The Hammers finished the 1975-76 position in a lowly 18th place in the league, after winning the FA Cup the previous season, they crashed out at the first hurdle and were eliminated from the League Cup in the forth round. The 1976-77 season was also a disaster for the Hammers, they were poor in both cup competitions, reaching the forth round in both tournaments. They stumbled in the league as they finished the season off in 17th position, just avoiding relegation. The following season proved to be a debacle for the Hammers, they finished 20th in the league, demoting them to the second division. Their cup form was also poor as they only managed to reach the forth round of the FA Cup, being thrashed by QPR, 6-1 result. They were also humiliated in the league cup, being knocked out in the second round, suffering a heavy 5-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest. The newly relegated West Ham were awful once again in cup competitions during the 1978-79 season,  a shock 2-1 defeat against non league outfit, Newport Country brought about embarrassment. They also crashed out in the second round of the league cup, losing to Swindon. In their first season in the second tier of English football, they only managed to finish in fifth position.
West Ham’s 1979-80 season campaign was a mighty success, despite only finishing seventh in the second division. They embarked on great cup runs, they were unfortunate to lose against Nottingham Forest in the quarter finals of the League cup on penalties, however they had a tremendous run in the FA Cup which earned them a place in the final against Arsenal. West Ham won the encounter 1-0 at Wembley, Trevor Brooking proving to be the hero and the lower league club won the 1980 FA Cup.