# 1979–80 West Ham United F.C. season

West Ham United finished in seventh place in the Second Division in the 1979–80 season.

## Season summary

West Ham United's season was dominated by their 1–0 victory in the FA Cup final against Arsenal, who had been in the previous two FA Cup Finals, had just finished 4th in the First Division and were the overwhelming favourites.
West Ham's manager John Lyall tactically outsmarted his Arsenal counterpart Terry Neill by paying a 4–5–1 system, stifling Arsenal's creative midfield that included future West Ham signing Liam Brady and the steely Brian Talbot. The only goal was scored by Trevor Brooking.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 75 | 53 | +22 | 49 | |
| 6 | Luton Town | 42 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 66 | 45 | +21 | 49 | |
| 7 | West Ham United | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 54 | 43 | +11 | 47 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 8 | Cambridge United | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 61 | 53 | +8 | 44 | |
| 9 | Newcastle United | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 44 | |
* ↑ West Ham United qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1979–80 FA Cup winners.

## Results
### Football League Second Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 18 August 1979 | Wrexham | A | 0–1 | 13,036 | |
| 20 August 1979 | Chelsea | H | 0–1 | 31,627 | |
| 25 August 1979 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–0 | 18,319 | Holland |
| 1 September 1979 | Watford | A | 0–2 | 23,329 | |
| 8 September 1979 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | 10,460 | Cross |
| 15 September 1979 | Sunderland | H | 2–0 | 24,021 | Cross, Pearson |
| 22 September 1979 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–3 | 24,692 | |
| 29 September 1979 | Burnley | H | 2–1 | 18,327 | Stewart (pen), Lansdowne |
| 6 October 1979 | Newcastle United | H | 1–1 | 23,206 | Cross |
| 13 October 1979 | Leicester City | A | 2–1 | 22,472 | Martin, Cross |
| 20 October 1979 | Luton Town | H | 1–2 | 25,049 | Allen |
| 27 October 1979 | Notts County | A | 1–0 | 12,256 | Holland |
| 3 November 1979 | Wrexham | H | 1–0 | 20,595 | Pike |
| 10 November 1979 | Fulham | A | 2–1 | 16,476 | Stewart (pen), Cross |
| 14 November 1979 | Chelsea | A | 1–2 | 30,859 | Holland |
| 17 November 1979 | Swansea City | H | 2–0 | 21,210 | Brooking, Cross |
| 24 November 1979 | Cardiff City | H | 3–0 | 20,242 | Cross, Stewart (2 pen) |
| 1 December 1979 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–1 | 19,021 | |
| 8 December 1979 | Bristol Rovers | H | 2–1 | 17,763 | Cross (2) |
| 15 December 1979 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 0–3 | 8,513 | |
| 21 December 1979 | Cambridge United | H | 3–1 | 11,721 | Stewart, Pearson, Neighbour |
| 1 January 1980 | Orient | A | 4–0 | 23,885 | Pearson (2), Devonshire, Pike |
| 12 January 1980 | Watford | H | 1–1 | 23,553 | Bonds |
| 19 January 1980 | Preston North End | H | 2–0 | 17,603 | Stewart (pen), Allen |
| 9 February 1980 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–1 | 26,037 | Pearson, Hazell (o.g) |
| 19 February 1980 | Burnley | A | 1–0 | 10,610 | Devonshire |
| 23 February 1980 | Leicester City | H | 3–1 | 27,762 | Pike, Cross, Holland |
| 1 March 1980 | Luton Town | A | 1–1 | 20,040 | Stewart |
| 11 March 1980 | Notts County | H | 1–2 | 24,844 | Pike |
| 15 March 1980 | Newcastle United | A | 0–0 | 25,431 | |
| 22 March 1980 | Fulham | H | 2–3 | 30,030 | Devonshire, Stewart (pen) |
| 29 March 1980 | Swansea City | A | 1–2 | 13,275 | Devonshire |
| 1 April 1980 | Cambridge United | A | 0–2 | 8,863 | |
| 5 April 1980 | Orient | H | 2–0 | 22,066 | Gray (o.g.), Brooking |
| 7 April 1980 | Birmingham City | A | 0–0 | 28,377 | |
| 19 April 1980 | Cardiff City | A | 1–0 | 12,076 | Stewart |
| 22 April 1980 | Birmingham City | H | 1–2 | 37,167 | Martin |
| 26 April 1980 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 1–3 | 19,765 | Brooking |
| 29 April 1980 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–0 | 8,214 | |
| 3 May 1980 | Bristol Rovers | A | 2–0 | 9,824 | Devonshire, Cross |
| 5 May 1980 | Charlton Athletic | H | 4–1 | 19,314 | Pike, Morgan, Cross, Stewart |
| 12 May 1980 | Sunderland | A | 0–2 | 47,000 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 5 January 1980 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–1 | 20,572 | Pearson |
| R3 replay | 8 January 1980 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–1 | 30,689 | Pike, Brooking |
| R4 | 26 January 1980 | Orient | A | 3–2 | 21,521 | Gray (o.g.), Stewart (2; 1 pen) |
| R5 | 16 February 1980 | Swansea City | H | 2–0 | 30,497 | Allen, Cross |
| R6 | 8 March 1980 | Aston Villa | H | 1–0 | 36,393 | Stewart (pen) |
| SF | 12 April 1980 | Everton | N | 1–1 | 47,685 | Pearson |
| SF replay | 16 April 1980 | Everton | N | 2–1 (aet) | 40,720 | Devonshire, Lampard |
| F | 10 May 1980 | Arsenal | N | 1–0 | 100,000 | Brooking |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st leg | 28 August 1979 | Barnsley | H | 3–1 | 12,320 | Brooking, Pearson, Cross |
| R2 2nd leg | 4 September 1979 | Barnsley | A | 2–0 (5–1 on agg) | 15,898 | Cross (2) |
| R3 | 25 September 1979 | Southend United | H | 1–1 | 19,658 | Cross |
| R3 replay | 1 October 1979 | Southend United | A | 0–0 (aet) | 22,497 | |
| R3 2nd replay | 8 October 1979 | Southend United | H | 5–1 | 19,718 | Lansdowne (3), Holland, Stewart (pen) |
| R4 | 31 October 1979 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 | 30,302 | Pike |
| R4 replay | 5 November 1979 | Sunderland | H | 2–1 | 24,454 | Martin, Cross |
| QF | 4 December 1979 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–0 | 35,856 | |
| QF replay | 12 December 1979 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–3 (aet) | 25,462 | |

## Squad

| No. | Player | Position | Lge Apps | Lge Gls | FAC Apps | FAC Gls | LC Apps | LC Gls | Date Signed | Previous Club |
| FA Cup Final Team ||||||||||||
| 1 | Phil Parkes | GK | 40 | | 8 | | 8 | | 1979 | Queens Park Rangers |
| 2 | Ray Stewart | RB | 38 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 1 | August 1979 | Dundee United |
| 3 | Frank Lampard | LB | 35(1) | | 7 | 1 | 6 | | 1964 | Academy |
| 4 | Billy Bonds (Captain) | CD | 34 | 1 | 5 | | 9 | | May 1967 | Charlton Athletic |
| 5 | Alvin Martin (Hammer of the Year) | CD | 40 | 2 | 7 | | 8 | 1 | August 1974 | Academy |
| 6 | Alan Devonshire | LM | 34 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 7 | | September 1976 | Southall & Ealing Borough |
| 7 | Paul Allen | RM | 31 | 2 | 7 (1) | 1 | 7 | | 1979 | Academy |
| 8 | Stuart Pearson | F | 24(1) | 5 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | August 1979 | Manchester United |
| 9 | David Cross | CF | 38(1) | 12 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 5 | December 1977 | West Bromwich Albion |
| 10 | Trevor Brooking | CM | 36 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | July 1965 | Academy |
| 11 | Geoff Pike | CM | 27(4) | 5 | 7 (1) | 1 | 6 | 1 | July 1973 | Academy |
| Important Players ||||||||||||
| 3 | Paul Brush | LB | 27 | | 6 | | 4 | | 1977 | Academy |
| 11 | Jimmy Neighbour | W | 22(1) | 1 | 4 | | | | September 1979 | Norwich City |
| 6 | Pat Holland | M | 21(5) | 4 | 1 | | 8 | 1 | April 1969 | Academy |
| Other Players ||||||||||||
| 8 | Billy Lansdowne | F | 5 (3) | 1 | | | 4 (1) | 3 | 1978 | Academy |
| 11 | Nicky Morgan | F | 4 (2) | 1 | | | 1 | | 1978 | Academy |
| 8 | Dale Banton | F | 2 (2) | | | | 1 | | 1979 | Academy |
| 1 | Bobby Ferguson | GK | 2 | | | | 1 | | 1967 | Kilmarnock |
| 3 | Mark Smith | LB | 1 | | | | 1 | | 1979 | Academy |