# 1983–84 West Ham United F.C. season

The 1983–84 West Ham United F.C. season was West Ham's third in the First Division since their return at the end of the 1980–81 season. The club was managed by John Lyall and the team captain was Billy Bonds.

## Season summary

The season started well for West Ham with them winning their first five games. They maintained good form until the end of 1983, when they were in third place in the league. They had not been lower than fifth place. A slump towards the end of the season saw them fall to their lowest place during the season, ninth place. Tony Cottee was the club's top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions. The next highest scorer was Dave Swindlehurst with 15. Steve Walford made the most appearances – 50 in all competitions. The season also saw the last game for West Ham by Trevor Brooking.
In the League Cup, West Ham recorded their biggest win in the competition when they beat Bury 10–0 in the second round second leg, to win the tie 12–1 on aggregate. The game was watched by only 10,896 people, the club's lowest home attendance for 30 years.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 7 | Everton | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 62 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 64 | 65 | −1 | 61 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 9 | West Ham United | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 60 | 55 | +5 | 60 | |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 59 | 61 | −2 | 60 | |
| 11 | Watford | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 68 | 77 | −9 | 57 | |
* ↑ Everton qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1983–84 FA Cup winners.
* ↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1983–84 UEFA Cup winners.

## Results

West Ham United's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 27 August 1983 | Birmingham City | H | 4–0 | 19,729 | Martin, Cottee (2), Swindlehurst |
| 29 August 1983 | Everton | A | 1–0 | 20,999 | Walford |
| 3 September 1983 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–0 | 38,042 | Whitton, Swindlehurst |
| 6 September 1983 | Leicester City | H | 3–1 | 22,131 | Walford, Cottee, Swindlehurst |
| 10 September 1983 | Coventry City | H | 5–2 | 23,077 | Whitton (2), Swindlehurst (3) |
| 17 September 1983 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–1 | 15,113 | |
| 24 September 1983 | Notts County | H | 3–0 | 20,613 | Stewart, Goddard, Brooking |
| 1 October 1983 | Stoke City | A | 1–3 | 13,643 | Stewart |
| 15 October 1983 | Liverpool | H | 1–3 | 32,535 | Devonshire |
| 22 October 1983 | Norwich City | H | 0–0 | 18,958 | |
| 28 October 1983 | Watford | A | 0–0 | 14,559 | |
| 5 November 1983 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–1 | 20,682 | Swindlehurst (2) |
| 12 November 1983 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 3–0 | 12,062 | Cottee, Swindlehurst, Brooking |
| 19 November 1983 | Sunderland | A | 1–0 | 19,921 | Swindlehurst |
| 27 November 1983 | Manchester United | H | 1–1 | 23,255 | Swindlehurst |
| 3 December 1983 | Aston Villa | A | 0–1 | 21,297 | |
| 10 December 1983 | Arsenal | H | 3–1 | 25,118 | Brooking, Whyte (og), Pike |
| 17 December 1983 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–3 | 14,440 | |
| 26 December 1983 | Southampton | H | 0–1 | 22,221 | |
| 27 December 1983 | Luton Town | A | 1–0 | 16,343 | Cottee |
| 31 December 1983 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 4–1 | 30,939 | Stewart, Martin, Cottee, Brooking |
| 2 January 1984 | Notts County | A | 2–2 | 8,667 | Stewart, Swindlehurst |
| 14 January 1984 | Birmingham City | A | 0–3 | 10,334 | |
| 21 January 1984 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–0 | 17,213 | Cottee |
| 4 February 1984 | Stoke City | H | 3–0 | 18,775 | Stewart, Cottee, Barnes |
| 7 February 1984 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–1 | 20,102 | Cottee |
| 11 February 1984 | Coventry City | A | 2–1 | 13,290 | Cottee, Bamber (og) |
| 21 February 1984 | Watford | H | 2–4 | 21,263 | Barnes, Swindlehurst |
| 25 February 1984 | Norwich City | A | 0–1 | 15,937 | |
| 3 March 1984 | Ipswich Town | A | 3–0 | 17,384 | Hilton, Cottee, Butcher (og) |
| 10 March 1984 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 18,111 | Cottee |
| 17 March 1984 | Leicester City | A | 1–4 | 13,533 | Stewart |
| 31 March 1984 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–2 | 21,099 | Cottee, Pike |
| 7 April 1984 | Liverpool | A | 0–6 | 38,369 | |
| 14 April 1984 | Sunderland | H | 0–1 | 16,558 | |
| 17 April 1984 | Luton Town | H | 3–1 | 15,430 | Martin, Cottee (2) |
| 21 April 1984 | Southampton | A | 0–2 | 20,846 | |
| 28 April 1984 | Manchester United | A | 0–0 | 44,124 | |
| 5 May 1984 | Aston Villa | H | 0–1 | 17,393 | |
| 7 May 1984 | Arsenal | A | 3–3 | 33,347 | Hilton, Whitton (2) |
| 12 May 1984 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–2 | 18,458 | Stewart |
| 14 May 1984 | Everton | H | 0–1 | 25,452 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 7 January 1984 | Wigan Athletic | H | 1–0 | 16,000 | Stewart |
| R4 | 28 January 1984 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–1 | 27,590 | Swindlehurst |
| R4 Replay | 31 January 1984 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–0 | 27,127 | Barnes, Pike |
| R5 | 18 February 1984 | Birmingham City | A | 0–3 | 29,570 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 First Leg | 4 October 1983 | Bury | A | 2–1 | 15,894 | Orr, Goddard |
| R2 Second Leg | 25 October 1983 | Bury | H | 10–0 (12–1 on agg) | 10,896 | Stewart, Martin, Devonshire (2), Cottee (4), Brooking (2) |
| R3 | 8 November 1983 | Brighton and Hove Albion | H | 1–0 | 17,082 | Swindlehurst |
| R4 | 30 November 1983 | Everton | H | 2–2 | 19,702 | Mountfield (og) 34', Pike 87' |
| R4 | 6 December 1983 | Everton | A | 0–2 | 21,607 | |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Allen |
| — | MF | ENG | Bobby Barnes |
| — | DF | ENG | Billy Bonds (captain) |
| — | MF | ENG | Trevor Brooking |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Brush |
| — | FW | ENG | Tony Cottee |
| — | MF | ENG | Alan Devonshire |
| — | MF | ENG | Alan Dickens |
| — | MF | ENG | Warren Donald |
| — | FW | ENG | Paul Goddard |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Hilton |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | Frank Lampard |
| — | DF | ENG | Alvin Martin |
| — | DF | SCO | Neil Orr |
| — | GK | ENG | Phil Parkes |
| — | MF | ENG | Geoff Pike |
| — | DF | SCO | Ray Stewart |
| — | FW | ENG | Dave Swindlehurst |
| — | DF | ENG | Steve Walford |
| — | FW | ENG | Steve Whitton |