The 2010–11 season was West Ham United's sixth consecutive season in the Premier League after finishing in 17th place in the previous season. The club appointed Avram Grant as their new manager on 3 June 2010. This was following the sacking of Gianfranco Zola at the end of a disappointing 2009–10 season. On 15 May 2011, West Ham were relegated to the Championship after a comeback from Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium. With West Ham leading 2–0 at half-time by two Demba Ba goals, Wigan battled back to win 3–2 thanks to an added-time strike from Charles N'Zogbia. Following the loss, West Ham announced the sacking of manager Avram Grant just one season into his tenure.
2 July: Senior coach Paul Groves and goalkeeping coach David Coles are appointed. Both previously worked under manager Avram Grant at Portsmouth.
16 July: Pablo Barrera signs on a four-year contract, with a one-year option, for a fee of £4 million. He becomes West Ham's second summer signing of 2010.
16 July: Frédéric Piquionne joins West Ham for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract, becoming West Ham's third summer signing.
28 July: West Ham appoint Željko Petrović as assistant manager.
3 August: Tal Ben Haim joins West Ham on loan from Championship side Portsmouth until January 2011.
5 August: The signing of New Zealand international Winston Reid is completed. Reid signs a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
24 August: West Ham sell Alessandro Diamanti to Serie A club Brescia for €2.2 million.
27 August: Nigerian international Victor Obinna is signed on a season-long loan from Internazionale.
31 August: Fabio Daprelà moves to Italian side Bescia on a free transfer, signing a five-year contract.
31 August: Danish international, Lars Jacobsen signs a one-year contract, moving on a free transfer from Blackburn Rovers.
31 August: Belgian goalkeeper Ruud Boffin signs a two-year contract for a nominal fee moving from Dutch side MVV.
18 September: Manager Avram Grant is unable to take charge of the team for a game at Stoke City in respect to his Jewish holy day, Yom Kippur. Assistant coach Paul Groves, Kevin Keen and assistant manager Željko Petrović take charge for the game. Defender Tal Ben Haim was also unavailable for selection for the same reason.
25 September: West Ham gain their first win of the season and move off the bottom of the league by beating their London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, 1–0 with a goal from Frédéric Piquionne.
16 November: Vice-Chairman Karren Brady gives her backing to manager Avram Grant. Despite West Ham having won only one of thirteen league games, asked if Grant would still be the manager at the end of the season, Brady said, "Almost definitely, yes."
20 November: Carlton Cole makes this 100th start in a West Ham shirt as a weak-looking West Ham team are beaten 3–0 by Liverpool leaving West Ham with one win from their first 14 league games.
23 November: After only four months at the club, Željko Petrović, West Ham's assistant manager, leaves the club.
24 November: Former Crazy Gang member and Brentford manager Wally Downes is appointed as defensive coach.
27 November: In a game designated by the West Ham board as a game to 'save our season', West Ham beat Wigan Athletic 3–1 with goals from Valon Behrami, Victor Obinna (his first Premier League goal) and Scott Parker.
30 November: West Ham defeat defending League Cup champions Manchester United 4–0 with Victor Obinna providing all four goal assists, while Jonathan Spector, playing a more advanced role, scored his first two goals in English football. Carlton Cole also grabbed a double, handing Manchester United their first loss this season in all competitions. It is West Ham's biggest win against Manchester United since 1930.
15 December: Manager Avram Grant is handed an unusual ultimatum: win one of the next three games or face the sack. These included an away game at Blackburn (drawn), another away game at Fulham (won), and a home game against Everton (drawn).
18 December: Goalkeeper and summer signing Ruud Boffin makes his debut after injuries to Robert Green, Marek Štěch and Péter Kurucz. Sixteen-year-old Jake Larkins sits on the bench as a reserve keeper.
25 December: The Hammers celebrate Christmas at the bottom of the table, hoping to reverse the "Curse of Christmas", where the team in that position is relegated at the end of the season.
26 December: West Ham finally get an away win in their 28th game since the last away victory. A 3–1 win at Craven Cottage sees two goals by Carlton Cole and one from Frédéric Piquionne. It is the first time Cole has scored two goals in a Premier League game.
1 January: West Ham lift themselves out of the relegation zone and into 15th place with a 2–0 New Year's Day win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Freddie Sears scoring his first goal since March 2008.
11 January: West Ham win 2–1 in the first of two legs against Birmingham City at Upton Park with a goal from Mark Noble in the first half and a weak shot from Carlton Cole skewing over the line past Ben Foster. At 1–1 Victor Obinna had been sent-off for an off-the-ball incident with Sebastian Larsson.
12 January: Wayne Bridge signs on-loan from Manchester City until the end of the season.
16 January: Following two hefty losses to Newcastle and Arsenal, Avram Grant's job again comes under speculation with rumours of former Aston Villa and Celtic boss Martin O'Neill's inevitable takeover at the club.
24 January: Middlesbrough midfielder, Gary O'Neil, signs for an undisclosed fee.
25 January: Valon Behrami signs with Fiorentina and is the first player to leave permanently during the January transfer window.
11 February: The Olympic Park Legacy Committee select West Ham United as the preferred club to move into the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Olympic Games. The decision in favour of West Ham's bid was unanimous.
4 March: Scott Parker takes the Premier League Player of the Month award for February.
5 March: West Ham string back-to-back Premier League wins together for the first time this season, against Liverpool and Stoke City. January signing Demba Ba scores in both games, and following the Stoke game had scored four goals in four Premier League appearances.
12 April: Benni McCarthy leaves West Ham by mutual agreement, with a £1.5 million pay-off, after agreeing to terminate his contract.
22 April: Scott Parker is named the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.
24 April: A fourth straight defeat, 3–0 away to Chelsea, sees West Ham fall to 20th in the Premier League.
7 May: Manager Avram Grant is booed by West Ham fans during his side's 1–1 home draw with Blackburn Rovers. The Hammers are in bottom position, three points from 17th place with two games remaining.
15 May: Needing a win against Wigan Athletic to avoid relegation, West Ham lose 3–2 after a 90+4th-minute goal from Charles N'Zogbia, after having led 2–0 at half-time. They will play their next season in the Football League Championship after six seasons in the Premier League. Minutes after the game, manager Avram Grant is sacked.
22 May: Caretaker-manager Kevin Keen takes charge as a gutless West Ham side lose 0–3 to Sunderland at Upton Park. West Ham are relegated.
1 June: Sam Allardyce is appointed the new West Ham manager.
The team kits for the 2010–11 season were produced by Macron and the shirt sponsor was SBOBET.
As of 13 April 2011
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
West Ham scheduled five friendly games away from home, within the UK, in preparation for the 2010–11 Premier League season. They also played host to Spanish La Liga club Deportivo de La Coruña at the Boleyn Ground.
A total of 20 teams competed in the Premier League in the 2010–11 season. Each team played every other team twice, once at their stadium and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for a win, one point for a draw and none for defeats. The provisional fixture list was released on 17 June 2010, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage.
West Ham had their worst start to a Premier League season, losing their opening four matches to Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, Manchester United and Chelsea, conceding three goals in each, while only scoring once from open play. The club eventually got their first point of the season in a draw at Stoke City, followed by a magnificent first victory over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, but remained rooted to the bottom of the table, despite an impressive performance against Arsenal at the Emirates.
After 14 games, the Hammers still only had one solitary win, but they notched a second in a home victory against Wigan Athletic; the first time they had scored more than twice in a Premier League game this season.
The club had very different fortunes in the Carling Cup, beating League 2 outfit Oxford United with a late winner from Scott Parker. They then came away from the Stadium of Light with a third round win, followed by an extra time victory against Stoke.
West Ham made their mark on the competition with a four-goal defeat of defending League Cup champions Manchester United, while the teams sat at completely opposite ends of the Premier League table. Victor Obinna provided all four goal assists, while Jonathan Spector played a more advanced role, resulting in his first two goals in English football. Carlton Cole also grabbed a double, handing Manchester United their first loss this season in all competitions. Cole said after the match, "This is a turning point."
The Hammers went ahead in the first leg of their semi-final against Birmingham after a Ben Foster howler let in Carlton Cole, and the start of the second leg started in similar fashion, with Cole scored a screamer from outside the penalty box. However, Birmingham grabbed two goals back and sent the tie into extra time, before Craig Gardner scored from range for the Blues, sensationally sending West Ham out of the League Cup for another year.
West Ham drew Barnsley at home for their first game of the FA Cup this season. The Hammers met the Tykes in the same competition on 3 January 2009, where goals from Herita Ilunga, Mark Noble and Carlton Cole saw West Ham triumph 3–0 at home. The fourth round draw saw them up against Nottingham Forest; their last FA Cup meeting in 2003 resulting in a 3–2 win for West Ham with two goals from Jermain Defoe and one from Joe Cole. The fifth round draw saw them due to play Burnley; their last FA Cup meeting in January 1968 saw West Ham 3–1 winners at Turf Moor with two goals from Martin Peters and one from Brian Dear. This time around, West Ham emerged 5–1 victors after a Carlton Cole double, as well as a trademark thunderbolt strike from Thomas Hitzlsperger on his long-awaited first team debut. The sixth round draw saw them up against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on 13 March; their last FA Cup meeting on 17 February 1968 saw West Ham win 3–0 with two goals from Johnny Sissons and one from Geoff Hurst.
Last updated 30 Apr 2011.
