Ham quite a pummelling early in the second half", "All of which made more galling West Ham's equaliser. In a combination of bad luck and uncertainty at the centre of Sunderland's defence Harewoods flick on came off Miller, Caldwell failed to intercept and the ball broke to Benayoun. The midfielder delayed long enough to draw the goalkeeper, before finding the bottom corner with a finish of no little composure". from The Sunday Times.

16th Man. City (a). 1-2. (zamora). LP:9th
"The home side dominated proceedings and the Hammers were fortunate to only be a goal down at the break", "Andrew Cole grabbed his second to double the lead", "The home fans took great delight in taunting both Sheringham and Carroll, neither of whom will look back on their performances as anything resembling their best, the former was subbed to the obvious glee of the City fans with the points already in the bag. His replacement, Bobby Zamora, managed a late consolation goal, finishing off a superb pass by Benayoun. from the OTT website.

22nd Middlesbrough (h). 2-1. (sheringham, og).
"The Hammers came out after the break with a renewed sense of purpose, probing and searching for a way through a well drilled and effective Boro defence", "It took a substitution whose timing and impact proved spot on to break the visitors' resistance, Sheringham's arrival meant a different set of circumstances for them to deal with, though they'd hardly had time to catch their breath between him stepping onto the pitch and getting on the end of Konchesky's cross. If that moment caught them by surprise, it was nothing compared to the shock that the second goal - or the decision to give it - caused, since Schwarzer, along with almost everybody else in the stadium, thought he'd managed to prevent a deflected Konchesky cross from going over the goal line. A linesman thought otherwise, and the Hammers were two up", "Boro, like the Hammers last week at Manchester City, took advantage of a home side coasting to victory and scored a late consolation goal". from the OTT website.

26th Bolton (a). Carling Cup 3rd Rd. 0-1.
"Alan Pardew made six changes to the side which beat Middlesbrough at the weekend, with Colve Clarke making his debut", "at least Paul Konchesky - playing a wide midfield role - did put the ball in the net for the Hammers, though he'd been flagged offside before he hit it", "Defeat and elimination from the Carling Cup, as unwelcome as it was, is hardly cause for concern, and - if he is looking for positives - at least Pardew can take some comfort from the performances of Collins, Ward and Clarke". from the OTT website.

29th Liverpool (a). 0-2. LP:9th.
"West Ham, employed a plethora of tactical permutations but failed to create even a half-chance", "West Ham never threatened to end their 42 years of hurt", "Alonso continued to dominate the centre of midfield despite Reo-Coker's ever-growing influence in the contest's most titanic struggle. Alonso won this one, but the West Ham young captain's time will come", "For West Ham, potentially ominous disappointment that their early season zest seems to have evaporated". from The Sunday Times.

NOVEMBER 2005

05th West Brom (h). 1-0. (sheringham). LP:8th.
"It was a bright and lively game in which numerous chances were made and missed, goalkeepers were defiant and the solitary goal was calmly and expertly scored by the ageless Teddy Sheringham, a wily old fox", "West Ham were at their most lively and threatening in the first half graced by the qualities of Yossi Benayoun. The slim Isreali right-flanker looks a proper addition to the West Ham academy of arts and sciences", "The winner came in the 57th minute. Tomas Repka's free kick from the right was headed back accross goal by substitute Christian Dailly and Sheringham shot home". from The Sunday Times.

19th Tottenham (a). 1-1. (ferdinand). LP:8th.
"Mido's lob over a too far off his line Hislop to put the home side in front certainly owed something to the less than full concentration being paid by the Hammers' defence, with an unusually casual Anton Ferdinand the player caught out as the Spurs' striker struck", "It looked like a lost cause as the match entered whatever time that the referee had decided to add on to the two minutes of time added on to the ninety minutes, and that Spurs' jammy first half goal would see them take all three points at White Hart Lane", "with Shaka Hislop as far off his line as he could possibly have been, sent forward on manager Alan Pardew's instructions to make a nuisance of himself in the Spurs' penalty area. He did it well enough for a space to open up at the far post for Ferdinand to head home a well deserved equaliser, sending the visiting fans into the stratospheres of joy" from the OTT website.

26th Man. United (h). 1-2. (harewood). LP:9th.
"United's defence were caught flat footed in the very first attack of a match which was preceeded by an excellently observed minute's applause in memory of George Best, and perhaps it was that which caused them to start the match with less than 100% concentration. Harewood escaped the attentions of Silvestre and had yards of open space to meet Etherington's low ball to beat Van de Saar at his near post", "Sadly for the Hammers, it was downhill all the way from then on, and only a clutch of fine saves by Carroll prevented the lead being overturned before the break", "with Rooney virtually running the show on his own as West Ham chased shadows", "inevitably it was Rooney who equalised, John O'Shea headed the goal which brought the victory, though the one goal margin does scant justice to the dominance the winners had". from the OTT website.

DECEMBER 2005

05th Birmingham (a). 2-1. (zamora, harewood). LP:9th.
"Emile Heskey and David Dunn combined for the former to beat Roy Carroll", "Only a generous bit of refereeing prevented Birmingham gaining a man, as well as a goal, advantage; Tomas Repka was fortunate to receive a yellow rather than a red card for a deliberate handball", "Hammers were denied a Harewood equaliser thanks to a superb save, but did get level with a goal of the highest quality by Zamora, who flicked the ball over a defender's head and ran round him to then shimmy past another, before slamming his shot through the keeper's legs", "Harewood made no mistake this time, collecting Benayoun's pass and smacking an unstoppable shot that had "goal" written all over it from the moment he struck it" from the OTT website.

10th Blackburn Rovers (a). 2-3. (zamora, harewood). LP:9th.
"A controversial penalty got Rovers back on level terms with the Hammers, for whom Bobby Zamora scored in time added on at the end of the first half", "Repka was judged to have handled inside the area and Rovers got an easy way back into the match. They had not got over the incident when Dickov scored a second, though Harewood soon restored parity with his second in two games", "the home side were able to edge their noses in front once again, as discipline seemed to break down amongst the aggrieved visitors" from the OTT website.

14th Everton (a). 2-1. (og, zamora). LP:7th.
"For the second time in three games, all of them away, West Ham came back from a goal down to claim victory", "Pardew opted to bring James Collins and Carl Fletcher in for the injured Gabbidon and rested Noble, the former turned in a tremendous performance in the heart of a resolute defence alongside the just as impressive and increasingly assured looking Anton Ferdinand", "Beattie got the Toffees off to a good start, Rather than spurring them on, however, it was the Hammers whose play seemed to be lifted by the goal, though luck certainly played a big part in getting them level. Tomas Repka might like to lay claim to the goal, considering he's never scored, but his cross was deflected in by David Weir", "West Ham were bright and played with a confident air, so when Zamora tapped in his third goal in three games, the points - providing the defence held together - were as good as in the bag", "Six points from West Ham's tricky run of three away matches is a magnificent achievement, that it has been without the experience of Teddy Sheringham is reassuring, and confidence amongst the squad - especially three goal Zamora - must be sky high, rightly and justifiably so..." from the OTT website

17th Newcastle United (h). 2-4. (og, harewood). LP:9th.
"West Ham might easily have won this game. They were the better side and, for long periods, by some distance. There were two reasons why they lost: Owen and Shearer. Owen scored three, and Shearer the other". " The game turned on the hour, when West Ham were trailing 2-1 but dominating and seemingly closing in on an equaliser. Mullins crashed the ball off the foot of the post, and then when a ricochet dropped near Collins he played a perfectly controlled volley that comfortably beat Given only to see it cleared off the line by Shearer. Play then moved to the other end. Owen played a perfect ball to Shearer who shot into the corner of the net, and that was it for West Ham 3-1 down!", "Even in defeat West Ham were a joy to watch", "Harewood pulled one back from the penalty spot", "Newcastle's fourth came when West Ham's two centre-backs were both at the other end of the pitch, trying to draw the game 3-3." from The Sunday Times.

26th Portsmouth (a). 1-1. (collins).
"A pantomime performance by an injury sodden West Ham side, turned out - as most good Xmas tales do - all right in the end", "They emerged for the second half with a renewed sense of purpose", "Perhaps Portsmouth were lulled into a false sense of security by the visitors' poor first half display, because they had few answers to the Hammers' turnaround, and were left hanging on desperately by the end, having had their lead pegged back by James Collins, seen Harewood hit the post, been thoroughly outplayed, and been reduced to ten men after Laurent Robert was sent off" from the OTT website.

28th Wigan (h). 0-2.
"A freezing night at Upton Park saw the Hammers caught cold twice just before the break", "Injuries have dealt Alan Pardew's side a big blow, and with almost half of what had become the bedrock of the Hammers' steady progress this season out", "the threat to the visitors' goal non-existant. They however, tested Roy Carroll several times before Jason Roberts took advantage of sloppy defending to lob him. That should have led to the Hammers' defence keeping their wits about them sufficiently to reach half-time without further mishap, but they could not, and Camara maintained his recent form to put Wigan two-up"
from the OTT website.

31st Charlton (a). 0-2.
"A brisk start was followed by seventy-five minutes of more of the same bloody rubbish which characterised the home defeat by Wigan", "The Hammers were murdered down both wings", "what on Earth makes Pardew believe Dailly is any better suited to the job all this time later ? God only knows what Chelsea will do if he is still there in the next game!" from the OTT website.

JANUARY 2006

02nd Chelsea (h). 1-3. (harewood). LP:10th.
"West Ham were in no mood to be steam rollered by the Chelsea juggernaut, and set about their opponents with sufficient gusto to ensure Essien left the pitch with ten minutes gone", "West Ham will argue long and hard that Chelsea's first half goal should not have been allowed, as Duff was yards offside", "Chelsea won a throw-in and Benayoun's misguided clearing header fell kindly for Lampard to lash it past Carroll. It was a lead they held onto until just after the break, when their defence failed to prevent Etherington getting the ball through to Harewood. His effort rebounded off the crossbar, but he was on the spot to put it over the line", "It got the already partisan Upton Park crowd going, but Mourinho responded with two substitutions, one of which paid off almost immedaitely, and Chelsea's lead was restored. Pardew did likewise, but with the Hammers chasing the game, gaps appeared at the back, and the visitors scored again to seal victory" from the OTT website.

07th Norwich City (a). FA Cup 3rd Rd. 2-1. (mullins, zamora).
Alan Pardew brought Bobby Zamora back into the team, and the decision was to pay off, as the striker notched up his seventh goal of the campaign, and set up Hayden Mullins for his well taken opener in the first half. The lacklustre Canaries, struggled to get going, and were behind as early as the sixth minute, when midfielder Mullins curling shot beat Robert Green. The keeper was at fault for Zamora's goal, making a complete mess of Etherington's cross-cum-shot to hand the Hammers their second on a plate" from the OTT website.

14th Aston Villa (a). 2-1. (zamora, harewood-pen).
"West Ham came from behind to secure a terrific victory at Villa Park", "Etherington missed an opportunity to put the Hammers in front early on", "Hendrie diverted a cross past a stranded Roy Carroll in the Hammers' goal", "Alan Pardew obviously picked the words for his half-time team talk wisely, as the Hammers struck back quickly through Bobby Zamora, who nodded Paul Konchesky's free-kick in for the equaliser. The goal which proved to be the winner came about when the referee judged Hayden Mullins' shot had been handled in the area, giving Marlon Harewood the chance to add to the hat-trick he scored against Villa at Upton Park, one he took with aplomb", "This was a much needed win for the Hammers, and was it any coincidence that it came with Danny Gabbidon back in the team?"
from the OTT website.

23rd Fulham (h). 2-1. (ferdinand, benayoun). LP:9th.
"Two teams determined to play football and go all out for a win put on a thrilling Premiership match at Upton Park, producing a game which highlighted the best traditions of both West Ham and Fulham", "Ferdinand collected what had been a poor corner by Etherington with his back to Fulham's goal, but swivelled and hit a volley as sweetly as he is ever likely to do in his entire career. So good was it that Upton Park was temporarily silenced, as if in disbelief at what they had just seen, and almost all stared still in a state of near disbelief as the goal was confirmed as not a collective hallucination by replays on the Jumboscreen", "Yossi Benayoun's goal, some ten minutes later, was only marginally less spectacular, if only because it is what one can reasonably expect from a player of his quality, but in it's precision and accuracy and effectiveness, no less important. If anything it was more important, giving as it did, a bit of breating space", "Fulham had not been without their own chances, and in purely footballing terms, were probably the better side", "Hammers then gritted their collective teeth and displayed a tenacity which many of their predecessors have lacked, holding out to end a miserable run of four consecutive defeats at Upton Park and complete a second consecutive "double" in the Premiership". from the OTT website.

28th Blackburn (h). FA Cup 4th Rd. 4-2. (sheringham (p), etherington, og, zamora).
"The lights went out on Blackburn Rovers' F.A. Cup dreams as the Hammers' stadium plunged into the semi-darkness of the cold afternoon when the Bobby Moore Stand floodlights failed during the second half of a rivetting goal laden match exhibiting the finest traditions of game's oldest knockout competition", "It had all begun so well for the visitors too, scoring the quickest goal in this season's F.A. Cup after just twenty-eight seconds", "the Hammers equalised from the spot through Teddy Sheringham, back in the side at Harewood's expense, and surged forward with such purpose that they went in at half-time a goal up thanks to Matty Etherington, put through by Zamora", "In a pulsating second half, an own goal - ending a terrific build up which merited one, put West Ham three-one up, Rovers hit back, but Bobby Zamora - latching onto a Marlon Harewood shot the Rovers' keeper could not hold - sealed victory" from the OTT website.