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So the transfer window is now shut and West Ham didn’t sign any additional new players after the players we acquired before the season started.

I know we could have done with another forward/striker but the fact is that we didn’t for lots of reasons. The biggest being that we never had multi-millions of pounds to spend on transfers and players’ wages.

Like most football fans, I am taking part in several fantasy football leagues and it was fun making my selections and seeing how I faired against other experts!! I’m not at the top of any table but then again, I’m not bottom…just like West Ham.

This got me thinking!! If I could pick my all-time West Ham XI, who would I choose? I decided that I would only pick players I have seen and only based on their time at our club and what they did after leaving.

In goal I would pick big Phil Parkes. At the time we signed him from QPR, he was the world’s most expensive goalie. He cost £565,000. He was our goalkeeper at the 1980 Cup Final and should have earned more than one England cap. When he left to go to Ipswich Town, he had played the same number of league games for us as he had played for QPR – 344 .

My right-back would be Ray Stewart. Known as “Tonka” to the fans, as Tonka toys are indestructible. He was a hard tackling Scot who was our penalty taker for a number of seasons. Nothing pretty about his penalties, just hard and into the net!

My left-back is Frank Lampard (senior). At the time we never knew that his son would one day play for the team. Frank was born and raised in East Ham and came through the youth team. He had a special weapon in his defence – the Chicken Run!

In the days that he was our left-back and what is now the all-seater East Stand, it originally was an old wooden standing structure (Chicken Run), before being rebuilt into a lower standing and upper seating stand. Any player who played against Frank also played against a few thousand humorous Cockneys who didn’t like them and they were only a few feet away.

Some of the comments about opposing players were “not politically correct”. Often, after a few minutes, they would decide to play on the other wing, leaving Frank the pleasure of doing what he wanted for the remainder of that half.

My centre-back would be Alvin Martin, “Stretch”, although he was attached as a school boy with Everton he signed as an apprentice with West Ham and played for us for 21 years. He is one of only two players we have ever awarded two testimonials, the other is Billy Bonds.

My choice for the other centre-back was a NO BRAINER. Sir Bobby Moore. Ok, so he doesn’t have a knighthood. But he should. There have been a small number of true superstars in world football and Bobby Moore is amongst them. Who did the FA decide to build a statue of at Wembley Stadium? Who got the steps leading up to the Royal Box to collect any trophy named after them?? Our Bobby. He would also be my team captain.

My four man midfield would be the following: Trevor Brooking playing on the right side. Skill and elegance sums him up. When he was still at school, Chelsea wanted to sign him and offered his dad £500 and a car. But Trevor was raised in Barking so decided to join West Ham. The right decision, for all the right reasons. When we got relegated to the old Second Division, he remained loyal to our club. He will always be remembered for heading the goal against Arsenal in the 1980 FA Cup Final.

In central-midfield I pick Billy Bonds. All teams need a ball winner, and Bonzo is that man. Need an extra defender when being attacked, Bonzo is your man. Need a player to lead by example, again, Bonzo is your man. Billy Bonds would run through walls for West Ham. It was nice to see him honoured with a special award before the Cardiff City game, although it was a few years too late. He would also be my vice-captain.

 Trevor Brooking and Sir Geoff Hurst

My next midfielder would be Frank Lampard (Junior). He also came through our youth system and had to prove himself more than any other due to his dad, Frank senior and his Uncle Harry. I know he left the club and has had a few bad things to say about us but he can score and his record of nearly one goal every three games makes him an asset.

My last midfield player would be Martin Peters. Born in Plaistow, he was one of our three World Cup winners in 1966. Known as “the complete midfielder”, he could pass the ball well with either foot, was good in the air and difficult to mark because of his movement. He played in every position for our club including goalkeeper. When he was sold to Spurs, his transfer fee was £200,000, a then record fee.

Up front I would play two strikers. The first again is a NO BRAINER!! Geoffrey Charles Hurst. Geoff to all us at West Ham. When you see how much modern day footballers are being transferred for, Gareth Bale for over £85million to Real Madrid for example, how much would a forward who scored three goals in a World Cup Final be worth? In an age when defenders were allowed to take the ball and the man (and not in any particular order), Hursty plied his trade.

He got kicked to pieces by defenders with nicknames like Ron “Chopper” Harris and Norman ‘Bite your legs’ Hunter. Did he roll about or wave an imaginary yellow card at the referees? No. he just got up and carried on. We all know about the statue on Barking Road of Hurst, Moore and Peters but there is a second statue of Geoff Hurst in Ashton-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire, showing him with Jimmy Armstrong (England 1966) and Simone Perrotta (Roma and Italy 2006 World Cup winner), where they were all born.

My second striker would be Tony Cottee. Born in Forest Gate, he made his debut for West Ham in 1983 against Spurs and scored. He would be the perfect partner for Sir Geoff.

My list of subs would be goalkeeper:- Ludo Miklosko. Defenders:- Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, Tony Gale, Julian Dicks and Stuart Pearce. Midfielders:- Carlos Tevez, Paulo Di Canio, Alan Devonshire and Michael Carrick, Forwards:- Frank McAvennie and Bryan “Pop” Robson.

Can you imagine Di Canio saying: “I don’t go to away games,” or Tevez saying: “I don’t sit on the bench, I’m a first team player,” and then Billy Bonds sorting them out!?

I have left out a couple of decent players, though. One being Mervyn Day, a goalkeeper who had so much promise but never really developed into what he should have.

I have also not chosen Joe Cole. This is because he has spent his best years at Chelsea and Liverpool. Also West Ham only saw a declining Liam Brady. When he was playing for Arsenal, he was something special. I don’t even want to talk about Jimmy Greaves.

I hope that in the not too distant future, some of our present team can force their way into my selected team. I guess other fans would have their own choices but these are mine.

Who’s your All Time West Ham United XI? Let us know in the comments section below.



3 COMMENTS

  1. Dicks for Lampard for me and thousands of others I would guess. Where would Lampard play in your midfield? It’s unbalanced. I’d have Devonshire in instead.

  2. That team is perfect for me.Guess the 4 2 4 will upset a lot of people, but with the versatility and energy of Bonds and Peters, there’s nothing to worry about.

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