Even though it did not win a trophy, one of West Ham’s greatest moments was avoiding relegation in the 2006/07 season.
Alan Curbishley’s side were heading for the Championship until they won seven of their last nine games to survive.
The Hammers’ remarkable run culminated with a famous 1-0 victory against title-winners Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Here is why United boss Sir Alex Ferguson faced backlash from not only reporters but a fellow manager after the game.
- READ MORE: How Alan Curbishley and Eggert Magnusson reacted straight after West Ham’s ‘Great Escape’ in 2007
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Sir Alex Ferguson refused to accept ‘criticism’ following West Ham’s survival
Having already won the Premier League, Ferguson decided to rotate a few key players for the game against West Ham.
Although Wayne Rooney was in the starting XI, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Cristiano Ronaldo all came off the bench.
This angered Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock, as his team needed Man U to beat West Ham to have a chance of staying up.
However, Ferguson denied any wrongdoing in his post-match interview with BBC Sport, suggesting it was just tough luck for Warnock.
“I feel for Sheffield United, but we did our best, and I don’t think anyone can criticise us,” argued Ferguson.
“We had 25 strikes at goal, four shots off the line, and a penalty turned down. When Neil Warnock sees the stats, he will understand we were unlucky.”
Ferguson also explained that Man Utd should not have been expected to defeat West Ham as they were in title-winning form.
“West Ham have been in championship form,” he said. “They were the team in the best form coming into these fixtures.
“Whether West Ham should be in the league is not for me to say, but their keeper made a couple of fantastic saves at the end, and we did all we could.”
Perhaps the Hammers would have won anyway, but it made a nice change for Ferguson to do them a favour.
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