Blast from the past
15th March 1947 – Geraldo and his Orchestra featuring Joe Loss were number one with ‘The Old Lamplighter’, James Mason and Robert Newton were in UK cinemas with Odd Man Out and West Ham United striker Frank Neary (pictured) hit a hat-trick in the Hammers’ 3-2 victory over West Bromwich Albion in front of 23,928 at the Boleyn Ground.
This was Neary’s third appearance for the Hammers – he had made an impressive start, bagging braces in his first two matches during 3-0 wins over Newport and Swansea. He made it seven goals from his first three appearances by notching his hat-trick against the Baggies to claim maximum points for the hosts.
Noted for the power of his shooting, the 26-year-old Aldershot-born striker went on to score a total of 15 league goals in 14 appearances in the second half of 1946/47, becoming the Hammers’ top scorer for the campaign having only signed from QPR in January 1947 for £4,000. He appeared in three matches at the start of 1947/48 but, after reportedly hitting an opponent who had fouled him out of sight of the referee, Neary was eventually sold to Leyton Orient for £2,000 in November 1947. He went on to have a second spell at QPR, before playing for Millwall and Gravesend. He died in Cheam on 17th November 2004 at the age of 83.
Victory for the Hammers against the Baggies helped them end the 1946/47 season in 12th position in the Second Division, while West Brom would finish seventh. Manchester City topped the Second Division, Liverpool won the title and Charlton won the FA Cup.
West Ham United: George Taylor, Steve Forde, Ron Cater, Dick Walker, Norman Corbett, Sam Small, Almer Hall, Frank Neary, Ken Bainbridge, Jackie Wood, Terry Woodgate.
Club Connections
West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion have shared a decent number of players over the years; these include:
Defenders: Danny Gabbidon, David Burrows, Steve Walford, Gary Strodder.
Midfielders: Franz Carr, Morgan Amalfitano, Peter Butler, Nigel Quashie.
Strikers: Jeroen Boere, John Hartson, Sir Geoff Hurst, Frank Nouble, David Cross.
Archie Macauley played for West Ham and managed West Brom, while Bobby Gould played for the Hammers and the Baggies and also spent a period as manager at The Hawthorns.
Today’s focus falls on a player who came through the Hammers academy before spending a spell on loan at West Brom later in his career. Alan Dickens was born in Plaistow on 3rd September 1964 and was a member of West Ham United’s FA Youth Cup-winning side in 1981. He gained four England caps at youth level and played for the Under-21s. Dickens became a West Ham apprentice on the 14th July 1981 and signed pro forms on 2nd August 1982. He made his first competitive appearance under John Lyall on 18th December 1982 at the age of 18, scoring on his debut in a 2-1 win at Notts County. The central midfielder scored five more goals before the end of 1982/83 – in a 2-1 home win over Brighton on 5th March 1983, a 1-1 draw at Norwich on 26th March, a double in a 5-1 win at Swansea on 5th April and in a 2-1 home win over Sunderland four days later.
Goals and, indeed, appearances were harder to come by in 1983/84 but Dickens became more of a feature the following campaign, scoring four goals – two in the league, in a 3-2 win at Southampton in September 1984 and a 1-1 home draw with Tottenham in April 1985, and his first two goals in the FA Cup, in a 4-1 third round home win over Port Vale and a 5-1 fifth round replay home win over Wimbledon.
Dickens made 51 appearances in the glorious season of 1985/86, scoring in a 3-1 home win over QPR, a 4-2 win over Nottingham Forest, a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool and a 2-1 home win over Ipswich as the Hammers finished third in the First Division, their highest ever league placing.
The following season brought five goals, including strikes in successive games in a 2-2 draw at Watford and a 4-1 home League Cup second round second leg win over Preston. ‘Dicko’ also scored in the next round in a 3-2 win at Watford and followed that with the winner in a 1-0 victory over Everton at Upton Park. He also scored in a 4-1 win over Leicester on New Year’s Day 1987.
1986/87 saw four goals from the Hammers’ midfield maestro – he scored again at Vicarage Road as the Hammers won 2-1 at Watford before notching in a 2-1 home defeat to Millwall in the first round of the Full Members’ Cup. Further strikes followed in a 2-1 home win over Southampton in December 1987 and a 1-0 win at QPR in January 1988.
Dickens hit his highest goals total in 1988/89 but it was to be a nightmare season for the Irons as they were relegated in a season which culminated in the sacking of John Lyall. Dickens scored in a 4-1 home defeat to Arsenal in October 1988, a 2-1 League Cup second round second leg win over Sunderland, a 2-0 home win over Newcastle, a 2-2 home draw with Arsenal in the FA Cup third round, a 3-0 home win over Millwall in April 1989 and two strikes in May 1989, in a 1-0 home win over Luton and 2-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday as the Hammers tried desperately to save themselves from the dreaded drop.
Relegation saw Dickens leave the club – he signed for Chelsea for £600,000 in June 1989. He had scored 30 goals in 234 appearances for his local club. He had a three-match loan spell at West Brom in the 1992/93 season before another loan spell with Brentford. He went on to play for Colchester but his senior playing career was over at the age of 30. He went on to appear for Chesham, Hayes, Collier Row, Billericay and Purfleet before retiring in 1998. Now 52, Dickens worked as a black cab driver and was assistant manager at Barking from November 2008 until April 2012, when he was appointed manager before leaving the job in November that year.
Referee
The referee on Saturday will be Michael Oliver. Since West Ham United achieved promotion back to the top flight in 2012 Oliver has refereed eight of our league matches, officiating in two wins for the Hammers and six defeats.
Oliver was the man in the middle for the Irons’ 2-0 reverse at Chelsea two seasons ago and also sent off Kevin Nolan at Anfield three seasons ago. His only Hammers appointments last season were for the 2-1 home victory over Southampton in December and the 4-1 home defeat to Swansea in May. His only game in charge of the Irons this season was our 5-0 home defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup third round last month.
Possible line-ups
West Ham United will be without Angelo Ogbonna, Arthur Masuaku, Gokhan Tore and Diafra Sakho, while Aaron Cresswell, Cheikhou Kouyate and Andy Carroll are doubts. Alvaro Arbeloa, Sam Byram and Havard Nordtveit are back in training.
West Bromwich Albion are without loanee left-back Brendan Galloway, while Jonny Evans and Claudio Yacob are doubts. The Baggies are unbeaten in their last three trips to West Ham.
Possible West Ham United XI: Randolph; Kouyate, Fonte, Reid, Cresswell; Noble, Obiang; Feghouli, Antonio, Snodgrass; Carroll.
Possible West Bromwich Albion XI: Foster; Nyom, Dawson, McAuley, Brunt; Fletcher, Livermore; Phillips, Morrison, Chadli; Rondon.
Enjoy the game – Come On You Irons!