Vital Statistics
Founded: 1895
Owners: David Sullivan, David Gold, CB Holding Ltd & Minority Investors
Last Season: Premier League - 20th
Nicknames: The Hammers, The Irons
Rivals: Millwall, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea
Major Honours
FA Cup: 1964, 1975, 1980
Cup Winners' Cup: 1965
Scheduled Matches
West Ham vs Portsmouth: Saturday, September 10th (3pm)
Portsmouth vs West Ham: Saturday, January 14th (3pm)
Transfers In
Abdoulaye Faye (Stoke - Free)
Kevin Nolan (Newcastle - Undisclosed)
Matthew Taylor (Bolton - Undisclosed)
Joey O'Brien (Bolton - Free)
John Carew (Aston Villa - Free)
George McCartney (Sunderland - Loan)
Sam Baldock (MK Dons - Undisclosed)
Brian Montenegro (Deportivo Maldonado - Loan)
Papa Bouba Diop (AEK Athens - Free)
David Bentley (Tottenham - Loan)
Henri Lansbury (Arsenal - Loan)
Guy Demel (Hamburg - Undisclosed)
Transfers Out
Danny Gabbidon (QPR - Free)
Jonathan Spector (Birmingham - Free)
Matthew Upson (Released)
Demba Ba (Newcastle - Free)
Manuel da Costa (Lokomotiv Moscow - Undisclosed)
Thomas Hitzlsperger (Released)
Radoslav Kovac (FC Basel - Free)
Keiron Dyer (QPR - Free)
Luis Boa Morte (Larissa - Free)
Jordan Spence (Bristol City - Loan)
Zavon Hines (Burnley - Tribunal)
Pablo Barerra (Real Zaragoza - Loan)
Scott Parker (Tottenham - £5 million)
Junior Stanislas (Burnley - Undisclosed)
The Manager: Sam Allardyce
After a modest playing career and short but relatively successful spells in management at Blackpool and Notts County, Allardyce made a name for himself at Bolton Wanderers where he transformed the club from Division One also-rans into Premiership mainstays challenging for UEFA Cup places.
Big Sam made the shock decision to leave Bolton at the end of the 2006/2007 season and was then appointed manager at Newcastle, where his career took a downturn as poor results, including a 4-1 thrashing at St. James' Park by Pompey, saw him hounded out of the club.
Allardyce's next job was at Blackburn where he steadied a sinking ship only to be surprisingly sacked from that role too. After a short time away from management, Sam replaced Avram Grant as West Ham manager in the summer, knowing another dismissal will be on his CV if he fails to achieve promotion.
The Fans
West Ham fans have plenty in common with Portsmouth fans as both fanbases are considered "working class" and neither like Harry Redknapp that much.
Both clubs always have something going on whether it be dodgy transfer deals or owners making fools of themselves and so there are a few things that Pompey and Hammers fans can relate to.
There are many famous West Ham supporters, especially actors which include Ray Winstone, John Cleese, Danny Dyer and half the cast of Eastenders. Other well known Irons fans are boxers Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis, Prodigy frontman Keith Flint, TV irritant Noel Edmonds and even bigger TV irritant Jeremy Kyle.
The Ground: The Boleyn Ground (Capacity: 35,500)
More affectionately known as Upton Park, the home of West Ham is what you'd call a "proper football ground" as it still has a traditional feel about it although parts of the stadium are now more modern.
My only criticisms of West Ham are that all the pubs nearby the ground seem to be for home fans only, it's an awful place to find a parking space for and if you're sat too far back in the away section (lower tier of the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand) then you'll have a letterbox view.
I seem to have lost the photos I had of Upton Park, so they'll come sometime in September.