# 2011–12 West Ham United F.C. season

The 2011–12 season was West Ham United's first season back in the Football League Championship, after being relegated from the Premier League at the conclusion of 2010–11 campaign. They also competed in the League Cup and the FA Cup. It was their first season under Sam Allardyce, who was appointed in May 2011 after the sacking of the club's previous manager, Avram Grant. On 19 May 2012, West Ham gained promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, as they won the play-off final by defeating Blackpool 2–1 at Wembley.

## Season summary

Sam Allardyce was appointed as the club's new manager on 1 June 2011, after his predecessor Avram Grant was sacked following the club's relegation with a 3–2 defeat at Wigan Athletic.
For the majority of the season West Ham looked on course for automatic promotion, and even briefly topped the division on 1 March, but eventually finished third, after being beaten to automatic promotion by Southampton on the final day of the season, despite a 2–1 win against Hull City. Failure to win a league game in March saw West Ham overtaken by Reading, who defeated the Hammers 4–2 in a key game at Upton Park, and Southampton. and despite a late rally the team had to settle for a play-off place. West Ham's 13 away wins constituted a club record for any league season. They also recorded the fewest defeats (8) of any team in the Championship this season and had the second best goal difference, but 14 draws saw the club miss out on automatic promotion.
West Ham faced Cardiff City in the semi-finals of the play-offs, with the Hammers comfortably beating the Bluebirds 5–0 on aggregate. West Ham then sealed their promotion back to the Premier League on 19 May 2012, beating Blackpool 2–1 at Wembley with goals from Carlton Cole and Ricardo Vaz Tê. This was West Ham's first appearance at the national stadium since the 1981 League Cup Final.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Reading (C, P) | 46 | 27 | 8 | 11 | 69 | 41 | +28 | 89 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Southampton (P) | 46 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 85 | 46 | +39 | 88 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 3 | West Ham United (O, P) | 46 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 81 | 48 | +33 | 86 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 4 | Birmingham City | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 78 | 51 | +27 | 76 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 5 | Blackpool | 46 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 79 | 59 | +20 | 75 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |

## 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 |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Robert Green |
| 2 | DF | NZL | Winston Reid |
| 3 | DF | NIR | George McCartney |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Kevin Nolan (captain) |
| 5 | DF | ENG | James Tomkins |
| 7 | FW | ENG | Sam Baldock |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Nicky Maynard |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Carlton Cole |
| 10 | MF | WAL | Jack Collison |
| 11 | FW | NOR | John Carew |
| 12 | FW | POR | Ricardo Vaz Te |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Matthew Taylor |
| 15 | DF | SEN | Abdoulaye Faye |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Mark Noble (vice-captain) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | DF | IRL | Joey O'Brien |
| 18 | DF | FRA | Julien Faubert |
| 20 | DF | CIV | Guy Demel |
| 21 | MF | SEN | Papa Bouba Diop |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Henri Lansbury (on loan from Arsenal) |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Ravel Morrison |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Frank Nouble |
| 25 | DF | WAL | Danny Collins |
| 26 | FW | PAR | Brian Montenegro |
| 28 | GK | HUN | Peter Kurucz |
| 29 | GK | CZE | Marek Štěch |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Gary O'Neil |
| 46 | FW | ENG | Robert Hall |
| 48 | DF | ENG | Danny Potts |

### Out on loan

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 12 | MF | MEX | Pablo Barrera (at Real Zaragoza) |
| 30 | FW | FRA | Frédéric Piquionne (at Doncaster Rovers) |

## Statistics
### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Championship | 46 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 81 | 48 | +33 | 052.17 |
| Play-offs | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 100.00 |
| FA Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 000.00 |
| League Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 000.00 |
| Total | 51 | 27 | 14 | 10 | 89 | 52 | +37 | 052.94 |

### Goalscorers

| Rank | Pos | No. | Nat | Name | Championship | Play-offs | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | ST | 9 | | Carlton Cole | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | MF | 4 | | Kevin Nolan | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 3 | ST | 12 | | Ricardo Vaz Te | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 4 | MF | 16 | | Mark Noble | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | MF | 10 | | Jack Collison | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | ST | 7 | | Sam Baldock | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | DF | 5 | | James Tomkins | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | DF | 2 | | Winston Reid | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | ST | 8 | | Nicky Maynard | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | ST | 11 | | John Carew | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | ST | 30 | | Frederic Piquionne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | MF | 32 | | Gary O'Neil | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | DF | 3 | | George McCartney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | MF | 8 | | Scott Parker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | MF | 14 | | Matthew Taylor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | DF | 17 | | Joey O'Brien | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | DF | 18 | | Julien Faubert | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | MF | 21 | | Papa Bouba Diop | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | MF | 22 | | Henri Lansbury | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | ST | 24 | | Frank Nouble | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | DF | 25 | | Danny Collins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | MF | 25 | | Junior Stanislas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 81 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 89 |

### League position by matchday

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H |
| Result | L | W | W | D | W | W | D | W | L | D | W | L | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | L | L | W | D | L | W | W | W | L | W | D | W | D | W | D | D | D | D | D | W | L | W | D | W | D | W | W |
| Position | 22 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Championship | Championship | Play-offs | Play-offs | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | Robert Green | 45 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Manuel Almunia | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | BEL | Ruud Boffin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | NZL | Winston Reid | 33 | 3 | 27+1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | NIR | George McCartney | 43 | 1 | 36+2 | 1 | 0+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | James Tomkins | 47 | 4 | 42+2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | SEN | Abdoulaye Faye | 29 | 0 | 25+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | IRL | Joey O'Brien | 33 | 1 | 27+5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | CIV | Guy Demel | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | COD | Herita Ilunga | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | WAL | Danny Collins | 11 | 1 | 4+7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | DF | ENG | Callum McNaughton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 48 | DF | ENG | Danny Potts | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | ENG | Kevin Nolan | 46 | 13 | 42 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | David Bentley | 5 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Scott Parker | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | WAL | Jack Collison | 35 | 6 | 26+5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | MEX | Pablo Barrera | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Matthew Taylor | 32 | 1 | 26+2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Mark Noble | 48 | 8 | 43+2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | FRA | Julien Faubert | 37 | 1 | 28+6 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | SEN | Papa Bouba Diop | 16 | 1 | 14+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Henri Lansbury | 24 | 1 | 13+9 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Ravel Morrison | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Junior Stanislas | 2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Gary O'Neil | 20 | 2 | 9+7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | ENG | Sam Baldock | 24 | 5 | 10+13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Nicky Maynard | 16 | 3 | 9+5 | 2 | 0+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Carlton Cole | 43 | 15 | 28+12 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | NOR | John Carew | 21 | 2 | 7+12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | POR | Ricardo Vaz Te | 18 | 12 | 13+2 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Freddie Sears | 12 | 0 | 2+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Frank Nouble | 5 | 1 | 1+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | PAR | Brian Montenegro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | FRA | Frederic Piquionne | 21 | 2 | 8+12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 46 | FW | ENG | Robert Hall | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Transfers
### Summer
#### In

| # | Pos | Player | From | Fee | Date |
| 15 | DF | Abdoulaye Faye | Stoke City | Free | 14 June 2011 |
| 4 | MF | Kevin Nolan | Newcastle United | Undisclosed | 16 June 2011 |
| 14 | MF | Matt Taylor | Bolton Wanderers | Undisclosed | 23 July 2011 |
| 17 | MF | Joey O'Brien | Bolton Wanderers | Free | 30 July 2011 |
| 11 | FW | John Carew | Aston Villa | Free | 6 August 2011 |
| 3 | DF | George McCartney | Sunderland | Season-long loan | 10 August 2011 |
| 7 | FW | Sam Baldock | Milton Keynes Dons | Undisclosed | 26 August 2011 |
| 26 | FW | Brian Montenegro | Deportivo Maldonado | Season-long loan | 29 August 2011 |
| 21 | MF | Papa Bouba Diop | AEK Athens | Free | 30 August 2011 |
| 8 | MF | David Bentley | Tottenham Hotspur | Season-long loan | 31 August 2011 |
| 22 | MF | Henri Lansbury | Arsenal | Season-long loan | 31 August 2011 |
| 20 | DF | Guy Demel | Hamburger SV | Undisclosed | 31 August 2011 |

#### Out

| Pos | Player | To | Fee | Date |
| MF | Anthony Edgar | Yeovil Town | Free | 16 June 2011 |
| DF | Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson | VfL Bochum | Free | 16 June 2011 |
| DF | Danny Gabbidon | QPR | Free | 24 July 2011 |
| DF | Lars Jacobsen | Copenhagen | Free | 16 September 2011 |
| DF | Jonathan Spector | Birmingham City | Free | 1 August 2011 |
| DF | Matthew Upson | Stoke City | Free | 16 June 2011 |
| ST | Demba Ba | Newcastle United | Free | 17 June 2011 |
| DF | Manuel da Costa | Lokomotiv Moscow | Undisclosed | 22 June 2011 |
| MF | Thomas Hitzlsperger | VfL Wolfsburg | Contract terminated | 22 June 2011 |
| MF | Radoslav Kováč | FC Basel | Undisclosed | 24 June 2011 |
| MF | Kieron Dyer | QPR | Free | 13 July 2011 |
| MF | Luís Boa Morte | Larissa | Contract terminated | 3 August 2011 |
| DF | Jordan Spence | Bristol City | Season-long loan | 3 August 2011 |
| MF | Olly Lee | Dagenham & Redbridge | Two-month loan | 5 August 2011 |
| FW | Cristian Montano | Notts County | Two-month loan | 5 August 2011 |
| FW | Zavon Hines | Burnley | Fee set by tribunal | 18 August 2011 |
| MF | Pablo Barrera | Real Zaragoza | Season-long loan | 26 August 2011 |
| MF | Scott Parker | Tottenham Hotspur | £5 million | 31 August 2011 |
| MF | Junior Stanislas | Burnley | Undisclosed | 31 August 2011 |
| MF | Ahmed Abdulla | Swindon Town | Four-month loan | 31 August 2011 |
| DF | Jordan Brown | Aldershot Town | One-month loan | 31 August 2011 |

### Winter
#### In

| # | Pos | Player | From | Fee | Date |
| 13 | GK | Manuel Almunia | Arsenal | One-month emergency loan | 30 September 2011 |
| 25 | DF | George John | FC Dallas | Two-month loan | 13 January 2012 |
| N/A | ST | Joe Dixon | Unattached | Free | 18 January 2012 |
| 23 | MF | Ravel Morrison | Manchester United | Undisclosed | 31 January 2012 |
| 12 | MF | Ricardo Vaz Tê | Barnsley | Undisclosed | 31 January 2012 |
| 8 | ST | Nicky Maynard | Bristol City | Undisclosed | 31 January 2012 |
| 25 | DF | Danny Collins | Stoke City | Season-long loan | 9 March 2012 |

#### Out

| Pos | Player | To | Fee | Date |
| DF | Callum McNaughton | AFC Wimbledon | Four-month extended loan | 9 September 2011 |
| FW | Robert Hall | Oxford United | Three-month extended loan | 12 September 2011 |
| FW | Frank Nouble | Gillingham | Three-month extended loan | 15 September 2011 |
| FW | Cristian Montaño | Swindon Town | One-month loan | 13 October 2011 |
| FW | Cristian Montaño | Dagenham & Redbridge | Two-month extended loan | 17 November 2011 |
| GK | Péter Kurucz | Rochdale | One-month loan | 2 January 2012 |
| DF | Callum Driver | Burton Albion | One-month loan | 5 January 2012 |
| DF | Callum McNaughton | AFC Wimbledon | Free | 6 January 2012 |
| MF | George Moncur | AFC Wimbledon | One-month loan | 6 January 2012 |
| MF | Olly Lee | Gillingham | One-month loan | 17 February 2012 |
| GK | Marek Štěch | Leyton Orient | One-month emergency loan | 24 February 2012 |
| FW | Frédéric Piquionne | Doncaster Rovers | One-month loan | 6 March 2012 |
| GK | Ruud Boffin | | Released | 22 April 2012 |