West Ham regained their top-flight status via the play-offs in 2005 and have since consolidated their position back among England's elite. The Hammers' 10-year stay in the Premier League ended with a nail-biting final-day draw at Birmingham City in May 2003, which came after a season spent battling to retain their Premier League status. Under Billy Bonds and then Harry Redknapp, the Hammers established themselves in the Premier League before finding their feet and recording four top-10 finishes in the space of five years. And Redknapp's successor, Glenn Roeder, continued the momentum with a seventh-placed finish in his first campaign, 2001/2002. After the long-serving Bonds guided the team back into the top flight in 1993, Redknapp stepped up from his post as assistant manager to take the helm in 1994 and led the evolution from strugglers to the Premier League's stylish stalwarts. In the former winger's seven-year reign, he brought stars such as the charismatic Italian Paolo di Canio to the Boleyn Ground. The club's famous youth system has produced some outstanding talent such as England stars Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick. A brand of open, attacking football remains West Ham's trademark and the Hammers faithful won't accept anything less. Roeder fell ill towards the end of the 2002/03 season and, although club director and United legend Trevor Brooking stepped into the breach and enjoyed an unbeaten streak, the club were unable to avoid the drop. Alan Pardew took over in October 2003 and guided the east London side to the play-off final in his first season, where they suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. They were not to be denied 12 months later, though, after finishing sixth in the Coca-Cola Championship to clinch the final play-off place. Boyhood Hammers fan Bobby Zamora struck at the Millennium Stadium to see off Preston and secure West Ham's return to the Premier League at the second time of asking. They finished a respectable ninth in 2005/06 and secured a place in the UEFA Cup as FA Cup runners-up. In the summer of 2006 the Hammers pulled off a remarkable double transfer coup by bringing Argentina internationals Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to Upton Park. Icelandic businessman Eggert Magnusson's consortium completed their takeover of the club in November. Pardew was sacked the following month with his side struggling in the bottom three and Alan Curbishley took over in his place.

A belief in entertaining football has been forged into the side created by workers from the shipbuilding company Thames Iron Works in 1895. The club was relaunched in 1900 as West Ham United and elected to the Football League in 1919. Success came in 1923 with promotion to the First Division and an appearance in the first Wembley FA Cup final. Later, under the auspices of captain Malcolm Allison and later coach Ron Greenwood, the Hammers plotted for the future by nurturing young talent and introducing innovative coaching techniques. It paid off with FA Cup victory in 1964, a European Cup Winners' Cup triumph in 1965 and the club rightfully took credit when three homegrown stars - captain Bobby Moore, striker Geoff Hurst and midfielder Martin Peters - helped England win the 1966 World Cup. Another FA Cup victory in 1975 was followed by relegation in 1978. There was a return to Wembley in 1980 and the Hammers, still in the Second Division, shocked Arsenal 1-0. After mixed success in the 1980s, West Ham sealed promotion to the Premier League in 1993. And standing by their beliefs, the Hammers graced the Premier League for 10 years until their relegation in 2003. Secured a return to the top flight two seasons later via the play-offs, beating Preston 1-0 in Cardiff.