This week’s challenge is to pick my ultimate West Ham XI of all time- but I have a feeling mine might not be a very popular one. For my team, I’ve set myself the sensible rule that it will consist only of players I’ve seen live (my ‘all-time’). This narrows my selection field considerably as I’m both young(ish) and foreign(ish….well, just foreign). My first West Ham game was at home against Ipswich Town in March 2001 (we lost 0-1 but I was hooked) but I didn’t start attending regularly until 2004. For that reason my selection will be really rather modern, and may not include too many traditional greats!
Starting from the keepers- we’ve not had many over the past 12 years (which I think is a good thing) so I’m mainly picking between Shaka Hislop, Rob Green, and Jussi (well, and Henri Lansbury, who was pretty darn good.) I’m actually going to go with Jussi on this one. He’s competent, reliable, and had the most saves in the Premier League last season- hard to compete with!
Defence wise, my absolute favourite player ever is Tomas Repka. I realise this is not a popular choice- I have his name on the back of my West Ham shirt and recently another West Ham fan followed me onto a train carriage in Woking just to tell me he thought Repka was ‘wank.’ Thanks mate, good use of your time.
I adore him partially because he was a good defender, but also because I found his reckless attitude towards getting booked to be hugely enjoyable. I’m sure I remember seeing him being sent off before even touching a ball on one occasion. Maybe even on more than one occasion.
I’ll pop Winston Reid in there (that’s Winston Reid playing under Big Sam, mind, NOT under Avram Grant.) I’ll also grab Stuart Pearce – a strong defender, and full of determination and aggression (anyone who plays a half with a broken leg is always going to be a winner in my book), and I’ll finish the back four with Lucas Neill- unpopular at the very end, but a great defender and always put in a great performance for the Hammers.
In the middle of the pitch I’d have Matt Jarvis, Mark Noble, Scott Parker, and Valon Behrami. I always liked Noble and Parker playing together, and while I like Nolan, I think Noble and Parker were a stronger partnership. Jarvis and Behrami qualify for their great runs, positioning and crossing.
Up front – Paolo Di Canio and Carlos Tevez. I mean, why not? Two recent legends, both of whom I got to see live. Could you imagine them upfront together? Who knows if they’d play well together, or get along, or have a massive punch-up on the pitch, but on paper my gosh would they score goals!
So if you were looking at an ultimate West Ham XI for the same period, who would you pop in there? Who did I miss out on- or who shouldn’t I have included? Would love to know, either below or tweet me @makingthemarrow
Of the players ive seen live my team would look like this:
David James
Julian Dicks – Rio Ferdinand – Winston Reid – Lucas Neil
Scott Parker – Mohamed Diame – Michael Carrick
Joe Cole (1st spell) – Paulo Di Canio – Tevez
Bench: Jussi, Pearce, Glen Johnson, Noble, Berkovic, Sinclair, Ashton
WHERES BOBBY MOORE (WORLD CUP CAPTAIN)
BILLY BONDS BEST DEFENDER TO NEVER BE CAPPED
FRANK LAMPARD SENIOR
KING TREVOR BROOKING
Bonds was a midfielder
HE ALSO HAD SPELLS IN DEFENCE HE WAS MULTI TALENTED
FIRST THREE SEASONS TO BE FACTUAL BEFORE GREENWOOD SWITHCED HIM TO MIDFIELD
I wouldn’t remember first 3 seasons my apologies I only remember the 20 years he played in midfield
SHOWING MY AGE LOL
Behrami not a chance and u gotta have dicks at left back and potts at centre half take behrami and jarvis out put sinclair and stuart slater in there place and as im old school id take out tevez and put trevor morley in
Yeah good shout there Rio,Lampard,carrick,JC,Trev Sinc,Schemmel,all average compred to that list. Jussi better than Shaka a no no as well
Ferdinand to Leeds in 2000, so never saw him play in claret & blue, and never saw Sinclair either. Since I only saw one game prior to 2004, and most of those players had left by then (Lampard – 2001, Cole – 2003, Sinclair – 2003, Schemmel – 2003, Hislop – 2002), I don’t have the same attachment to them that people who got to see them every week have. I make an exception for DiCanio and Pearce because they stood out to me as being exceptional in the sole game I got to see them play. Annoying logic, I know, but there you have it.
(Although yes Shaka came back, but when he did it was as back-up if I remember correctly and I don’t think he consistently started week in and week out even though he did play quite a bit, so I’m far more familiar with Green/Jussi)
(Although yes Shaka came back, but when he did it was as back-up if I remember correctly and I don’t think he consistently started week in and week out even though he did play quite a bit, so I’m far more familiar with Green/Jussi)
GOALKEEPERS PHIL PARKES
MERVYN DAY
BOBBY FERGUSON ALL GREAT KEEPERS
MARTIN PETERS
EVEN THE GREAT JIMMY GREAVES HAD A SPELL WITH US
ALL THESE PLAYERS IN MY OPINION BETTER THAN ANYTHING WEST HAM HAVE HAD IN THE LAST FEW YEARS
EXCEPT DI CANIO AND TEVEZ
wasn’t the great Jimmy Greaves a part of the deal with Spuds wen they signed Peters??. He didn’t want to come to UP, didn’t do much apart from enjoying a few beers and didn’t hang around that long.
Bonds played defence and midfield James
this is difficult
1 phil parkes
2 ray stewart
3 julian dicks
4 bonzo
5 stretch martin
6 bobby moore
7 carlos tevez
8 trevor brooking
9 dean ashton
10 paolo di canio
11 alan devonshire
Goalkeeper parkes Defenders billic Moore dicks Johnson. Midfielders peters brooking Parker j cole. Forwards do canio tevez Subs lampard snr rio Ashton noble lampard Jnr I know the last one u will not agree but what a player
If you read what the younglady has written, you might all realise why all these other ‘greats’ have been missed off. She has limited her choice to players she has seen…
I am guessing she is not in to her 50’s as she would need to have been to see the likes of Hurst, Peters etc.
Basically a waste of time ….. why bother to publish this rubbish . Noble is a donkey …. name any one of ten other midfielders in last 10 years aqnd they will be better.
why bother reading it and then submitting your two pennies worth???
Coming from the same era I’m pretty inclined to agree with a lot of these choices. Its all well and good saying Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds at the back, but if you didn’t see them play then how can you include them? Tomas Repka is a no brainer for me, although not the most technically gifted he was a true warrior and always gave everything for the cause. For the same reason, I would choose Julian Dicks over Lucas Neill. I never really rated Neill when he played for us, personally he always looked slow and pretty average at full back, certainly not worth the money we paid him. I also think Jarvis hasn’t done enough to be considered in an ‘ultimate’ XI, and as much as I love noble, I don’t think he would make my team either. I think mine would be a 4-3-3, something like:
Shaka (probably not as talented as a few of the others but a hero of mine nonetheless!)
Dicks
Rio Ferdinand
Pearce
Repka
Parker
Moncur / Lomas / Carrick (again, the first two weren’t the most gifted, but I loved watching them get stuck in)
Joe Cole / Benayoun (both first time around)
Di Canio
Ashton
Tevez
Honourable mentions also go to Paintsil, Dailly, Etherington, Harewood and of course Carlton Cole. Probably not the most talented group of footballers you have ever seen in your life, but I love a trier!
BEEN GOING TO THE BOLEYN SINCE 1968 AND YES I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF SEEING ALLL OF THESE WONDERFUL PLAYERS
Rich you old fart, read the effing post before you start talking about the war. And stop shouting.
Good enough list for recent times.
The young lady clearly prefaced her choice with the proviso “the players ive seen”…and then all hell breaks loose because Bonzo and Mooro aren’t in !!! The girls in her twenties, not 129…….AAAGGGHHHHHH……………
Yo your team is poor I mean seriously lucas neill was rubbish jarvis is rubbish with your team we would be in league 2 if we were lucky!!
Neill and Jarvis poor? Righto…
I’d probably have picked Sinclair over Jarvis though and left out Pearce. Bilic? Green above Jussi too.
Repka? Really?
Jarvis best ever? Hes played 20 odd games lol
Noble shouldnt be near that team.
Basically what was you thinking? Lol
Some of u guys please read it( post 2000 )is a clue,would the legends really be left out by any old iron,the writer just made bad choices,it’s her opinion
Ps Noble still going backwards A lucky lad in my book
Ludo/parkes (cant split them)
stewart
R.ferdinand
Alvin martin
Dicks
alan devonshire(left)
bonzo(capt)
Di-canio
Brooking
Mcavennie
cottee
Subs;
Tevez,repka,joe cole,van der elst,bilic
John D, you must be in your late 30’s/early 40’s. that team is pretty much the same as mine although I don’t remember watching Van Der Elst much, only that we signed him from Anderlect after they beat us 4-2 and he ran the show. I’m 37 btw
My team based only on the players I’ve seen
Phil Parkes
Julian Dicks
Alvin Martin
Rio Ferdinand
Ray Stewart
Billy Bonds
Trevor Brooking
Alan Devonshire
Trevor Sinclair
Paulo Di Canio
Carlos Tevez
West ham xi
Parkes
Dicks
Moore
Ferdinand
Stewart
Peters
Di Canio
Lampard
Teves
Cottee
Carrol