Sid Lambert takes us back 20 years to the 2004/05 season, when Alan Pardew’s Hammers secured a rollercoaster return to the Premier League...
By late November 2004, Alan Pardew was already pondering a Christmas break. His West Ham team had spluttered to two successive defeats, firstly at Brighton and then at arch-rivals Millwall. The latter had seen the massed ranks of the Claret and Blue Army call for a new manager. And it was easy to understand why.
We were woefully inconsistent. No-one could accuse Pardew of not trying things. After every poor showing, changes were made. New signings. New tactics. New formations. But it made no difference. The inconsistencies remained. One week we could play like Arrigo Sacchi’s famed Milan side of the 1980s. The next we played like a group of Dads in the school playground who’d decided to have a jovial kickaround.
The pressure on Pards was growing. One more bad defeat and he could face the prospect of spending Boxing Day in front of the telly watching Only Fools & Horses rather than West Ham vs Forest. To be honest, given our form, most fans would say that was the better option anyway.
What the gaffer needed was a fast start in the home game with Watford. A statement of intent. A demonstration to the fans that Pardew’s team was going to fight their way out of this cursed division.
We were 2-0 down within 20 minutes.
You can only imagine what was going on in the director’s box. Trevor Brooking might have to cancel his game of golf on Monday and get his tracksuit back on.
This was dreadful stuff. And all of our own doing.
Some smart Watford play ended up with a ball drilled across the edge of the penalty area where you’d expect a defensive midfielder to mop up the danger. Unfortunately, our midfield was closer to Nathan’s Pie & Mash than the onrushing Watford man who put the away side ahead.
Then Tomáš Řepka had one of those Tomas Řepka moments. Not the one where he bizarrely tries to rearrange the human anatomy of an opponent with his studs or his elbow. The other one. Where he presents a gilt-edged chance to an opposition striker. In fairness, the ball over the top was an awkward one to head clear. But a player of Řepka’s quality – and there were many days when he was a colossus – should have dealt with it better. Bruce Dyer duly doubled the Hornets’ advantage.
These are the moments when you find out a lot about football teams. A manager under pressure. Discontent in the stands. It takes characters to dig you out of trouble. To still want the ball and not shy away from responsibility.
Step forward Nigel Reo-Coker. The energetic midfielder slotted home after a free-kick was parried into his path.
And from there the afternoon went from the sublime to the ridiculous. If you’d asked West Ham fans outside the ground who would be the match-winners today, you’d have got very little money on Darren Powell and Sergei Rebrov. Powell had signed from Crystal Palace on loan as part of Pardew’s revolving-door policy at centre-back. Whether he was demonstrably better than any of the previous incumbents was open to question, but he boosted his stock no end by heading home a corner to level the scores before half-time.
Meanwhile Rebrov, who had spent most of his time in Claret & Blue hovering on the periphery of matches, finally took centre stage. Matty Etherington galloped down the left, fizzed the ball across, and the Ukrainian slid home expertly. It was the sort of instinctive finish that made him one of Europe’s rising stars alongside Andriy Shevchenko at Dynamo Kyiv just a few years earlier. Now ‘Sheva’ was a global superstar at Milan and little Sergei was celebrating goals against Watford like he’d won the World Cup. Football can be a cruel game sometimes.
The Ukrainian kept his place for the long trip north to Sunderland. And for once this season we started the game without shooting ourselves in the foot. In fact, it was the hosts who were intent on self-sabotage. Steven Caldwell was sent off for some needless aggro with Luke Chadwick in the first half, and we were in the ascendancy. Chadwick, who was having one of those games that made you wonder why Manchester United let him go, sprinted clear of the full-back and crossed for Marlon Harewood to continue his scoring streak.
Late in the game the away following was treated to the sight of Teddy Sheringham returning from injury. And the wily old marksman sealed the occasion with the decisive goal thanks to the unselfish work of Bobby Zamora. After Harewood’s pass set Zamora through the offside trap, the former Brighton and Spurs striker looked set to pull the trigger. Instead, he sold the defender a sublime dummy and squared for Sheringham to add another tap-in to his collection.
It was those rarest of treats in this topsy-turvy season: a comfortable away win. Six points, five goals, and two wins meant Pards could cancel his Christmas plans after all. Promotion was back on.
Sid has a new book out: ‘Highs, Lows and Di Canios: The Fans’ Guide to West Ham United in the 90s’. Visit www.thewesthamway.com, or head into the official West Ham store for a rollercoaster ride through one of the most turbulent decades in Claret & Blue history.
*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views opinions of West Ham United.
