by Paul Donovan

WEST HAM UNITED stand on the brink of their first European final for 46 years. The mountain is looking that bit harder to climb now, after losing the home leg 1-2, meaning they will have to come from behind if they are to emulate the boys of ’76.

Those of us old enough to remember will already be aware of the parallels. Back in 1976, West Ham also drew Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-final of the then European Cup Winners Cup — it was one of the great cup nights at the old Boleyn ground. 

The Hammers were 2-1 down from the first leg, ran out 3-1 winners on the night, so going through 4-3 on aggregate. The victory was inspired by a brilliant performance from Trevor Brooking, who scored two of the goals on the night.

The 1976 cup run had been an up and down affair, with West Ham always playing away in the first leg. They drew those first legs against Reipa Lahti (2-2) and Ararat Yeravan  (1-1) before winning the home legs 3-0 and 3-1 respectively.

The quarter final against Den Haag, though, saw West Ham lose the first leg in Holland before turning things round in the home leg, with a 3-1 win — going through on away goals. Unfortunately, things unravelled in the final, with the east Londoners losing 4-2 against Belgium club Anderlecht, who were hosting, so had home advantage. 

Anderlecht's Francois Van Der Elst starred that night, scoring twice. Van Der Elst later joined the Hammers starring for a couple of seasons (1981-83). He sadly died in 2017.

David Moyes’s team are different from the boys of ’76, though they share the team spirit and gritty determination to succeed. The question is whether Moyes’s team will go one step further: this time, they need to win the away leg.

Another parallel that owners and supporters will no doubt be aware of was a failure in ’76 to subsequently provide the funds for then manager John Lyall to strengthen his team. They were a good young side, made up of youth team products like goalkeeper Mervyn Day and Kevin Lock supplemented by some inspired bargain signings such as Billy Jennings (Watford), Alan Taylor (Rochdale) and Keith Robson (Newcastle). 

The team won the FA Cup in 1975 and were riding high in the league till Christmas in the ’75/’76 season. However, the loss in the Cup Winners Cup final came as a big blow. There were no new signings, the team struggled and were relegated in the n’78-9 season.

There has been much debate this season about West Ham's failure to make signings in January. Premier League form has suffered in recent weeks, with the team reduced to playing one recognised centre back (Craig Dawson) at one point. If they do come up short, many will point to the failure to strengthen the squad.

Let’s hope history does not repeat itself and Moyes’s team can go one step further and win the Europa League. Then, that the club make the signings so desperately needed in the summer, if Moyes’s brave footballing venture is to progress further.