Guest post by Nigel Kahn
My West Ham XI of naughties (noughties)
On the face of it, as the new millennium dawned, the club looked to be in its best state entering a new decade than it had since the seventies. Regular top ten finishes with a first XI that was possibly the best since the early eighties, but this decade was to slide into possibly the worst time in the clubs history. Sacking Harry Redknapp without a proper replacement, being relegated the season after our second best ever Premier League position with a team that would boast England stars of the present and future. The three trips to Cardiff ending with one of the greatest cup finals of modern times which then led into the scandalous signing of two South Americans.
We ended the decade skint, in disarray and looking for new owners! Just West Ham’s luck that the Icelandic billionaire banker that had bought the club just three years earlier goes broke. Yet through this decade we were blessed with some of the most outstanding players to have graced our shirt. As with my previous picks, there are two restrictions. Can only appear in one team of the decade and I had to see them play. Also in light of my previous player choices, and some of the comments I have seen, I will explain that these are exactly not the best players but the ones that I for whatever reason was drawn to liking, either for their effort, skill, or in one case, their sheer lunacy, though this decade I know none personally.
Rob Green If there has been finer goalkeeping performance in a single game for West Ham than the one Greeno performed at The Emirates in 2007, then I must of missed it as this was even better than Ludo’s V Man Utd in 1995. The media like to say that the reason we stayed up in 2007 was down to Tevez but that sullies the performances of Green in those last few games. He had competition for this spot from David James, and an honourable mention for Shaka Hislop, though in the cup final Shaka for me wasn’t just up to it.
Thomas Repka Was he mad; was he bad, or just a lunatic? Who knows and to be honest, i don’t care. I liked super Tommy Repka, not at first I admit but then again that was away at Blackburn in a 7-1 drubbing that he got sent off in, but to me it did look like he actually cared when he played and his tears after his final game V Fulham in the cup I believe did show the affection he had or us. If only he had stayed to the end of the season then who knows, No Lionel Scalloni, no dodgy clearance, no Gerrard equaliser. Scalloni to be fair wasn’t that bad but if ever there is a Hero to Zero moment then that clearance, if you can call it that, in the cup final was scalloni’s. Sebastian Schemmell run Tommy close but it was the tears that won the day.
Danny Gabbidon Great composure on the ball, and unlike Collins who was signed with him from Cardiff, he didn’t feel the need to just lump it forward when under pressure. The only thing that held Danny’s career at the Boleyn up was his injury problems, but he still gets the nod over Anton, or Upson to party the curly haired one.
Christian Dailey The man that makes quite a few fans wish for curly hair, The Salvation Army newspaper was signed with part of the Rio money, and while not in Rio’s class, still a great defender. Walks into this team, but hobbles out, specifically for just 1 reason, The goal v Ipswich in the play-off semi in 04. A goal to make your eyes water, and I bet his did after, I can still see him laying prostrate on the ground, not moving while the whole ground was jumping. Immortalised with a song that can still be heard being sung on the chicken run to this day. Join in every one, OHHH Christian Dailey, you are the love of my life …………..
George McCartney Underrated is the word I would use to assign to George, a player I liked from day 1 for the effort he put in, up and down the left hand side, working well with whoever was put in front of him, and can put a decent ball in the box. Will never be the greatest of left backs the club have had, but still better than Konchesky so he’s in. Rufus Brevett misses out but would make the bench if I had one.
Joe Cole The prodigal son of the West Ham academy, I first heard of Joe at a fans forum with Harry as he eulogised about this 15 year old he had in his youth team, and to be fair, Harry wasn’t wrong. Tricks and skills galore he lit up the pitch, a lack of goals possibly the only weakness, but bearing in mind football is an entertainment business then, in his first spell with us, he was entertainment personified, and if only he had scythed down Okocha at the Reebok, as then we may have been able to see his best years in our shirt instead of seeing him ruined by Mourinho in a Chelsea one.
Scott Parker. The sound suck in my head is of Jeremy Nicholas over the tanoy announcing game after game, “and the winner of the man of the match award goes to Scott Parker”. That happened so many times I actually christened it the Scott Parker man of the match award. For 3 years Parker carried us on his shoulder, culminating in his winning of the Football Writers player of the year award in 2010, the year of our relegation. Big fish in little pond some could say but he drove us on and never forget his celebration after his season saving Goal v Wigan in 2009, that while it only delayed the inevitable for one season, we were not to know that at the time
Yossi Benayoun Another Israeli genius in the mould of Eyal Berkovich. Provider of goals and creator of goals, outstanding in the cup final in 06, i believe it was his signing that set us up in our return to the Premier League that year. Top 10 finish when many expected us to fail, and that glorious day in may, when Yossi was the woodwork away from scoring in extra time. His best game though possibly in the Lasagne gate game V Spurs. Disappointed in the way he left to join Liverpool but im still grateful for the 2 years we had him. Michael Carrick just misses out from the centre mid places.
Trevor Sinclair Without Trevor’s pass, there would be no Goal.
Carlos Tevez We cheated and lied to sign him, we cheated and lied to keep him. In doing that he became the most expensive player in the clubs history, but was it worth it. The ruination of our once great club and an affair that sullied our name. For me I say yes, but only as it meant we got to enjoy a real world class player. We didn’t get to see the real best of him but it’s not easy for South Americans, no matter how good they are, to come to here and hit the ground running. It took him around 20 games but then he exploded. The free kick v Spurs to then jump into the crowd in that way, it was as if he was thanking us for standing by him as he struggled to get to grips with the pace we play at in England. After that spurs game, that we lost in heart breaking fashion, you could see the lift the crowd had from it, that at last we had some fight in us. And so the impossible was made possible. Tevez gets the plaudits but Bobby Z misses out by a whisker, not just for his efforts with Carlos but for his goals in the play offs v Ipswich 2nd time around and then in Cardiff in the 05 final. It was a tough decision to not include him, but he would be first off the bench.
Paolo Di Canio Oh that Goal, what a goal, a goal I very nearly never witnessed live, but was so glad I did. I wasn’t supposed to be at the game, my long suffering wife knew very well my addiction to West Ham when she married me as she had suffered for 6 long years already, then with our daughter being born she put her life on hold while mine continued unabated, finally, shes had enough and arranges a day out with her friends the same day as that game. So I am left to look after our 3 year old, Id even gone as far as giving my Season ticket up for that game to my mates mum, but the problem is I live next to the ground, and as it was a Sunday I could take my daughter for Sunday dinner in Cassertaris. After dinner the urge got the better of me & I bought 2 tickets for the game, and so it came to pass at my daughters first game she was able to witness THE GREATEST EVER WEST HAM GOAL. Not that she remembers it and she was more impressed with bubbles the bear than anything else that went on that day, to the point that she fell asleep in the 2nd half and didn’t even wake up till I had managed to carry her home. Perhaps being shaken uncontrollably in the air while he Dad is Screaming F********ll had worn her out. Paolo was more than just that goal though, and hand on heart, I say he is the most skill full player to ever pull on a WHU shirt that I have witnessed. He did things with the ball that defies logic, the scooping pass where he flicked it around his body and down the line, how? The mad game v Bradford where he was denied 3 stone wall penalty’s and ripped the ball from Franks arms as we finally get a penalty.The back heeled goal, The goal away at the Bridge, flicks it up, juggles it, smashes it. The list is endless. I don’t care about his politics, I don’t care about the strops or the undermining of Roeder, the memory of the good times easily far override anything bad people throw at him. The only player whose name I have on the back of any shirt I have ever bought, that’s how much I thought of him.
So there you have it, my teams of the decades that I have been watching West Ham. Not all are thought of as great players as I have seen by the comments, but in my eyes they all have a special place in my West Ham history and always will, Even Gary Charles, who it seems many failed to grasp just why he made it into my last team. There can be no team of the 2010’s decade as its only half way through and who knows by the end of it where we will have been and who had got us there. It will though be the most distressing of decades I possibly will have to go through in my West Ham United life. To many the Boleyn Ground is just bricks and mortar, or the place they visit up to 20 times a year and can’t wait to get out, but for me it is and always will be home and nothing we ever achieve elsewhere will mean as much as it would of done if it had been achieved at the Boleyn.
Nigel as a West Ham Mascot with Bonzo and Cross on 2nd May 1981 against Wallsal
Note from Sean:
My thanks to Nigel for his series on his Hammers XI’s over the decades. Nigel is a season ticket holder in Sir Trevor Brooking upper, a member of the Supporters Advisory Board, regular contributor to Over Land and Sea (OLAS) Fanzine, occasional guest poster on WestHamTilliIdie and Claret and Hugh and a West Ham genealogist. It is also his birthday today so Happy Birthday Nigel! 45 Today!