Firstly, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all West Ham Till I Die readers a very Merry Christmas!
Blast from the past
Stamford Bridge, 29th March 1986 – the scene of one of West Ham United’s more memorable afternoons. Chelsea went into the match six days after winning the Full Members Cup, after beating Manchester City 5-4 at Wembley. The Hammers arrived in west London in sixth position but having suffered three defeats in their previous five league games.
Alan Devonshire gave John Lyall’s men a 1-0 half-time advantage in front of 29,955, the England international being allowed time and space to travel infield after receiving a short free-kick from Tony Gale before rifling a rising long-range effort into the top corner of Steve Francis’ goal.
The second half saw West Ham blitz the Blues with three goals in thirteen minutes as the match became the Cottee and McAvennie show. The second goal arrived on 55 minutes, George Parris breaking clear with the ball from left-back which, via contributions from Cottee and Dickens in the build-up, culminated in a cut-back to an unmarked Cottee who gleefully sidefooted the ball into the far corner.
A third goal arrived on 64 minutes: Mark Ward played a sliderule pass in behind Chelsea’s high defensive line and McAvennie was in the clear. The Scotsman unselfishly squared the ball to his strike partner and Cottee dutifully tucked it away. McAvennie was to get on the scoresheet himself four minutes later, Cottee trying a speculative shot from distance which turned into the perfect pass for McAvennie to volley into the roof of Francis’ net.
The Hammers, of course, went on to finish in third place that season while Chelsea ended up thirteen points behind in sixth.
The video below shows the goals from this match, courtesy of KUMB’s excellent 100 Greatest Moments series.
Chelsea: Steve Francis, Colin Pates, Colin Lee, Doug Rougvie, Darren Wood, Joe McLaughlin, John Bumstead (Micky Hazard), Nigel Spackman, Pat Nevin, David Speedie, Kevin McAllister.
West Ham United: Phil Parkes, Ray Stewart, Tony Gale, Paul Hilton, George Parris, Mark Ward, Alan Dickens, Geoff Pike, Alan Devonshire (Neil Orr), Tony Cottee, Frank McAvennie.
Club Connections
A decent number of players have represented both West Ham United and Chelsea. These include: Craig Forrest, Tal Ben Haim, Len Goulden, Wayne Bridge, Frank Lampard Junior, Demba Ba, Alan Dickens, Clive Allen, Scott Minto, Joe Cole, Scott Parker, George Hilsdon, Peter Brabrook, Yossi Benayoun, Ian Pearce, Jimmy Greaves, Joe Kirkup, Pop Robson, Ron Tindall, Glen Johnson, John Sissons and Jon Harley.
Ron Greenwood and Gianfranco Zola played for Chelsea and managed West Ham, while Sir Geoff Hurst and Dave Sexton both played for the Hammers and managed the Blues. Avram Grant has managed both clubs.
Today’s focus though is on a striker who came through Chelsea’s youth system and currently stands second in the charts of West Ham United’s all-time highest Premier League goalscorers. Carlton Cole was born in Croydon on the 12th October 1983 and joined Chelsea as a 12-year-old schoolboy. He made his first-team debut at the age of 18, as a substitute for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in a 3-0 home win over Everton. He scored in his first start three weeks later in a 2-0 victory at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium. Cole began the 2002/03 season on the bench as Chelsea opened their campaign at Charlton. He entered the fray with 16 minutes to go with the Blues 2-1 down; Cole scored the equaliser with six minutes left after a surging run and then set up Frank Lampard to notch the winner with a minute remaining. He suffered a hairline fracture in his leg before the end of August though but returned in November to score both goals in a 2-1 League Cup victory against Gillingham, prompting manager Claudio Ranieri to state, “I’ve never coached a young player like Carlton. He’s fantastic even though he hasn’t really started his career yet. He has a very long contract, and, in my opinion, a very big future at Chelsea”. With competition for places in the form of the aforementioned Hasselbaink, Gianfranco Zola (Cole’s future manager at West Ham United) and Eidur Gudjohnsen, Cole found first-team football in a two-month loan spell at Wolves.
Cole signed a six-year contract when Roman Abramovich took over the club in the summer of 2003 but, while Zola had departed, a fresh rival for a striking place had arrived in the shape of Adrian Mutu. Cole headed to south London for a season-long loan with Charlton. He was expected to remain at The Valley for a second season as part of the deal which had taken Scott Parker in the opposite direction but instead joined Aston Villa for the 2004/05 campaign. Cole spent the 2005/06 season back at Chelsea but international stars Didier Drogba and Hernan Crespo blocked his path to regular first-team action. Cole, who also scored 6 goals in 19 matches for England Under-21s while on Chelsea’s books, was offered an exit route by Alan Pardew in the summer of 2006.
Cole’s career at Upton Park got off to a dream start, scoring within 24 seconds of his West Ham debut as a substitute against former club Charlton to seal a 3-1 opening day home win. With Dean Ashton ruled out through long-term injury and Craig Bellamy enduring a stop-start campaign, Cole earned more playing time the following season under his former manager at Charlton, Alan Curbishley, scoring six goals and making nine assists. 2008/09 saw Gianfranco Zola arrive as Curbishley’s replacement and Cole’s career finally kicked into gear. He bagged 12 goals in all competitions and made four assists, as well as making his full England debut under Fabio Capello on 11th February 2009 in a 2-0 defeat against European champions Spain in Seville, appearing as a substitute for Gabriel Agbonlahor. He almost scored for the Three Lions too, rounding Pepe Reina but seeing his effort cleared off the line by Gerard Pique. Cole went on to win 7 caps and holds the record for the most England appearances as a substitute without ever starting a game.
While Zola’s time at West Ham took a downward spiral, Cole remained a positive point for the manager, scoring 10 goals in a 2009/10 campaign that saw the Hammers finish in 17th position. As Cole flourished under the tutelage of Zola and the Hammers descended deeper into financial chaos, the big striker was linked with a £20m transfer to both Liverpool and Manchester United in January 2010. Before the end of that year, Cole notched a brace in a 4-0 League Cup quarter-final win over the Red Devils and also bagged his first Premier League double in a 3-1 Boxing Day triumph at Fulham.
The Hammers were relegated at the end of 2010/11 though and, despite offers from Galatasaray and Stoke, Cole took a 50% pay cut to stay in east London and aid the Irons’ promotion push. He scored West Ham’s 2,000th away league goal in the 2-1 victory at Coventry and his 50th goal for the club in the 1-1 draw at Birmingham. Cole scored the first and made the second as the Hammers beat Blackpool 2-1 in the Play-Off Final at Wembley to secure their return to the top flight under Sam Allardyce.
Cole struggled for game time after the arrival of Andy Carroll in 2012/13 but did head the equaliser against former club (and European champions) Chelsea in a match the Hammers went on to win 3-1. He was released by the club the following summer but returned following an injury to Carroll and the lack of adequate back-up – Cole’s first goal since re-signing was in similar style to his first appearance back in 2006, scoring within a minute of coming on, this time in a 3-0 home win over Fulham. Cole, who has a contract which runs until this summer, has scored two goals in four starts this season. His current West Ham figures stand at 67 goals in 277 appearances in all competitions.
Carlton has always been a favourite amongst the Hammers’ diehard travelling support and the video below, created after his initial departure in 2013, displays his talent as well as his love and commitment to our club.
Referee
The referee on Boxing Day will be Michael Oliver; the match at Stamford Bridge will be Oliver’s 100th in the Premier League at the age of just 29. Since West Ham United achieved promotion back to the top flight in 2012 Oliver has refereed five of our league matches, officiating in one win for the Hammers and four defeats. He was the man in the middle for the Irons’ 2-0 reverse in this fixture two seasons ago, harshly disallowing an Andy Carroll goal for a ‘push’ on David Luiz. Oliver also sent off Kevin Nolan at Anfield last season.
Possible line-ups
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho could be without Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard after a knock picked up in the victory at Stoke on Monday night. World Cup winner Andre Schurrle could be called into the starting XI as a replacement. Jon Obi Mikel was employed in midfield for the trip to the Britannia but it is likely that the more offensive Oscar will take his place for the home game against the Hammers.
Sam Allardyce could be without captain Kevin Nolan who picked up a knock in training earlier this week. Mark Noble faces a fitness test and may not be risked from the start with the home game against Arsenal taking place only 48 hours after the final whistle at Stamford Bridge. Morgan Amalfitano is a fit and available option. James Tomkins, who remains one yellow card away from a one-match suspension, has a hamstring strain and may not be risked considering the close proximity of the Arsenal fixture. A pacey pairing of Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia would certainly, on paper, cause Gary Cahill and John Terry more problems than an aerial duel with Andy Carroll but, after three goals in three games, it would be very difficult to leave the England striker out of the starting line-up. If the game is precariously poised in the second half, the option of Valencia from the bench is a tantalising one. Whatever the Boxing Day results, West Ham will not drop out of the top five.
Looking ahead to the home clash with Arsenal on Sunday, Santi Cazorla and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both face QPR at the Emirates on Boxing Day in the knowledge they are one yellow card away from being suspended for the trip to the Boleyn Ground.
Possible Chelsea XI: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Schurrle, Oscar, Willian; Diego Costa.
Possible West Ham United XI: Adrian; Jenkinson, Collins, Reid, Cresswell; Song, Kouyate, Amalfitano; Downing; Carroll, Sakho.
Enjoy the game – Come On You Irons!