# 1988–89 West Ham United F.C. season

For the 1988–89 West Ham United F.C. season in English football, West Ham United finished 19th in the league.

## Season summary

The 1988–89 season saw new signings Allen McKnight and David Kelly both begin their West Ham United careers, but neither supplied the club with the kind of form necessary to stay in the top flight.
On 22 March 1989, it looked as though Lyall had come up with the goods to save West Ham's top flight status when he recaptured Frank McAvennie from Glasgow Celtic for a club record fee of £1.1 million – just after the player had turned down the chance to sign for Arsenal, who went on to win the league. However, McAvennie failed to repeat the goalscoring heroics of his first spell at Upton Park as he didn't score a single goal in nine league appearances and the Hammers were relegated despite winning five of their final seven games.
The club finished in 19th place in the First Division and were relegated to the second tier of the Football League.
John Lyall was sacked as manager after 15 years on 5 June 1989, by which time he was the longest serving manager at any League club. It also ended his 34-year service with the club, which had started in 1955 when he signed for them as an apprentice player from school.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 16 | Luton Town | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 42 | 52 | −10 | 41 | |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 45 | 56 | −11 | 40 | |
| 18 | Middlesbrough (R) | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 44 | 61 | −17 | 39 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 19 | West Ham United (R) | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 37 | 62 | −25 | 38 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 20 | Newcastle United (R) | 38 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 32 | 63 | −31 | 31 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## Results

West Ham United's score comes first

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 27 August 1988 | Southampton | A | 0–4 | 18,407 | |
| 3 September 1988 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–3 | 19,566 | Keen (pen) |
| 10 September 1988 | Wimbledon | A | 1–0 | 7,730 | Ward |
| 17 September 1988 | Aston Villa | H | 2–2 | 19,186 | Mountfield (o.g.), Kelly |
| 24 September 1988 | Manchester United | A | 0–2 | 39,941 | |
| 1 October 1988 | Arsenal | H | 1–4 | 27,658 | Dickens |
| 8 October 1988 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–1 | 19,608 | |
| 15 October 1988 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–2 | 14,566 | Kelly |
| 22 October 1988 | Newcastle United | H | 2–0 | 17,765 | Dickens, Stewart (pen) |
| 29 October 1988 | Liverpool | H | 0–2 | 30,188 | |
| 5 November 1988 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | 14,651 | Kelly |
| 12 November 1988 | Nottingham Forest | H | 3–3 | 21,583 | Kelly (2), Rosenior |
| 19 November 1988 | Luton Town | A | 1–4 | 9,308 | Martin |
| 26 November 1988 | Everton | H | 0–1 | 22,176 | |
| 3 December 1988 | Millwall | A | 1–0 | 20,105 | Ince |
| 10 December 1988 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 0–0 | 16,676 | |
| 17 December 1988 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–2 | 28,365 | |
| 27 December 1988 | Norwich City | A | 1–2 | 17,491 | Stewart (pen) |
| 31 December 1988 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–0 | 11,084 | |
| 2 January 1989 | Wimbledon | H | 1–2 | 18,346 | Rosenior |
| 14 January 1989 | Derby County | A | 2–1 | 16,796 | Kelly, Brady |
| 21 January 1989 | Manchester United | H | 1–3 | 29,822 | Brady (pen) |
| 4 February 1989 | Arsenal | A | 1–2 | 40,139 | Dicks |
| 25 February 1989 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–0 | 17,371 | |
| 11 March 1989 | Coventry City | H | 1–1 | 15,205 | Ince |
| 25 March 1989 | Aston Villa | A | 1–0 | 22,471 | Ince |
| 27 March 1989 | Norwich City | H | 0–2 | 27,265 | |
| 1 April 1989 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–3 | 28,376 | |
| 8 April 1989 | Derby County | H | 1–1 | 16,560 | Rosenior |
| 11 April 1989 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–2 | 16,217 | Keen |
| 15 April 1989 | Southampton | H | 1–2 | 14,766 | Brady (pen) |
| 22 April 1989 | Millwall | H | 3–0 | 16,603 | Dicks, Dickens, Parris |
| 3 May 1989 | Newcastle United | A | 2–1 | 14,202 | Keen, Ward |
| 6 May 1989 | Luton Town | H | 1–0 | 18,606 | Dickens |
| 9 May 1989 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 2–0 | 19,905 | Dickens, Rosenior |
| 13 May 1989 | Everton | A | 1–3 | 21,694 | Slater |
| 18 May 1989 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–1 | 20,943 | Rosenior (2) |
| 23 May 1989 | Liverpool | A | 1–5 | 41,855 | Rosenior |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 8 January 1989 | Arsenal | H | 2–2 | 22,017 | Dickens, Bould (o.g.) |
| R3R | 11 January 1989 | Arsenal | A | 1–0 | 44,124 | Rosenior |
| R4 | 28 January 1989 | Swindon Town | A | 0–0 | 18,627 | |
| R4R | 1 February 1989 | Swindon Town | H | 1–0 | 24,723 | Rosenior |
| R5 | 18 February 1989 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–0 | 18,785 | Slater |
| R6 | 18 March 1989 | Norwich City | H | 0–0 | 29,119 | |
| R6R | 22 March 1989 | Norwich City | A | 1–3 | 25,785 | Ince |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st leg | 27 September 1988 | Sunderland | A | 3–0 | 13,691 | Kelly (2), Rosenior |
| R2 2nd leg | 12 October 1988 | Sunderland | H | 2–1 (won 5–1 on agg) | 10,558 | Kelly, Dickens |
| R3 | 1 November 1988 | Derby County | H | 5–0 | 14,226 | Martin (2), Stewart (pen), Rosenior, Keen |
| R4 | 30 November 1988 | Liverpool | H | 4–1 | 26,971 | Ince (2), Staunton (o.g.), Gale |
| QF | 18 January 1989 | Aston Villa | H | 2–1 | 30,110 | Ince, Kelly |
| SF1 | 12 February 1989 | Luton Town | H | 0–3 | 24,602 | |
| SF2 | 1 March 1989 | Luton Town | A | 0–2 (lost 0–5 on agg) | 12,020 | |

## Squad

| Number | Player | Position | Lge Apps | Lge Gls | FAC Apps | FAC Gls | LC Apps | LC Gls | Date Signed | Previous Club |
| West Ham United 1988–89 First XI ||||||||||||
| 1 | Allen McKnight | GK | 23 | | 4 | | 6 | | 1988 | Celtic |
| 2 | Steve Potts | RB | 23(5) | | 7 | | 5 (1) | | May 1984 | Academy |
| 3 | Julian Dicks | LB | 34 | 2 | 6 | | 7 | | March 1988 | Birmingham City |
| 4 | Tony Gale | CB | 31 | | 5 | | 6 | 1 | August 1983 | Fulham |
| 5 | Alvin Martin (Captain) | CB | 27 | 1 | 5 | | 5 | 2 | July 1976 | Academy |
| 6 | Alan Dickens | CM | 34(3) | 5 | 5 (2) | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1982 | Academy |
| 7 | Mark Ward | RM | 30 | 2 | 3 | | 5 (1) | | August 1985 | Oldham Athletic |
| 8 | David Kelly | CF | 21 (4) | 6 | 6 | | 6 (1) | 4 | 1988 | Walsall |
| 9 | Leroy Rosenior | CF | 26(2) | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | March 1988 | Fulham |
| 10 | Liam Brady | LM | 21(1) | 3 | 7 | | 4 (1) | | March 1987 | Ascoli |
| 11 | Paul Ince (Hammer of the Year) | CM | 32(1) | 3 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 1986 | Academy |
| Important Players ||||||||||||
| 2 | George Parris | FB | 23(4) | 1 | 1 | | 3 | | 1985 | Academy |
| 6 | Kevin Keen | M | 16(8) | 3 | 0 (5) | | 1 (1) | 1 | 1986 | Academy |
| 9 | Stuart Slater | M/F | 16(2) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | | 1987 | Academy |
| 6 | Alan Devonshire | LM | 14(6) | | 7 | | 4 | | October 1976 | Southall |
| 1 | Phil Parkes | GK | 13 | | 3 | | 1 | | February 1979 | Queens Park Rangers |
| 5 | Paul Hilton | CB | 9 (2) | | 0 (1) | | 2 | | 1984 | Bury |
| 8 | Frank McAvennie | CF | 8 (1) | | | | | | March 1989 | Celtic |
| Other Players ||||||||||||
| 11 | Stewart Robson | M | 6 | | | | 1 | | January 1987 | Arsenal |
| 2 | Ray Stewart | RB | 5 (1) | 2 | 2 | | 1 | 1 | September 1979 | Dundee United |
| 5 | Gary Strodder | CB | 4 (3) | | 2 (2) | | 1 | | March 1987 | Lincoln |
| 1 | Tom McAlister | GK | 2 | | | | | | 1981 | Bristol Rovers |
| 12 | Tommy McQueen | LB | 0 (2) | | | | | | March 1987 | Aberdeen |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| | F | David Kelly | Walsall | |
| | G | Allen McKnight | Celtic | |
| March 1989 | F | Frank McAvennie | Celtic | £1,250,000 |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| | F | Tony Cottee | Everton | £2,200,000 |