Under the management of Glenn Roeder, West Ham had a relatively successful 2001-02 Premier League campaign, finishing seventh.
So, no doubt they headed into the following season with great confidence, which was understandable given the standard of player in the squad.
The experience was provided by the likes of David James, Nigel Winterburn, Trevor Sinclair and Paolo Di Canio, while Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson and Joe Cole were future England internationals.
However, come January, the Hammers were bottom of the Premier League and looked a good bet to be relegated, despite the players at Roeder's disposal.
With 23 matches played, West Ham had scored only 24 goals - a statistic that prompted Roeder to bolster his attacking options 12 years ago today by securing the services of veteran frontman Les Ferdinand, who had fallen down the pecking order at Tottenham Hotspur.
Even though Ferdinand had been limited to just 13 appearances so far that season, Roeder believed that he had signed a striker that would help to retain the club's Premier League status.
"We targeted Les quite a long time ago now. We had to wait for the window to open, and then for Tottenham to give us permission to talk to him, which has enabled us to bring him to Upton Park at last," he told the club's official website.
"When I spoke to Les he was very enthusiastic about joining us. He has got the belief, like the rest of the squad, that we will have climbed out the bottom three come the middle of May, and achieved our goal for this season.
"I was looking for an experienced striker that has been there and done it, who knows what it is all about, and Les simply falls into that category."
Ironically, Ferdinand's first goal for West Ham came against his former club Spurs in early March, with his second and final goal being scored on the last day of the season away at Birmingham City.
Yet, despite an improvement in results that saw West Ham, now under the caretaker charge of Sir Trevor Brooking, end the term with a tally of 42 points, 36-year-old Ferdinand was unable to inspire the East Londoners to safety.
Reports suggested that Ferdinand would remain with West Ham in the Championship, but during the summer he accepted a contract offer from newly-promoted Leicester City.
Liam Apicella
