A return of just four points in total after nine games represents West Ham’s worst start to a Premier League season and joint-worst of any league campaign in their history, with the club replicating the same points tally in the second tier in 1932-33, and in the top flight in 1973-74 – although on both occasions they just managed to just avoid relegation.
The 1932–33 season was West Ham’s first season back in the Second Division following their relegation in the previous season. The club were managed at the start of the season by Syd King. Two days after losing their ninth game of the season, on 7 November 1932, King was sacked. He was replaced by Charlie Paynter.
King who was reputed to have had problems with alcohol and had previously turned up at board meetings drunk and had taken West Ham’s relegation the previous season badly, such that it had affected his mental health. A month after his sacking, King committed suicide by drinking alcohol laced with a “corrosive substance”. An inquest into his death concluded that he had been suffering from paranoia and that he had taken his life “whilst of unsound mind”.
Most Read on West Ham News
League failure took its toll
In the league, the Hammers finished in 20th place that year, just one place above a relegation spot, having not been higher than 16th all season. Their defence was the poorest in the league ranking 22nd letting in 93 goals at an average of 2.21 goals every game. A run of four wins in their last five games moved them out of the relegation places with one game of the season remaining.
In the 1973–74 season, West Ham played in the First Division for the sixteenth consecutive season and were managed by Ron Greenwood at the time.
The Hammers made a poor start to the season, failing to win any of their first eleven League matches, and finishing at the bottom of the table by Christmas after losing at home to Stoke City. However, they rallied in the second half of the season, and a draw against Liverpool in their last fixture left them in 18th place, just one point ahead of relegated Southampton.
After 13 years at the helm, Greenwood moved to a new role of general manager in 1974, with assistant John Lyall taking over as first-team manager the following season.