John Lyall had made no signings during the close season, and it stayed that way until Stewart Robson was brought in in January. He was joined at West Ham two months later by other new signings Gary Strodder, Tommy McQueen and Ireland international Liam Brady.
In this injury-ravaged season some of the new batch of Academy players got their chance to play including Kevin Keen, Paul Ince and future captain Steve Potts.
The West Ham fans were so disappointed with the team's underachievement that year, that Billy Bonds was voted Hammer of the Year even though he only made 17 league and 7 cup appearances for the team.
Tony Cottee was the club's top scorer with 22 league goals and 28 in all competitions, but his strike partner Frank McAvennie was disappointing with just seven league goals (11 in all competitions) after being the top flight's second highest scorer the previous campaign, this being a large factor in the fact that the Hammers finished a lowly 15th in the league just a year after finishing third and being just four points short of their first top division title.
| Number | Player | Position | Lge Apps | Lge Gls | FAC Apps | FAC Gls | LC Apps | LC Gls | Date Signed | Previous Club | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ham United 1986-87 First XI | |||||||||||
| 1 | Phil Parkes | GK | 33 | 5 | 6 | February 1979 | Queens Park Rangers | ||||
| 2 | Ray Stewart | RB | 23 | 4 | 3 | 3 | September 1979 | Dundee United | |||
| 3 | George Parris | LB | 35(1) | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1985 | Academy | ||
| 4 | Tony Gale | CB | 32 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | August 1983 | Fulham | ||
| 5 | Billy Bonds (Captain) (Hammer of the Year) |
CB | 13(4) | 3 (1) | 1 (2) | 1967 | Charlton | ||||
| 6 | Alan Devonshire | LM | 20 | 2 | 3 | 4 | October 1976 | Southall | |||
| 7 | Mark Ward | RM | 37 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | August 1985 | Oldham Athletic | ||
| 8 | Frank McAvennie | CF | 36 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | June 1985 | St. Mirren | ||
| 9 | Alan Dickens | CM | 31(5) | 3 | 2 (1) | 4 | 2 | 1982 | Academy | ||
| 10 | Tony Cottee | CF | 42 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 5 | September 1982 | Academy | |
| 11 | Neil Orr | CM | 21(1) | 1 | 1 | 4 | January 1982 | Morton | |||
| Important Players | |||||||||||
| 11 | Stewart Robson | M | 18 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | January 1987 | Arsenal | ||
| 5 | Alvin Martin | CB | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | July 1976 | Academy | |||
| 5 | Paul Hilton | CB | 15(1) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 (1) | 1984 | Bury | ||
| 2 | Steve Walford | LB | 13(1) | 3 | 4 (1) | August 1983 | Norwich | ||||
| 6 | Liam Brady | M | 12 | 2 | March 1987 | Ascoli | |||||
| 5 | Gary Strodder | CB | 12 | March 1987 | Lincoln | ||||||
| 9 | Geoff Pike | M | 10(1) | 4 | 1 | September 1974 | Academy | ||||
| 6 | Kevin Keen | M | 7 (6) | 1 (1) | 1 | 2 | 1986 | Academy | |||
| 6 | Paul Ince | M | 7 (3) | 1 | 1 | 1986 | Academy | ||||
| Other Players | |||||||||||
| 1 | Tom McAlister | GK | 9 | 1981 | Bristol Rovers | ||||||
| 3 | Tommy McQueen | LB | 9 | March 1987 | Aberdeen | ||||||
| 2 | Steve Potts | RB | 8 | May 1984 | Academy | ||||||
| 8 | Paul Goddard | CF | 3 (1) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1980 | Queens Park Rangers | |||
| 12 | Eamonn Dolan | CF | 0 (1) | 1986 | Academy | ||||||
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