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...
West Ham slouched into February 2005 low on form, low on confidence, and in a lowly ninth position in the Championship. A dismal start to the year had seen us freefall out of the play-off spots. It felt like we were back on familiar territory: a crisis club. Where every win served to alleviate only the tiniest bit of pressure, but every defeat pushed us back into a spiral of doom.
As it had been for several months, Alan Pardew’s approval rating was in the doldrums too. He was meant to be a bright, young manager who would reinvigorate the Club after the malaise of relegation. Instead, his tactics had become increasingly baffling, his teams seemed like they were selected by Scissors, Paper, Stone, and his post-match interviews were becoming increasingly tetchy. Like any manager under severe pressure, the excuses – which were akin to the navigator on the Titanic blaming the iceberg for its lack of lateral movement – were wearing thin.
Sometimes the FA Cup offers a welcome distraction to teams struggling for league form. Those who watched us stumble to a 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield United thought differently. After Marlon Harewood volleyed his eleventh of the season, we were blunted as an attacking force by the Blades’ physical approach. They equalised early in the second half and the game disintegrated as a spectacle. The ball spent the last half hour as an interested onlooker whilst 22 grown men elbowed, niggled, and argued their way to the final whistle. Pardew was furious afterwards that the referee had only allotted three minutes of injury time. The 19,444 souls who had parted with their wages to watch this debacle wholeheartedly disagreed.
The real focus was on the next home game against Cardiff. The lowly Bluebirds were hovering just above the relegation zone. We were on a run of three League defeats. We knew that quality would be in short supply. We also knew that a defeat would certainly mean the end of Pards’ reign as West Ham manager.
For 89 minutes, we were inferior to the visitors, who somehow contrived to miss a hatful of gilt-edged chances. Chants of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ were routinely aimed at the home dugout by the visiting fans. And it was hard to disagree. To his credit, Pardew kept making changes, kept tinkering, kept trying anything to make his ramshackle outfit resemble a cohesive football team. Nothing worked. The chants grew louder. The end was near.
The funny thing about football is that just when you think all hope is lost, one moment can offer redemption. And in this case, it came from the unlikely head of Carl Fletcher. In the 89th minute the midfield huffer-and-puffer timed his run perfectly to bury an excellent Chris Powell cross into the far corner.
To describe this as a robbery would be grossly unjust to Cardiff. This was a heist of Brinks Mat magnitude. We might as well have played the match in balaclavas. But the bounty was precious. Three points. Three points that kept us within sight of the Play-Offs, and kept Alan Pardew in gainful employment for another week at least.
A loss on penalties in the replay at Bramall Lane felt inconsequential. All eyes were on Plymouth at home. Was the last-gasp win over Cardiff a fluke? Or had Pardew’s luck finally turned?
Within ten minutes, we had our answer.
First, a needless handball allowed Harewood to put us ahead from the penalty spot. Then, a near-post corner was bundled home by a Plymouth defender who had momentarily lost motor function of his feet.
To rub salt in the wounds, Malky Mackay volleyed a neat third to put us in the highly unusual position of enjoying half-time. For once the players and staff could enjoy their cups of tea without the traditional inquest at 3.45pm on a Saturday afternoon.
The game turned into high farce in the second half. Steve Bywater performed the sort of save that made Gordon Banks a household name, before Fletcher curled in a cross that would have made David Beckham blush – and it was buried by Teddy Sheringham. The veteran striker doubled his tally from the penalty spot late on, though even that had an element of fortune. His first effort was brilliantly parried, only for the referee to order a retake due to encroachment. Sheringham made no mistake this time to seal a bizarre, but welcome thrashing.
A 5-0 win, albeit partly thanks to two penalties and an own goal, was to be savoured in this most frustrating of seasons. The talk afterwards was of this being the turning point.
Whether it was by luck or judgement, Alan Pardew’s West Ham United were back in the Play-Off hunt. After a nightmare start to 2005, the Premier League dream was – somehow - still alive.
Maybe, just maybe, fortune wasn’t hiding after all.
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 and opinions of West Ham United.
