2011–12 West Ham United F.C. season
season of football team
The 2011–12 season was West Ham United's first season back in the Football League Championship, after being relegated from the Premier League at the conclusion of 2010–11 campaign. They also competed in the League Cup and the FA Cup. It was their first season under Sam Allardyce, who was appointed in May 2011 after the sacking of the club's previous manager, Avram Grant. On 19 May 2012, West Ham gained promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, as they won the play-off final by defeating Blackpool 2–1 at Wembley.
Season summary
Sam Allardyce was appointed as the club's new manager on 1 June 2011, after his predecessor Avram Grant was sacked following the club's relegation with a 3–2 defeat at Wigan Athletic.
For the majority of the season West Ham looked on course for automatic promotion, and even briefly topped the division on 1 March, but eventually finished third, after being beaten to automatic promotion by Southampton on the final day of the season, despite a 2–1 win against Hull City. Failure to win a league game in March saw West Ham overtaken by Reading, who defeated the Hammers 4–2 in a key game at Upton Park, and Southampton. and despite a late rally the team had to settle for a play-off place. West Ham's 13 away wins constituted a club record for any league season. They also recorded the fewest defeats (8) of any team in the Championship this season and had the second best goal difference, but 14 draws saw the club miss out on automatic promotion.
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