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Going Back to the Future

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1965 Cup Winners' Cup

The recent news that West Ham would have won last year’s Premier League title had only goals from English players counted was quite eye opening for me.

Our reputation of developing some of the best players this country has ever seen has faded in recent years, paving the way for the modern game and it’s ruthless financial ruler. It could be said that money talks more than football these days, which we all know has had a detrimental affect on our nation’s footballing prospects.

But while we all take wild guesses at who our next England protégé is going to be as they rise up the West Ham Academy ranks, it seems the answer has been staring us straight in the face all along.

We’re not quite the England national side’s feeder club any more and, who knows, we may one day regain that wonderful privilege.  But the sheer fact that it’s still our English players who are making a positive impact on the pitch that highlights just how important that is to our club and how it’s etched in to our vains.

Of course we have had our foreign ‘legends’ in recent years. Paolo Di Canio and Carlos Tevez are the obvious ones that spring to mind, of course. But for every Di Canio and Tevez we’ve had a Scott Parker and Mark Noble. A Carlton Cole and Robert Green. An Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan. A Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand.

I recently discovered an original programme from the 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup final at Wembley, which I can only assume was given to my Dad as a gift many years ago. Inside that very programme is a column written by Sun Sports Columnist Peter Lorenzo, who praised the Hammers’ core of English talent and the success it was bringing them.

An excerpt reads:

“Such is the romance of Soccer. [Brian] Dear’s arrival also meant that West Ham, the team that came to Wembley last year with eight home-grown players, can now now add a ninth to their impressive list.”

Although we can no longer boast of such a home-grown presence in the first-team, we should remain proud that the likes of Mark Noble, James Tomkins, Joe Cole and even Jack Collison, despite being Welsh, are still playing in claret & blue and making a positive impact on our achievements. After all, Mark Noble is just one first-team appearance away from reaching 250 in all competitions, which is quite remarkable for a 26-year-old.

The club’s ever lasting philosophy of nurturing home-grown talent and buying English players is one that I feel will be an important part of our step to the next level. We are only a few years away from moving in to a world-class footballing arena in the Olympic Stadium and that could catapult us in to the upper-echelons of the Premier League, competing for European competitions and, fingers crossed, the league title.

Back in 1965 it was our home-grown English core that had even the neutrals purring over our style of football and our potential. Lorenzo also writes in that programme:

“I wonder whether this means the Hammers will take over from Manchester United as Football League champions next season. The resolve they have shown for individual matches might now be extended and spread over the whole season. When that happens – and it might be sooner than a lot of people think – the Manchester Uniteds, Leeds’, Chelseas and Spurs’ of this football world had better watch out.”

We were the talk of the town back then. The envy of other clubs. The pièce de résistance of English football. Just without the domestic dominance that other clubs achieved.

Last seasons’s achievements by our English contingent has highlighted one thing – there is still an element of the ‘West Ham Way’ in Sam Allardyce’s West Ham team. The style of football may not be the same but, the nucleus of what the club has always believed in still lives strong in the heart of the club.

Nolan and Carroll
Despite not being home-grown, nor of the same class as their 1965 counterparts, Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll play successful roles in West Ham’s English contingent today.

And now as we enter a new and exciting era in the club’s history, I feel it is this philosophy that will take us back to the future some what. David Gold, David Sullivan and Sam Allardyce seem reluctant to sell the club’s soul to the continental talent that is on offer and believe that English talent, whether it be home-grown or bought from some where else, is still an important factor in our desperate search for stability and success.

Next season we can hopefully look foreword to seeing more of Andy Carroll who, on his day, can be a deadly striker for both club and country. If the likes of Robert Hall, Dan Potts, Ravel Morrison and Jordan Spence are also given the opportunity to show the Premier League what they’re made of then it will almost be like going back to the good old days in 1965.

The following year we went on to win the World Cup. It’s a far cry but, history could be on the verge of repeating itself in some way. We will not win the World Cup next year (we may not even qualify!), but there is a possibility that we’ll be represented just as we were in 1966. I’m not suggesting James Tomkins will lift the World Cup as England captain next summer, nor do I believe that Andy Carroll will score a hat-trick against Germany in the final. But, if you look deeper in to it, there are several similarities to be made between now and then.

We’re going back to the future. And it’s very exciting.

Hammers sign Arsenal & England youngster

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West Ham today announced the signing of England and Arsenal Under-16 striker Jordan Brown on a scholarship starting on July 1.

The 16-year-old spent eight years with Arsenal throughout his schoolboy career and last year appeared for their Under-18 side in the Barclays U18 Premier League.

The youngster as also represented England at U16 level, scoring three goals in seven games.

Brown told whufc.com: “I’m a No.9 and my objective in a game is to score goals.

“I want to help the team out and to lead from the front. I’m quick and strong and I think I can run with the ball as well. I’m an attacker.”

And Brown has also admitted that it wasn’t a hard decision to make when it came to deciding whether to stay at Arsenal or begin a new venture in East London.

“I had been at Arsenal for eight years and they wanted to keep me, but I sat down with my parents and my agents and we thought it was a better decision to come to West Ham,” he explained.

“The opportunities are here and I thought, at Arsenal, maybe I could have faded away because I’ve seen it happen before.”

Hammers want Lukaku

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Romelu Lukaku

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is the latest striker to be linked with a move to Upton Park this summer, according to Mail Online.

The Belgian striker spent last season on loan at West Brom and took the Premier League by storm with 17 goals in 35 league appearances.

And Sam Allardyce has his eyes on bringing the 20-year-old striker to Upton Park to partner Andy Carroll up front, while he also has his eyes on Chelsea’s Demba Ba and Manchester United’s Wilfried Zaha.

However, returning Blues boss Jose Mourinho has reportedly told Lukaku he has a future at Stamford Bridge and sees him as the next Didier Drogba, leaving any hopes a loan move unlikely for the Hammers.

Can Lukaku be an effective partner for Andy Carroll next season? Or is it very unlikely that Big Sam is planning on playing two up front next season? Leave your thoughts below.

Big Sam wants Zaha

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Wilfried Zaha

Sam Allardyce is looking in to the possibility of signing Manchester United’s Wilfried Zaha on loan, according to the Evening Standard.

New United boss David Moyes is thought to want the England winger to gain valuable first team experience to develop further before being given a chance at Old Trafford and it is believed he feels that kind of development will only come by playing in the Premier League next season, rather than returning to the Championship.

However, the Hammers will have to fight off interest from Zaha’s former club Crystal Palace after they won promotion to the top-flight via the play-offs, with Zaha making a huge impact in their extra-time win over Watford last month.

If Moyes is prepared to ship Zaha out on loan this season then Palace will no doubt be favourites to secure his services for another season.

Is Zaha a realistic option for us? Should he leave United to go back out on loan for another season? Let us know what you think below?

Demba Ba on loan radar

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Demba Ba - Chelsea

Sam Allardyce is looking to bring Senegalese striker Demba Ba back to Upton Park in a season-long loan deal, according to several reports.

Ba scored seven goals in 12 games for the Hammers towards the end of the 2010/2011 season but could not prevent relegation to the Championship.

But a sensational return to the club that gave him his first chance in English football could be on the cards as Allardyce believes linking him up with the in-bound Andy Carroll would add further fire power up front.

Ba only moved to Chelsea from Newcastle in January but it is believed he will slip further down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge with Romelu Lukaku, Fernando Torres and Blues target Edison Cavani being new boss Jose Mourinho’s preferred strikers.

What do you think? Would Ba be a good signing for us? Leave your thoughts below.