Up there with the best has to be Sir Geoff Hurst. He scored a hat trick in the World Cup Final in 1966 to lead England to their only ever World Cup win. Hurst scored 180 goals for West Ham and had a fair amount of success whilst playing for West Ham. What he has done for the club over the years is extraordinary. He really is the definition of a legend.
Another one of West Ham’s best ever strikers is Tony Cottee. He was your typical out and out goal scorer. He was always in the right place at the right time and always seemed to pop up with a goal when you needed it most. Cottee scored 115 goals during his time at West Ham. He is a player that will live long in the memories of West Ham fans.
Now we look at not only a great striker but also someone that no West Ham fan could ever dislike. That man is Carlos Tevez. He only spent a short time at West Ham and only scored 7 goals but how crucial were those goals? It was Tevez’s goal against Manchester United that kept West Ham in the Premier League. On his return to Upton Park he always performs his crossed armed gesture to the West Ham fans to show his love for them.
Where do I start with the next man? Paolo Di Canio was West Ham in a nutshell. His passion for West Ham was on a different level but his personality was something else. Di Canio scored 48 goals for West Ham with many being very memorable. His goal against Manchester United, his unbelievable volley, there were a few to pick from. His name is still sung by the majority of West Ham fans, which says it all.
This next person is probably more based on potential rather than what the facts show. Anyway, Dean Ashton. One of the unluckiest footballers around. He had to retire from football, as he never managed to shake off a long-term injury he suffered whilst on England duty. Ashton scored 15 goals for West Ham and was awesome throughout West Ham’s FA Cup campaign in 2006. If I’m being honest, Ashton would most likely be at a top 4 club because he really had the potential to go far.
Johnnie Byrne, Pop Robson, Frank McAvennie, Freddie Kanoute?
Kanoute? Really?
Watson, Hurst,Byrne,Robson,Di Canio no contest
Cottee, McAvennie, Hurst spring to mind after that struggling
Yes people forget just how good Byrne was would have been our 4th World Cup representative had he not been crocked by he Scots a year earlier playing for England. Never really recovered sadly so his full potential was never seen.
Morely, Mike Small,
Mike Small. That’s a blast from the past. I just hope you’re joking.
Hurst,tevez,cottee,di canio and pop robson
I’d struggle to disagree with the 5 itbites has quoted,
Ashton – without doubt could have been the best striker in the PL. Still sickens me.
Pop Robson – clinical
Di Canio – a master
Cottee – the far better striker out of the 85/86 combo
Then I’m tossing up between Hurst, Byrne and Watson
Sandy Clark, Alex Bunbury, Marco Boogers, John Radford, Ted MacDougall
Clyde Best
Derek Hales
Billy Jennings
Alan Sealy
Brian Dear
Samassi Abou
The above were just a selection, good and bad, depending on your point of view, but the worst of them of all Titi Camara!
Marco Boogers, Lee Chapman, Florin Răducioiu, Ian Dowie and the fan that came on for Chapman in the friendly… To be fair don’t think Ashton should be on the top 5. McAvennie should be on there.
Somone as old as me to remember these greats – no place for David Kelly? The only professional footballer with a clause in his contract that he had to fall over every time he touched the ball.
Surprised nobody has David Cross – four goals in one game against the Spuds – legend surely!
Frank McAvennie, Pop Robson, these two have to be mentioned…..and as suggested previously, David Cross….
Pop Robson yes… McAvennie not even close for me.