West Ham United are one of the English professional football clubs in the Premier League. The club popularly called the Hammers is based in Stratford, East London. The club compete in the top tier of English football and is owned by David Sulivan and David Gold.
The club which was established in 1895 was formerly called Thames Ironworks and renamed in 1900 as West Ham United. They moved to the Boleyn Ground in 1904, which remained their home ground for more than a century. The club then moved to Upton Park before finally relocating to the London Stadium in 2016.
The team initially competed in the Southern League and Western League before joining the Football League in 1919. They were promoted to the top flight in 1923, when they were also losing finalists in the first FA Cup Final held at Wembley. In 1940, the club won the inaugural Football League War Cup.
West Ham have been winners of the FA Cup three times, in 1964, 1975, and 1980, and have also been runners-up twice, in 1923, and 2006. The club has reached two major European finals, winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965 and finishing runners-up in the same competition in 1976.
The Hammers also won the Intertoto Cup in 1999. They are one of eight clubs never to have fallen below the second tier of English football, spending 61 of 92 league seasons in the top flight. The club’s highest league position to date came in 1985–86, when they achieved third place in the then First Division.
Former Man United manager David Moyes was brought in halfway through as manager to help West Ham escape the relegation zone after a disastrous first-half under Slaven Bilic. He was let go at the end of the season after the club finished 13th on the table. In order to compete in the league, the club employed the services of former Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini at the start of last season.
Club fans were expecting a lot this season but their expectations were not met. This led to fans protesting against the club board. Pelligrini was later sacked as a result of the club’s underperformance. Former manager Moyes was brought back to help save the club from relegation as he did three years ago.
West Ham United have a wage bill limit of £77 million a year. But currently, their wage bill is at £60 million as of the 2017-18 season. Just last season the club made a record revenue of £89.8 million which they will be looking to bring in some new faces to this team either this January transfer window or in the summer.
The club’s highest-paid player is Ukranian international Andriy Yarmolenko. The striker earns a weekly wage of £115,000 per-week. He is being described as a “complete” footballer due to his playing style.
Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is the second-highest-paid player at West Ham. The injury-prone player has not featured for the Hammers this season in the league despite his huge wage.
West Ham United F.C. 2019-20 Payroll
| Player | Gross Weekly Wages |
| Andriy Yarmolenko | £115,000 |
| Jack Wilshere | £100,000 |
| Felipe Anderson | £85,000 |
| Michail Antonio | £70,000 |
| Manuel Lanzini | £70,000 |
| Angelo Ogbonna | £70,000 |
| Winston Reid | £70,000 |
| Issa Diop | £68,000 |
| Lukasz Fabianski | £65,000 |
| Aaron Cresswell | £50,000 |
| Mark Noble | £50,000 |
| Carlos Sanchez | £50,000 |
| Fabian Balbuena | £40,000 |
| Ryan Fredericks | £40,000 |
| Arthur Masuaku | £40,000 |
| Robert Snodgrass | £40,000 |
