In a new column for the new season, West Ham United fan, nostalgist and author Sid Lambert goes back 20 years to relive our Premier League return and push for FA Cup glory during 2005/06…
The expectations amongst the media ahead of West Ham’s 2005/06 season could politely be described as low. Pretty much every newspaper columnist had us in the bottom three. A decent proportion predicted us to be rock bottom.
You could understand why. We’d sneaked into the top-flight via the back door of the Play-Offs, and our pre-season business hadn’t commanded the same column inches as the likes of Michael Essien, Emmanuel Adebayor and Nemanja Vidić. Journalists were always distracted by star names and big wages. That’s what sold papers. No editor was going to do a back page splash on West Ham quietly picking up Paul Konchesky when Newcastle were spending mega-money on Michael Owen from Real Madrid.
And that suited me just fine. I’ve always felt this Club performs best without the burden of expectation. When everyone has written us off, that’s when we roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Alan Pardew had spent the summer giving the team some much-needed spine. Danny Gabbidon and James Collins brought strength at the back. Konchesky and Shaka Hislop brought Premier League experience. And Yossi Benayoun brought that little bit of transfer stardust. Plus, we had our secret weapon. The man who had found the secret to eternal life: Edward Paul Sheringham: 23 summers earlier, Teddy had scored the first live goal of the Sky Sports era. Now, after one season in the Championship, he was back in the spotlight.
It had been a summer of comebacks. Damon Albarn had topped the album charts with Gorillaz, only to be knocked off it by former arch-rivals Oasis. Meanwhile, the remake of Willy Wonka starring Johnny Depp had done big business at the box office.
What’s old was officially new again. Teddy Sheringham was dusting off those trusty shooting boots for one more gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Like his team, he’d been written off by everybody. How could a 39-year-old striker possibly compete with young guns like Wayne Rooney and Darren Bent, or proven sharpshooters such as Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy? It made no sense.
Then again, I learned long ago that nothing about this Club makes sense. So when Pards named Sheringham in the starting XI for our opening day game against Blackburn, I was quietly confident. I would learn later in life that not all 39-year-olds are made the same. Teddy was clearly a genetic freak, in better condition than he was two decades earlier. Whereas most men of his vintage were fretting about midnight trips to the toilet, and whether they could walk past the bakery aisle at ASDA without gaining weight.
Rovers were the perfect opponent for an opening day fixture. A solid, if unspectacular, team under the guidance of Mark Hughes. To this day I’m amazed the Welshman never took the reins at Upton Park. If I close my eyes and cup my ears to the wind, I’m sure I can hear the boos around East London as Hughes’ Hammers grind to an uninspiring goalless draw with Middlesbrough in the mid-Noughties. There’s still time, I suppose.
Anyway, on this summer’s day at the Boleyn, the Blackburn boss was in the opposition dugout and happy with his team’s start to the season. Big defender Andy Todd swept the visitors in front from a half-cleared corner. Those in the press box allowed themselves a sly grin. All was going according to plan.
But on the pitch West Ham dug in. We were all hustle and bustle. Robbie Savage, the Premier League’s pantomime villain, was getting a going-over from Nigel Reo-Coker. Marlon Harewood’s direct running was causing problems. And Sheringham was starting to hone his sights on goal. He could have had a hat-trick before half-time were it not for the ‘keeper, the woodwork, and some last-ditch defending.
The veteran striker needed only a minute after the interval to get the goal his performance deserved. A Benayoun through ball, a deflection into Sheringham’s path, a shot steered accurately into the corner. You never lose it, old son.
From then on, a home win felt inevitable. The stadium basked in sunshine. The crowd red-hot. Reo-Coker, energy levels defying the sweltering conditions, burst forward and hammered a shot into the top corner. Sir Teddy departed to a standing ovation, replaced by Shaun Newton. Benayoun was pushed forward into a more advanced role. It paid dividends when the Israeli, whose touch and guile had impressed throughout the game, set up Matty Etherington for a third.
Rovers were rattled. Sub Paul Dickov was red-carded for a cynical lunge on Konchesky. Hughes looked helpless on the sidelines. His team had been out-fought and out-thought by Alan Pardew’s happy Hammers.
At the final whistle, fans held up a sign saying: ‘Back Where We Belong’. On this evidence, it was hard to disagree.
Sid has a book out: ‘Highs, Lows and Di Canios: The Fans’ Guide to West Ham United in the 90s’. Head into the official West Ham store for a rollercoaster ride through one of the most turbulent decades in Claret & Blue history.
*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of West Ham United.
