West Ham United: the Seventies (Part II)
- by Paul Sherman
- Filed: Wednesday, 19th November 2014
Just over a month later and after an eternal 32 stops on the underground, I at last stepped off the train at Upton Park station and headed down Green Street towards the Boleyn Ground for the very first time.
Adrenalin-fuelled blood coursed through my veins as my anticipation and excitement reached fever pitch! I purchased my programme (only 5p!) and queued for what seemed ages in the boys line for entry (only 20p!) into the North Bank (now the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand). I made my way through the crowd and took up a position just behind the goal.It was Saturday 30th March 1974 and we were playing the mighty Leeds United with the likes of Bremner, Hunter, Lorimer, Jordan and Clarke. Top of the table and only defeated three times in their previous 35 matches, Leeds were on their way to the title under the guidance of the ever dour Don Revie.
The Hammers stood in 19th place but had netted 44 goals in their 35 matches – a quite remarkable figure when you consider that Liverpool, in second place behind Leeds had only scored 41 goals up to that point! The Hammers clearly had a goal or two in them – but could they keep a prolific Leeds side at bay? Few would have expected an upset and it looked to be business as usual when Leeds took a 1-0 lead into the break.
Those who remember the 1973-74 season will recall what a fantastic campaign it was for new club captain Billy Bonds. Bonzo was simply inspirational and had also been banging in goals for fun in recent matches (seven in the last eight games alone). It’s a total disgrace that this swashbuckling, never say die superman was never capped by England!
Quite frankly, he should have been leading the England team onto the pitch, never mind the caps! But Billy Bonds played for West Ham not a so called “big club” like the Liverpools or Leeds of the day. It’s still the same today – you only need to make the Manchester United bench and you’ll be in the England squad for sure!
Whatever was said at half time, the effect was immediate and dramatic. Within five minutes Clyde Best had equalised and further goals from Pop Robson and Trevor Brooking sealed a very well earned and well deserved victory for the Hammers. What a start! My first home game and we’d beaten the league leaders 3-1!
Talking of England and “big clubs” and to unquestionably prove the point, how could it possibly be that the First Division’s leading goal scorer in 1972-73 - Pop Robson with 28 goals - was never considered good enough to win an England cap? More than enough said, I think!
Of course it all went by in a flash and I don’t really recall much else about the game itself or the journey back home across London. Being on such a high I’m sure I was exhausted by the time I reached home. Strangely, for such a significant moment in my life, my mind is almost a blank.
My memories of the game are non-existent, I certainly don’t remember any of the goals – yet I remember so many other things like the price of the train ticket and the entrance fee. The atmosphere inside the Boleyn Ground, we’d been playing well recently and there was a definite sense of an upset in the air. There was something else in the air as well. I remember the smell of the North Bank – a mixture of beer, monkey nuts and sweat emanating from the heaving crowd packed in like sardines. And of course the overwhelming sense of belonging.
My first home game at the Boleyn and a great victory! Unfortunately, yet another great game that went unrecorded by the TV cameras, although much to my pleasure I have recently found a very nice colour action photograph of the match on the internet. Leeds were top of the table and going for the title. It must seem almost unimaginable judged by today’s every game recorded as standard – but then, they really were very different times.
That was the start – and from then on I never looked back. From the victory over Leeds to the end of the 1973-74 season saw West Ham collecting vital points in all their remaining fixtures except for one narrow defeat at Maine Road. A resounding 4-1 home victory over Southampton and an away draw at Arsenal secured our first division status for another season. At that time we were actually one of the longest serving first division clubs. But there was still one more classic match to come – and this time the TV cameras were there.
The final match of the season at home to Liverpool turned out to be a thriller. The great Bill Shankly’s side boasted the likes of Keegan, Toshack, Smith, Hughes, Heighway and Callaghan. The Merseysider’s era of domination was just beginning. They had won the first of their five Championship wins in the 1970s the previous season and were due at Wembley the following Saturday to play Newcastle United in the FA Cup Final.
The Upton Park faithful were treated to a truly superb display from both sides. The match ending in a 2-2 draw with Kevin Keegan scoring Liverpool’s equalizer with almost the last kick (actually it was a header) of the game. It was harsh on the Hammers, who free of the threat of relegation had turned in a performance of the very highest quality and had scored two of the best goals I have ever witnessed at the Boleyn.
The first was an unstoppable thunder-strike from Frank Lampard (Snr) that swerved and curled its way past England keeper Ray Clemence into the top corner - and the second, a superb team move (pass and move that even the great Shanks must have grudgingly appreciated) that was finished with the grace and aplomb that could only be provided by Trevor Brooking - the sweetest half volley from the edge of the box that flew into the net.
The match was recorded by the Match of the Day cameras so it’s still possible to see those wonderful goals, which I urge you to do if you have not seen them – you won’t be disappointed. What is disappointing is you won’t get to see one other very memorable moment from the match. An amazing and spectacular penalty save from young Mervyn Day.
Liverpool’s Alec Lindsay stepped up in front of the North Bank to smash what seemed an unstoppable penalty kick and a certain goal. Mervyn Day had broken into the West Ham first team early in the season and had quickly established himself between the sticks. The young keeper flew across the goal with the speed and lightning reactions of a gazelle grabbing and holding onto the ball with both hands – not just deflecting the ball over the bar or around the post, he actually caught it cleanly! By any account it was an outstanding save – probably the best penalty save I’ve ever witnessed.
So there ended the 1973-74 season. I had attended three of the four final home games, seen my heroes win two matches and draw one. I had seen them score nine goals and concede four and been thoroughly entertained in the process. I was completely hooked and would be back at the Boleyn for more of the same in 1974-75.
When Sir Alex Ferguson poses the question “What is the West Ham way” you don’t need to look any further for an example than what happened during the 1973-74 season. A West Ham side that can score 44 goals in 35 matches – three more at the time than Liverpool in second place, and find themselves in 19th place in the league!
A side that can wallop the league leaders and eventual champions 3-1 and come within a minute or two of beating a great Liverpool side but gets dumped out of the FA Cup by Hereford United! A side that can be 0-2 down at home and come back to win 4-3. A side that scraps away all season in a relegation dog fight, but still plays stylish entertaining football described in the press as “aristocratic” and “football at it’s peak” – descriptions rarely used even to accolade champions.
That Sir Alex, is the West Ham way!
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