Blast from the past
Today’s blast from the past features our biggest post-war league victory at home against this weekend’s opponents, Queens Park Rangers. It arrived on the 21st of April 1981, a 3-0 win in front of 24,599 spectators.
The Hammers went into the game on the back of a fourteen-match unbeaten run and sitting pretty at the summit of the Second Division table. This unbeaten league run was not affected by participating in three Cup competitions, as the Hammers made the League Cup Final against Liverpool but bowed out of the FA Cup to Wrexham and the European Cup Winners’ Cup to Dynamo Tbilisi.
Paul Goddard had signed for West Ham United the previous summer in a club record £800,000 deal from QPR. He scored twenty-three goals in all competitions in his debut season in claret and blue, grabbing a hat-trick to defeat his old club in this Tuesday evening fixture. The Hammers went on to finish the season with two wins and a draw, winning the Second Division title by thirteen points from runners-up Notts County.
West Ham United: Phil Parkes, Ray Stewart, Billy Bonds, Alvin Martin, Frank Lampard, Geoff Pike, Trevor Brooking (Bobby Barnes), Alan Devonshire, Jimmy Neighbour, David Cross, Paul Goddard.
Club Connections
A long list of players have turned out for both West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers over the years. These include Tim Breacker, Modibo Maiga, Rufus Brevett, Iain Dowie, Leroy Rosenior, Gary O’Neil, Clive Allen, Neil Ruddock, Andy Impey, Bobby Zamora, Martin Allen, Nigel Quashie, Rio Ferdinand, Anton Ferdinand, Les Ferdinand, Steve Lomas, Danny Gabbidon, Ravel Morrison, Kieron Dyer, Ludek Miklosko, Phil Parkes, Yossi Benayoun, Keith Rowland, Trevor Sinclair, Tal Ben Haim, Paul Goddard and Hogan Ephraim. In addition, ex-Hammers Dave Sexton and Harry Redknapp have managed QPR, while former Hoops defender Glenn Roeder has managed the Hammers.
Today’s focus though falls on one of my all-time favourite Hammers – Robert Green.
Green started his career at Norwich before signing for West Ham United in the summer of 2006 for a bargain £2m. He spent six years at Upton Park, playing a key role in The Great Escape in his first season. Green produced an astonishing performance at the Emirates in a 1-0 win over Arsenal in that campaign to become a firm crowd favourite.
He was voted Hammer of the Year in 2007/08, saving three successive penalties early on in that season. The first, from Kevin Doyle, preserved the Hammers’ 2-0 lead in an eventual 3-0 win at Reading; the second earned a point with a last-minute stop from Benjani at Fratton Park in a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth; while the third denied Jermain Defoe in the 93rd minute of a 1-1 draw with Tottenham at Upton Park. He saved five more penalties in his time with the Hammers. Green was runner-up for the Hammer of the Year prize in both 2009 and 2011 and helped the club to two top-half finishes in 2008 and 2009. His final act was to help the club secure promotion back to the Premier League at Wembley in May 2012.
While at West Ham United, Green became the club’s second-highest capped England goalkeeper: he won eleven caps for his country while playing for the Hammers, behind David James who won seventeen and ahead of Ted Hufton who won six.
In the summer of 2012, after 241 appearances for West Ham United, Green signed for Queens Park Rangers. His first season at the club was disrupted by the arrival of Julio Cesar. In October 2013, Green broke a 46-year club record for consecutive clean sheets. In May this year, for the second time in three seasons, Green won promotion to the Premier League at Wembley via the Play-Offs. He has made 65 appearances for QPR to date.
I personally hope Rob Green gets the fantastic reception he deserves from the Boleyn crowd on Sunday. He was a great goalkeeper for us and a fantastic servant – he enjoyed a special relationship with the Hammers fans both home and away. The mixed response given to Scott Parker on his return was disappointing considering what he gave to the club – I really hope this is not repeated for Robert Green and that the best reaction to the four returning Hammers on Sunday is reserved for him.
Referee
Sunday’s referee will be arguably the Premier League’s worst referee, Anthony Taylor. The Cheshire-based official was the referee who had not one, but two red cards rescinded from the same game after he had ridiculously sent off Carlton Cole and Darron Gibson in the Hammers’ 2-1 home defeat to Everton in December 2012. He was also in charge when awarding Liverpool a controversial, and ultimately match-winning penalty, against the Irons in April this year. There was also controversy surrounding Guy Demel’s equaliser for West Ham in that game.
Possible line-ups
West Ham United are again without long-serving midfielder Mark Noble. Diego Poyet could continue in the holding midfield role but Sam Allardyce may look to restore Kevin Nolan to the starting line-up, given the absence of the vice-captain Noble. Alex Song could play at the base of the diamond, with Nolan at the top and Morgan Amalfitano and Stewart Downing wide. Guy Demel has missed training this week and may not be fit, with Carl Jenkinson the obvious replacement.
Queens Park Rangers should have Sandro fit but late fitness tests for hamstring victims Jordan Mutch and Joey Barton could weaken their midfield. Rangers have lost all three of their away matches so far, scoring one goal and conceding ten on the road.
Possible West Ham United XI: Adrian; Jenkinson, Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell; Amalfitano, Song, Nolan, Downing; Sakho, Valencia.
Possible Queens Park Rangers XI: Green; Isla, Ferdinand, Caulker, Traore; Phillips, Sandro, Fer, Kranjcar; Austin, Vargas.
Enjoy the game – Come On You Irons!