The best of times, but sometimes the worst... in celebration of its last ever game, our Fan v Fan contributors discuss the famous old ground
The good
The Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1981 when we beat Chelsea brilliantly – 4-0 with two from Trevor Brooking, one from David Cross and another from Alan Devonshire.
The Boleyn holds a special place for me as it was actually the first ever away game I went to back in 1999 for an FA Cup third-round game.
That’s actually the only time I’ve seen my side Swansea avoid defeat there – we drew 1-1 to force a replay at the Vetch Field.
In 1997/98 – way back in the mists of time – the Hammers won a seven-goal, end-of-season affair against Leicester City.
The great Samassi Abo(ooooo)u scored a brace for West Ham. As did Tony Cottee, but for the visitors.
Future England internationals Frank Lampard, Emile Heskey and Trevor Sinclair also got their names on the scoresheet.
We had our backs to the wall when we went there in March 2008 under Avram Grant.
Chelsea produced as clinical performance as I’ve seen in east London to win 4-0 with goals from Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Ballack and Ashley Cole.
Three of the goals came within a five-minute spell early in the game and we just blew West Ham away – it was great to watch.
I was only about three in April 1992 and my dad insisted I was old enough to go to the game against Norwich.
We won 4-0 thanks to a Matthew Rush brace and goals from Ian Bishop and Julian Dicks.
I cried all the way through the game because I was petrified of the loud noise the crowd made every time we scored. I got over that pretty quickly, thankfully.
The 5-3 win from two goals down when Rooney shouted: “What?! F***ing what?!” into the camera.
Crystal Palace’s visit under Tony Pulis in 2014 was a high point.
Having looked dead and buried when the Welshman arrived, we went on an incredible run of form, eventually culminating in us finishing 11th.
It was on that day – thanks to 1-0 win – we secured our mathematical safety in the division, prompting the players to celebrate in front of the away end amidst a sea of jubilation and relief.
I’ve been a few times and always enjoyed my visits – apart from the results. Except, that is, for Albion’s 4-3 win back in November 2003.
It looked game over for us as the home side raced into a 3-0 lead within the first 20 minutes.
But the sending-off of Jermain Defoe led to a remarkable comeback by the Baggies, which was completed by a late Lee Hughes goal.
A truly memorable day.
Last season’s penalty shoot-out win over Everton in the FA Cup fourth-round replay.
That moment when Adrian is taking his gloves off in his run up, knowing he would score the winner will live with me for a very long-time.
It must be up there as one of the all-time great moments at the Boleyn.
Eric Dier’s late winner last season definitely brings a smile to my face.
He broke the offside trap, charged forward and rounded Adrian with ease before slotting home to burst the bubble of the home fans (excuse the pun).
West Ham were already down, but Sunderland’s 3-0 win at the end of 2010/11 meant we leapfrogged Newcastle and finished in the top 10 for the first (and only) time since returning to the top flight.
My favourite City performance at Upton Park was Sven Goran Eriksson’s first game in charge of City in 2007.
After a hugely disappointing season under Stuart Pearce, Eriksson had signed some really exciting players and there was a buzz about the club again.
We played some great football that day and won 2-0 thanks to goals from Rolando Bianchi and Geovanni. It felt like we’d turned a corner.
The bad
I was a young man back in 1969 when Manchester City came to Upton Park with that great team which included the likes of Franny Lee, Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell and the rest of them.
I remember I invited my four closest mates to the game as they had never been to the Boleyn and all supported different London clubs.
I was telling them all the way from central London to Plaistow how we were going to smash these prima donnas to bits.
I can barely recall the details, but we were demolished 4-0 and I suffered taunts of “Fetch the Oxos, Southon” and “A team that suits your personality, mate: dull.”
This was a team with the likes of Billy Bonds, Bobby Moore, Trevor Brooking, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters in it – it was an awful memory and I never lived it down.
In March 1995, we were trailing 2-0 to Norwich and my dad decided we should leave early in order to beat the traffic home, but while we were on the way back to the car we heard two huge roars coming from the ground.
It turned out Tony Cottee – my first ever West Ham hero as a child – had scored two goals in injury-time to level the game.
The 4-0 Cup loss was a kick in the teeth. Snowy conditions, too.
Either that or giving free-kicks away around the penalty area so that s**t Payet chant is aired over and over.
I made the journey down for the visit of Stoke a couple of seasons ago when we got beat 1-0 thanks to a late Jermaine Pennant goal.
Being from Aberdeen, it’s a trek to a home game for me. Not the best afternoon.
And the ugly…
I’m too young for any real classics between these sides. Not that long ago it was a Sam Allardyce v Tony Pulis fixture, which generally meant poor entertainment levels.
Jason, Four Two Three One Stoke
Watch the episode three of the Betway Academy, where West Ham players James Collins and Winston Reid test the amateurs’ discipline and communication
Last game at the Boleyn betting
West Ham v Manchester United betting
READ: Fan v Fan: ‘There’ll be a tear or 10 – the Boleyn’s been the fabric of our lives forever’
