Top FIVE Irons ‘Turncoats’

Every so often, there is a player, who manages to, in a polite way, tick the glorious West Ham faithful off for betraying their allegiance to the Hammers and leaves in quite acrimonious fashion.  Although transfers and players moving to new horizons with new clubs has been a part of the game for some time, there are still players who do themselves no favour in the manner and circumstance in which they leave.  This is a list of the top 5 players who left West Ham in some controversy and thus created some bad blood between themselves and the fans.  What’s interesting is these players I have chosen are all players in the last twenty years or so of football  – a time I think where, perhaps due to the media, the nature of club rivalry and player profile/personality has been embellished and over exaggerated in quite a sensationalist and tabloid hungry way.  Some of these choices I do not necessarily agree with, but these players stick out in my mind as choices, and interestingly this might be because of the media’s effect on me as a consumer of football.  Please let me know if there’s any I’ve missed out.

1.        Paul Ince

Probably one of the greatest players that West Ham have developed through their youth scheme and a player who I occasionally forget wore the claret and blue, especially when I compose my all-time best West Ham XI.  Ince was a real diamond in the rough, his aggression, passing, tackling, shooting and general presence on the field made him one of England’s rare technical greats on the pitch.  Ince was a huge prospect for the club and would always be destined for greater things.  I can only imagine at the time of Ince being a West Ham player, that fans would ultimately expect him to move on to a bigger club and be further testament to West Ham’s fantastic youth scheme.  In a move, that to be fair is still talked about in circles today, Ince courted controversy when he was signed by Manchester United in a deal worth £1million.  Looking like any other normal deal, it was the media storm that surrounded it that made the deal so notorious.  Before even any ink was put on to paper and even allowed to dry, Ince was sensationally pictured wearing a Manchester United shirt (whilst still very much a Hammer) in a number of national newspapers in the UK.  This of course infuriated West Ham fans and Ince paid the price for the rest of his career whenever he visited Upton Park, receiving torrents of abuse from spectators.  As time has gone on, Ince admits his controversial move and the way it was handled was never born out of intention to aggravate fans.  Moving to Manchester at still a very young age, Ince argues how naive he was as a player and perhaps wasn’t given the best direction over this move from his agent, and as a result, paid the price.

2.        Jermain Defoe

Another youth player to rise through West Ham’s ranks…well sort of.  Defoe was of course nicked from under the noses of Charlton Athletic as a youngster and got people talking for his natural goal poaching abilities.  Reminding many of a young Ian Wright, it was Defoe’s speed and hunger for goal that made him one to watch for the future.  Eventually breaking into the first team, Defoe impressed with a number of strong performances and proved his worth in front of goal, giving the Hammers a fresh impetus and vitality up front.  In the season to forget, upon the Hammers eventual relegation, Defoe sensationally handed in a transfer request just hours after the Hammers being relegated.  This did not go down to well with fans and things didn’t help when Defoe eventually left for rival team Spurs.  Fans never seem to have forgiven Defoe and his presence at Upton Park always creates hostile reactions from the Hammers faithful.  Now having a knack for always scoring against the Hammers for Spurs, Defoe always appears to take a certain amount of satisfaction from scoring against his former club and creating further antagonism between himself and the fans.  He was even booed when he was a no show at Tony Carr’s testimonial!

3.        Craig Bellamy

In Curbishley’s first full season as Hammers manager, the transfer activity that preceded this campaign was certainly a busy one for West Ham’s chequebook.  One signing that had quality written all over it and was an amazing acquisition if said player delivered, was Craig Bellamy.  The Welshman’s ferocious speed, strength and deadliness up front was a signing that suggested that West Ham were going places and had serious ambition.  Some lively performances to begin with from Bellamy were soon a distant memory for the rest of the campaign with Bellamy sitting out the remainder of the season through injury.  Bellamy was back the following season with a bang with some explosive performances.  Although with the club facing precarious financial times and rumours rife that we’d be broke in a matter of months, word came round soon that Bellamy wanted out by January with Spurs being his desired destination.  Speaking personally, this came as somewhat of a surprise and perhaps a bit ingrateful on Bellamy’s behalf. Standing by and paying his wages through injury, Bellamy it seemed couldn’t get away from Upton Park quick enough.  Despite the team struggling financially, the Hammers were enjoying great success in the league and enjoying a strong run of form.  Comparing this to Redknapps’s Spurs at the time, who despite an early burst of good form were now languishing around the bottom half of the table, it seemed strange to many why Bellamy would be keen to join a team that was not performing as well as the team he’d be leaving.  Bellamy eventually left the Hammers in the transfer window, only for it to be big spending Manchester City who paid for his services rather than Spurs.  As a fan, I felt it was a real shame to see him go as he was such a great player who could always score goals and give oppositions a torrid time with his pace and aggression.  Bellamy soon returned to Upton Park with City but was not welcomed to the warmest of receptions – it was perhaps just that West Ham were to win that game 1-0 and serve up Bellamy some humble pie.

 

w=300&h=250&pID=12395&bgc=ffffff&cw=1338138&skinName=light&wmode=window&hideChrome=0″>
 

4.        Nigel Reo-Coker

The once West Ham player who was a mere 40 seconds away from being the youngest captain to lift the FA Cup, only for this dream to be quashed by the great Steven Gerrard; Nigel Reo-Coker had established himself as a core part of Alan Pardew’s exciting young Hammers team.  It was his final campaign with the Hammers that proved to be an eventful year for Reo-Coker.  West Ham’s poor form in the 2006/2007 season was largely believed to be down to a lack of professionalism and a general belief of hype within the West Ham camp from its players who now firmly believed, that they were established superstars and were to some extent untouchable.  The Baby Bentley attitude was a label that was handed down to them by new manager Curbishley and it was deemed Reo-Coker was one of the main ring leaders in this ethos (part of this attitude was reportedly born out of a rumour of Reo-Coker’s unhappiness at not being informed of a late bid by Arsenal for his services, which was of course rejected by West Ham).  Proving his worth towards the end of the season and forming a great partnership with Mark Noble, Reo-Coker clawed back some redemption and helped the Hammers survive in that famous run of victories in what was dubbed the Great Escape.  After reported failed reassurances over his future from the West Ham board, Reo-Coker handed in a transfer request and made it clear of his feeling of unease at the club and how he did not feel wanted at Upton Park.  Reo-Coker announced this in what I recall being a very bizarre interview on Sky Sports News where upon having his haircut (what hair exactly?), Reo-Coker confessed to a news reporter of his current feeling of discomfort at West Ham and stated his desire to leave.  Reo-Coker soon left for Aston Villa in a deal worth around £8 million.  Upon his many returns to Upton Park, West Ham fans have not looked upon him favourably and as a result never received a strong reception from the home crowd.

5.        Frank Lampard Jnr

Frank Lampard was another product of the famed West Ham academy that had produced a string of young starlets for the Hammers.  Although Frank’s presence in the team was not always met with appreciation from fans with many believing he only made the first team because of his family connections in Harry Redknapp and Frank Lampard Snr.  This was compounded by what some people believed were average performances from Lampard and many believing he didn’t have what it took to cut it on the big stage.  Many sceptics were quick to forget that Lampard was still a developing youngster and the added pressure of who his family were, would of course not have helped matters and put great pressure on him.  It was upon Redknapp and Lampard Snr’s exit from West Ham that ultimately led to the eventual exit of Lampard Jnr.  Feeling quite aggrieved at how his uncle and father had been treated by West Ham, Lampard was quick to criticise the club and made it clear of his intention to leave.  Perhaps things did not help when it was West London and fierce rivals Chelsea who Lampard left for.  Since his move, Frank, in my opinion has been the target of many senseless jibes from West Ham fans.  The taunt of Fat Frank is a Hammers favourite whenever Lampard has the unfortunate dilemma of having to return to Upton Park and face his old team’s fans.  Lampard was one of my favourite players at West Ham and I know that claret and blue still runs through his veins.  I’ve always had time for Lampard and feel he’s been the subject of unfair criticism and I hope to tell him that one day in person.  Recently, Lampard can take some joy in the fact that his name was not met with petty jibes and insults when he made a cameo appearance at Upton Park to celebrate youth coach Tony Carr’s testimonial game – a man who was more responsible for Lampard as a player than his family connections were…and of course Frank will remain forever grateful to him.