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1931–32 West Ham United F.C. season

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West Ham United
1931–32 season
ChairmanWilliam White
ManagerSyd King
StadiumBoleyn Ground
First DivisionFirst Division 22nd
FA CupFourth round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Vic Watson (23)

All:
Vic Watson (25)

The 1931–32 season was West Ham's eighth season in the First Division since their promotion in season 1922–23. The club were managed by Syd King.[1]

Season summary

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As a warm-up to the season West Ham completed a three match unbeaten tour of Switzerland and began the season with their first ever win at Bolton's Burnden Park. This would be one of only 12 wins all season which saw poor form for the team.[2] February saw the return of Syd Puddefoot to the club, after ten years away, but his seven appearances and no goals did nothing to stave off relegation.[3][4] West Ham gained a single point from their last 10 games, finished 22nd and bottom and were relegated to the Second Division.[5] Vic Watson was the top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions. He was also top scorer in the league with 23. Jimmy Ruffell made the most appearances; 41 in all competitions.[5]

Relegation for West Ham had a dramatic effect on the mental health of manager King. Suffering from delusions, these became chronic during the season and were a factor towards his sacking and death the following season.[6]

West Ham made the fourth round of the FA Cup before being eliminated by Chelsea.

First Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Relegation
18 Middlesbrough 42 15 8 19 64 89 0.719 38
19 Leicester City 42 15 7 20 74 94 0.787 37
20 Blackpool 42 12 9 21 65 102 0.637 33
21 Grimsby Town (R) 42 13 6 23 67 98 0.684 32 Relegation to the Second Division
22 West Ham United (R) 42 12 7 23 62 107 0.579 31
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(R) Relegated

Results

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West Ham United's score comes first[5]

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
29 August 1931 Bolton Wanderers A 1–0 15,740 Watson
31 August 1931 Chelsea H 3–1 28,338 Norris, Weldon, Watson
5 September 1931 Middlesbrough H 0–2 23,129
7 September 1931 Sheffield United A 0–6 11,055
12 September 1931 Huddersfield A 1–3 11,986 Watson
19 September 1931 Newcastle United H 2–1 21,558 Watson, Ruffell
21 September 1931 Sheffield United H 1–2 12,075 Ruffell
26 September 1931 Aston Villa A 2–5 39,619 Wood, Tate (og)
3 October 1931 Leicester City H 1–4 20,196 Weldon
10 October 1931 Liverpool A 2–2 23,819 Weldon, Gibbins
17 October 1931 Manchester City A 1–0 18,310 Ruffell
24 October 1931 Portsmouth H 2–1 18,092 Ruffell (2)
31 October 1931 Derby County A 1–5 10,424 Watson
7 November 1931 West Bromwich Albion H 1–5 20,685 Ruffell
14 November 1931 Arsenal A 1–4 41,028 Watson
21 November 1931 Blackpool H 1–1 14,800 Ruffell
28 November 1931 Blackburn Rovers A 4–2 8,426 Barrett, Phillips, Gibbins, Watson
5 December 1931 Everton H 4–2 34,109 Ruffell (3), Wood
12 December 1931 Birmingham A 1–4 19,725 Watson
19 December 1931 Sunderland H 2–2 6,505 Barrett, Watson
25 December 1931 Grimsby A 1–2 15,132 Barrett
26 December 1931 Grimsby Town H 3–1 23,859 Watson, Ruffell (2)
2 January 1932 Bolton Wanderers H 3–1 15,997 Ruffell, Watson (2)
16 January 1932 Middlesbrough A 2–3 8,287 Watson (2)
30 January 1932 Newcastle United A 2–2 31,942 Cadwell, Watson
1 February 1932 Huddersfield Town H 1–1 8,631 Watson
6 February 1932 Aston Villa H 2–1 25,438 Yews, Phillips
18 February 1932 Leicester City A 1–2 9,983 Ruffell
20 February 1932 Liverpool H 1–0 15,721 Ruffell
2 March 1932 Manchester City H 1–1 13,524 Chalkley
5 March 1932 Portsmouth A 0–3 14,031
12 March 1932 Derby County H 2–1 19,635 Watson, Ruffell
19 March 1932 West Bromwich Albion A 1–3 19,002 Phillips
23 March 1932 Sheffield Wednesday H 1–2 19,794 Ruffell
26 March 1932 Arsenal H 1–1 34,852 Watson
28 March 1932 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–6 14,848 Watson
2 April 1932 Blackpool A 2–7 13,092 Morton, Watson
9 April 1932 Blackburn Rovers H 1–3 10,136 Watson
16 April 1932 Everton A 1–6 26,997 Cresswell (og)
23 April 1932 Birmingham H 2–4 10,983 Watson, Weldon
30 April 1932 Sunderland A 0–2 13,528
7 May 1932 Chelsea A 2–3 24,386 Yews, Barrett

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 9 January 1932 Charlton Athletic A 2–1 26,500 Watson (2)
R4 23 January 1932 Chelsea A 1–3 36,657 Weldon

Squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF England ENG Jim Barrett
MF England ENG Albert Cadwell
DF England ENG Alfred Chalkley
DF England ENG Jimmy Collins
DF England ENG Charlie Cox (captain)
DF England ENG Bob Dixon
DF England ENG Alfred Earl
FW England ENG Vivian Gibbins
DF England ENG Reg Goodacre
FW England ENG Jim Harris
GK England ENG Ted Hufton
FW Wales WAL Wilf James
FW England ENG Jackie Morton
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW England ENG Joe Musgrave
MF England ENG Fred Norris
FW England ENG Wilf Phillips
FW England ENG Walter Pollard
FW England ENG Syd Puddefoot
MF England ENG Wally St Pier
DF England ENG Reg Wade
DF England ENG William Wade
FW England ENG Vic Watson
MF England ENG Tony Weldon
FW England ENG Jim Wood
MF England ENG Tommy Yews

References

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  1. ^ "Ted Fenton". www.leaguemanagers.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  2. ^ Blows, Kirk (2000). The Essential History of West Ham United. Headline Book Publishing. p. 66. ISBN 0747270368.
  3. ^ "Syd Puddefoot". England Football Online. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  4. ^ Northcutt, John; Marsh, Steve (2015). West Ham United: The Complete Record. deCoubertin Books. pp. 148–151. ISBN 9-781909-245273.
  5. ^ a b c "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics – 1st Division 1931–32". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  6. ^ Ronay, Barney (2010). The Manager: The absurd ascent of the most important man in football. ISBN 9780751542790.