Advertise on podcast: The West Ham Syndrome

This week Andrew and Max sit down with a man who's done a bit of everything - journalist, author, broadcaster and podcasting powerhouse Sam Delaney. Before any of that, Sam was a parliamentary researcher working alongside Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband, until a switch into journalism took him through Loaded, Heat magazine (as editor-in-chief), Comedy Central UK, talkSPORT, BBC London and his own show on RT. He's written five books spanning advertising history, fatherhood and men's mental health. On the podcasting side, Sam co-hosts the hugely popular Top Flight Time Machine (25 million-plus downloads and counting), runs The Reset (a deep dive into men's mental health) and, keeping things claret and blue, co-hosts You Irons alongside The Athletic's Roshane Thomas and George Pointon. In this episode, we cover the lot: his path from Westminster to the media, the highs (and stress) of running Heat and Comedy Central, fatherhood and Night of the Living Dad, the state of men's mental health today, and of course his own West Ham story. We finish with the quickfire questions — first game, best goal, worst heartbreak and what "the West Ham way" really means to him. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

This week Andrew and Max sit down with a man who's done a bit of everything - journalist, author, broadcaster and podcasting powerhouse Sam Delaney. Before any of that, Sam was a parliamentary researcher working alongside Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband, until a switch into journalism took him through Loaded, Heat magazine (as editor-in-chief), Comedy Central UK, talkSPORT, BBC London and his own show on RT. He's written five books spanning advertising history, fatherhood and men's mental health. On the podcasting side, Sam co-hosts the hugely popular Top Flight Time Machine (25 million-plus downloads and counting), runs The Reset (a deep dive into men's mental health) and, keeping things claret and blue, co-hosts You Irons alongside The Athletic's Roshane Thomas and George Pointon. In this episode, we cover the lot: his path from Westminster to the media, the highs (and stress) of running Heat and Comedy Central, fatherhood and Night of the Living Dad, the state of men's mental health today, and of course his own West Ham story. We finish with the quickfire round — first game, best goal, worst heartbreak and what "the West Ham way" really means to him. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

This week on The West Ham Syndrome, Andrew and Max are joined by Brian Williams, journalist, author and West Ham supporter of over fifty years, to discuss his two books about the club and what it means to follow the Hammers across a lifetime. Brian's first book, Nearly Reach the Sky (2015), is part memoir, part history lesson and part farewell to Upton Park. It traces fifty years of following West Ham through the great players, great occasions and great calamities, weaving in the broader story of the East End and what the club has meant to its community. His second, Home from Home (2017), charts West Ham's move from the Boleyn Ground to the London Stadium by comparing the last season at Upton Park with the first at Stratford, a passionate account of what supporters left behind when the club moved. We talk about how Brian came to support West Ham as a kid growing up in West London, the first letter he ever had published in a football magazine, and Sam Allardyce's time in charge of the club. We also discuss the pre-match rituals that made matchday at Upton Park what it was, whether anything has improved at the London Stadium in the decade since Brian was writing about it and what the future might hold under new ownership. Both books are available through Biteback Publishing and on Amazon. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

This week on The West Ham Syndrome, Andrew and Max take on the 2026 World Cup and the question West Ham fans have been arguing about for sixty years. Did West Ham win the 1966 World Cup? All four of England's goals in the final were scored by West Ham players. The moves that produced them were rehearsed at Upton Park under Ron Greenwood. The composure that defined extra time was Bobby Moore's, and Moore's football education started at West Ham when he was twelve years old. Andrew and Max make the case, scrutinise it properly, and try to land somewhere honest. From there, the episode takes in the full sweep of West Ham at the World Cup, from Harry Hooper in 1954 to the five current Hammers in North America right now. There are signings that worked, signings that didn't, and at least one that ended with a man climbing out of a hotel window. Andrew and Max each pick their best ever West Ham World Cup XI and defend their selections. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

This week on The West Ham Syndrome, Andrew and Max are joined by Pete May - journalist, author, blogger and lifelong Hammer - for a wide-ranging conversation about three decades of writing West Ham United. Pete has written five books solely about the club, from Irons in the Soul (2002) and Hammers in the Heart (2005), through to Flying So High: West Ham's Cup Finals (2015), Goodbye to Boleyn (2016), and most recently Massive: The Miracle of Prague (2024). His Hammers in the Heart blog has been running since 2008 and is approaching four million views. We talk about what compelled Pete to write about the turbulent 2001/02 season, the emotional weight of leaving the Boleyn Ground, and how Prague fits into the broader story of West Ham's identity. Along the way, we get into some of the more eccentric corners of the club's history - including the short-lived West Ham Hotel and the club's own branded Chardonnay wine. We also touch on David Sullivan's resignation and Monday night's Panorama documentary before getting into Pete's quick-fire answers, where he tells us his favourite West Ham player, best game he's seen live, and what the West Ham way means to him. Pete's blog and Substack can be found at hammersintheheart.blogspot.com. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

This week, Andrew and Max are joined by journalist and author Christopher Lepkowski to discuss his book The Slum Sport, which tells the story of the 1985-86 football season - the year that came closer to producing a West Ham title than anything before or since. We explore the extraordinary context of a sport in crisis: the aftermath of Heysel, the Bradford fire, and the total absence of football on television for half a season. Chris explains how Margaret Thatcher's government treated football fans in much the same way it treated the miners, and how Ted Croker famously pushed back in Downing Street. We also get into how the European ban robbed a generation of English players of an education, and why the stirrings of a breakaway Super League were already happening in 85-86. Then we turn to the West Ham specifics: the story of how Frank McAveney almost signed for Luton, the Stringfellows encounter that tells you everything about the Cottee-McAveney partnership, the 8-1 win over Newcastle, and just how close John Lyall's side came to pulling off something remarkable. Chris also talks us through the chapter song titles, the players nobody had heard of, and why that season planted the seeds of what would eventually become the Premier League. The Slum Sport is available now. Search "The Slum Sport" or find Chris on X at @_ChrisLepkowski. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

Well. Here we are. In what is easily their least enjoyable recording session to date, Andrew and Max sit down to make sense of the unthinkable - West Ham United's relegation to the Championship after a season that was, in truth, a long time coming. Taking inspiration from A Christmas Carol (the Muppets version, naturally), the lads split this one into three acts. The Ghost of West Ham Past takes us back to January 2010, when David Sullivan and David Gold walked through the door with the proceeds of a Birmingham City sale and a plan that always had more to do with profit than passion. From the stadium deal that lined their pockets while breaking fans' hearts, to the criminal mishandling of David Moyes and the Declan Rice windfall - Andrew and Max unpick exactly how the seeds of this relegation were planted long before a ball was kicked this season. The Ghost of West Ham Present surveys the wreckage: £350 million spent since the Rice sale, a revolving door of managers, a squad built by committee (if that committee was one man on his phone), and a boardroom that has haemorrhaged its senior leadership faster than the team haemorrhaged points.  And the Ghost of West Ham Future? Sullivan won't sell cheap. Kretinsky lurks. The finances are brutal.  Scrooge, in the end, changes his ways. Whether David Sullivan will do the same is, frankly, less certain. COYI. Whatever league we're in. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

In 2015, with West Ham's move from the Boleyn Ground to the London Stadium announced, photographer and creative director Joseph Fordham set himself a task: to collect 112 portraits and personal accounts from fans, players and club figures - one for every year West Ham had called Upton Park home. What followed was 374 days of matchday photography, interviews over email, recorded conversations in the club bar, and one memorable trip to Gloucester to photograph Sir Geoff Hurst. The result was No Place Like Home, a self-funded, self-published book that sold 2,000 copies and captured a moment in time that can never be repeated. In this episode, Joe joins Andrew and Max to talk through the making of the book - how the idea came to him on a train, how Tony Carr opened a door that led to Sir Geoff Hurst, how David Gold gave up 45 minutes of his time and lit up talking about the old days, and why it took him nearly a decade to look back at the finished product with genuine pride. We also get into the fanzine that followed - 10 issues of irreverent, offbeat fun produced out of the Truman Brewery - Joe's complicated feelings about the London Stadium and what No Place Like Home has grown into since. Plus the quickfire round: first game, favourite player, best goal, worst heartbreak and what the West Ham Way really means. A proper love letter to the Boleyn Ground and the people who made it home. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

We're back! Season 2 of The West Ham Syndrome is here and we're kicking things off with a special episode marking the 20th anniversary of the 2006 FA Cup Final. On 13 May 2006, West Ham United faced Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in a match now widely regarded as one of the greatest FA Cup finals ever played. We take you through West Ham's road to the final, the context surrounding that season, and every moment of a game that had absolutely everything. We also take an honest (and slightly painful) look at how close West Ham have come to a final in the twenty years since. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

In this episode of The West Ham Syndrome Podcast, we’re doing something slightly different. Instead of focusing on matchdays, players, or club politics, we’re heading back to the 1990s to revisit a memorable crossover between West Ham United and the Nickelodeon series Renford Rejects — specifically the Series 3 episode, “Another Italian”. For many fans, Renford Rejects was part of growing up: a football show aimed at younger audiences that still managed to capture the spirit of the game surprisingly well. In this episode, a prank phone call leads to a dream trial at West Ham’s Chadwell Heath training ground, with Harry Redknapp and a late-90s squad featuring names like Paolo Di Canio and Rio Ferdinand making cameo appearances. We talk through the episode, reflect on the 90s football culture it represents, touch on the familiar faces who appeared in the series, and consider why moments like this stick in the memory. A slightly lighter, nostalgic detour — but still very much part of the wider story of West Ham and what it means to grow up with the club. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

West Ham United are ranked 20th in Deloitte’s Football Money League, placing them among Europe’s highest-revenue clubs. And yet, as this season has shown, they remain firmly entangled in a relegation battle. How can a club with elite-level revenues still be financially vulnerable? In this episode of The West Ham Syndrome, we’re joined by football finance journalist Chris Weatherspoon to unpack the financial realities behind Premier League survival and what relegation would really mean for West Ham United. Drawing on Chris’ detailed analysis, we explore how revenues typically fall by around 46% after relegation, why broadcast income can halve overnight even with parachute payments, and how rising costs, including a £161m wage bill, £83.5m in transfer amortisation, and significant short-term transfer liabilities, complicate the picture. We also discuss why headline rankings like Deloitte’s Money League can create a false sense of financial security, the unique advantages of West Ham’s London Stadium deal, and why modern football increasingly produces clubs that are rich, but not resilient. 🔗 Read the original article: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6773309/2025/11/07/west-ham-relegation-finances-impact/  (“West Ham United’s finances if they were relegated” by Chris Weatherspoon) Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

In this episode, we’re joined by Peter O’Prey – lifelong Hammer, retired teacher, and the founder and Chairman of the Belfast Hammers. Growing up in Belfast during the height of the Troubles, Peter reflects on what life was like in a deeply divided city and how supporting West Ham United became a source of solace, identity, and connection during turbulent times. From early supporter groups like the Twin Hammers to the founding of the Belfast Hammers in 1999, Peter explains how the group was shaped around one simple principle: “The only religion is West Ham.” We talk about the stories behind Peter’s 2024 book of the same name, the matches that defined a lifetime of following the club (both glorious and grim), and what a matchday pilgrimage from Belfast to East London really looks like. Along the way, there’s nostalgia, heartbreak, humour, and plenty of classic West Ham pain. The episode also features a quick-fire deep dive into Peter’s West Ham memories: favourite players, goals, kits, managers, and what he’d contribute to a virtual West Ham museum – before finishing with a thoughtful reflection on what “the West Ham way” truly means. 🎟️ Event plug: We’re also delighted to help promote an upcoming Belfast Hammers event, An Evening with Sir Trevor Brooking, celebrating one of the club’s true legends. 👉 Tickets available via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening-with-sir-trevor-brooking-tickets-1810390981159 👥 Get involved: You can connect with the Belfast Hammers and follow their work through their Facebook group here:  👉 https://www.facebook.com/TheBelfastHammers/ Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

In this episode of The West Ham Syndrome, we look back at the 2000/01 season, a campaign that didn’t end in disaster or success, but still feels important when viewed in hindsight. Under Harry Redknapp, West Ham came into the season following a top-half finish, with a squad that mixed experienced leaders and emerging Academy talent. Off the pitch, the club was changing too, with the Dr Martens Stand being built at Upton Park, adding to a sense that the club was trying to move forward. The season itself followed a familiar pattern. A slow and frustrating start, followed by a strong run of form between September and Christmas where performances improved and results followed. Then came a post-Christmas drop-off where momentum was lost and league form tailed away. We discuss the sale of Rio Ferdinand to Leeds, how the transfer money was reinvested, and what that moment came to represent for the club. There’s also a look at an FA Cup run that briefly lifted the season, including a memorable win away at Manchester United, and the sense that once the cup run ended, the campaign lost its focus. Along the way, we reflect on the squad itself, the leadership, the blend of youth and experience, Paolo Di Canio, Freddie Kanouté and the moments that still stand out from the season. A balanced but frustrating year and a season that helps explain the West Ham Syndrome. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

In this episode of The West Ham Syndrome Podcast, we’re joined by author and  Hammer Rob Banks, whose writing charts the emotional highs and lows of following West Ham United across more than four decades. Rob is the author of four West Ham books, including the cult classic An Irrational Hatred of Luton, West Ham ’til I Die, The Legacy of Barry Green, and An Irrational Hatred of Everything. Together, they trace West Ham’s journey from the FA Cup highs of the 1970s, through the near-miss brilliance of the 1985–86 season, the upheaval of the Premier League years, and into the modern era. We talk about how Rob’s fandom began, why certain seasons and rivalries still matter so deeply, and how football in the 1980s and 90s was shaped by wider social and cultural change. We also discuss his move into long-form video essays on West Ham history — exploring managers, seasons, and stories that don’t always make it into official club narratives. Along the way, there’s reflection on heartbreak, hope, memory, and what it really means to follow West Ham United over a lifetime — plus a quick-fire round that every Hammer will have an opinion on. Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)

This week on The West Ham Syndrome, we sit down with one of the voices and chroniclers of West Ham United: Martin Godleman, author, journalist, broadcaster, filmmaker and stadium PA announcer at the London Stadium.  In this conversation, we explore Martin’s lifelong connection to West Ham and his evolution as a writer, beginning with Our Days Are Few, his raw and compelling account of the turbulent 2003/04 season, a year haunted by relegation but rich in story. Martin also reflects on We’re West Ham, We Play on the Floor, comparing two very different post-relegation journeys. We then dive into No Goal, his brilliantly crafted alternative history imagining a world where Geoff Hurst’s controversial second goal in the 1966 World Cup final was ruled out. What changes? What remains? And how does West Ham's identity shift as a result?  Martin then walks us through the creation of 125 Beautiful Games and what truly makes a West Ham match “beautiful.” We look ahead too, asking what moments from the past five years would make the next edition.  Of course, we couldn’t chat to the stadium announcer himself without digging into the art of the role.  Finally, Martin shares what he believes writers must capture to express the true essence of West Ham: the narrative of struggle, hope, despair, resilience — and above all, belonging. Plus: our trademark quick-fire round, featuring heartbreaks, heroes, favourite kits, and what Martin would contribute to the virtual West Ham Museum. You can explore more of his work on his website: https://godleman.com/ and read his blog 'Our Days Our Few' here: https://ourdaysarefew.com/. In the episode Martin references the song 'Shine' by Shannon Noll which you can listen to here: https://open.spotify.com/track/6iFkab3O65fAbvpNj7wGXW. Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us: 📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X) Support the show Thanks for listening to The West Ham Syndrome. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a review, it really helps the show grow. Stay connected with us:  📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow us: @thewesthamsyndrome (Instagram & Twitter/X)