Blast from the past
Monday 11th August 1969 – two days after the ‘Manson Family’ committed the Tate murders, with The Rolling Stones at number one with ‘Honky Tonk Women’ and The Italian Job in UK cinemas, West Ham United met Chelsea in the new season’s first London derby at a humid Boleyn Ground in front of 39,003.
23-year-old Peter Bennett, a member of the Hammers’ 1963 FA Youth Cup-winning team, made both the West Ham goals to make it two wins in two games for the hosts, this 2-0 win over the Blues coming just two days after a 1-0 opening day home win over Newcastle.
The Hammers were without centre-half Alan Stephenson, with Jimmy Lindsay coming into the side. Chelsea were strengthened by the return of Scottish international full-back Eddie McCreadie but it was the Hammers who created the better chances, England forward Geoff Hurst forcing a save from Peter Bonetti and John Sissons shooting just wide.
The deadlock was broken in the 68th minute when Bennett beat McCreadie and delivered a right-wing cross which caused confusion between Bonetti and Peter Osgood, Martin Peters nipping between them to score. Chelsea responded, Bobby Ferguson saving well twice in a minute from Blues forward Bobby Tambling.
The points were secured with six minutes to go, Bennett sending Hurst (pictured above) clear to squeeze the ball beyond Bonetti and send the Hammers top of the league. Chelsea, by contrast, had no points from their opening two matches, conceding six goals and scoring just one.
The Hammers would go on to finish 17th in 1969/70 while Chelsea would finish third and win the FA Cup. Everton won the league title and Bobby Moore was named Hammer of the Year, with Billy Bonds runner-up.
West Ham United: Bobby Ferguson, Billy Bonds, Bobby Moore, John Charles, Ronnie Boyce, Jimmy Lindsay, Martin Peters, Harry Redknapp, Peter Bennett, Geoff Hurst, John Sissons.
Chelsea: Peter Bonetti, Ron Harris, John Dempsey, Marvin Hinton, Eddie McCreadie, John Hollins, Peter Osgood, Charlie Cooke, Peter Houseman, Ian Hutchinson (Tommy Baldwin), Bobby Tambling.
Club Connections
A decent number of players have represented both West Ham United and Chelsea. Victor Moses spent last season on loan with the Hammers and is now proving a key player for Antonio Conte’s Blues. Others to have worn the colours of both clubs include:
Goalkeeper: Craig Forrest.
Defenders: Tal Ben Haim, Scott Minto, Ian Pearce, Joe Kirkup, Glen Johnson and Jon Harley.
Midfielders: Frank Lampard Junior, Peter Brabrook, Alan Dickens, Scott Parker, Yossi Benayoun, Joe Cole and John Sissons.
Strikers: David Speedie, Len Goulden, Demba Ba, Clive Allen, George Hilsdon, Carlton Cole, Jimmy Greaves, Pop Robson and Ron Tindall.
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 falls on a player who played an ill-fated eighteen matches in all competitions for West Ham in 2011 – Wayne Bridge was born in Southampton on 5th August 1980 and started his professional career with his hometown club in 1998. He left the Saints to join Claudio Ranieri’s Chelsea in a deal worth just over £7m plus Graeme Le Saux in 2003. He scored the winning goal in the 88th minute of the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Arsenal; he also scored against Besiktas and Portsmouth in his debut season with the Blues.
Bridge was a regular starter under new manager Jose Mourinho before picking up a serious ankle injury in an FA Cup tie at Newcastle in February 2005, which also meant he missed the following week’s League Cup Final. Chelsea went on to win the Premier League, Bridge having played enough games to pick up a winner’s medal.
First team opportunities were limited for Bridge in 2005/06 after Mourinho’s signing of Asier del Horno and Bridge joined Fulham on loan for the second half of the campaign, a move which secured him a place in England’s 2006 World Cup squad. Competition for the left-back berth was tougher still the following season after Chelsea’s recruitment of England’s first-choice left-back Ashley Cole from Arsenal but Bridge still collected two winners’ medals as the Blues lifted both the FA Cup and League Cup.
With his future manager at West Ham, Avram Grant, now in charge, Bridge conceded a penalty in the 2-1 League Cup Final loss to Tottenham in February 2008 but would captain Chelsea for the first time in a League Cup fourth round tie against Burnley the following season under Luiz Felipe Scolari, which the Clarets won on penalties. After four goals in 142 appearances with Chelsea, Bridge moved on to Manchester City in the January transfer window of 2009 for a reported fee of £10m. He is perhaps most remembered for an episode which culminated in his much-publicised refusal of a handshake from John Terry, which was interlinked with Bridge’s self-imposed termination of his England career – he won 36 caps for his country, scoring one goal. Bridge’s first-team opportunities at City faded with the arrival of Aleksandar Kolarov and, later, Gael Clichy.
Bridge was offered an escape route in January 2011 by Grant’s relegation-haunted Hammers. He played in both the semi-final of the League Cup and the quarter-final of the FA Cup during his brief West Ham career but these Cup successes were not supplemented by points in the Premier League and the club was relegated as the division’s bottom side. Bridge would return to his parent club but was shipped out on loan again, this time to Sunderland.
Bridge would later have to drop a division for regular football, joining Brighton for a successful 2012/13 campaign. He turned down the chance of an extension to his time with the Seagulls, opting instead to join newly-relegated Reading. The ex-England left-back announced his retirement from the game in May 2014. Now 36, Bridge was most recently seen before Christmas on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.
Referee
The referee on Monday will be Andre Marriner; the 45-year-old’s most recent Hammers appointment was Boxing Day’s 4-1 win at Swansea while his only visit to the Hammers’ new home was for our 1-1 draw with Stoke in November. Prior to that, in August’s trip to Manchester City, he had failed to send off Sergio Aguero for an elbow on Winston Reid with the Hammers trailing 2-1 with 14 minutes remaining. The Argentine was retrospectively charged with violent conduct and suspended for three matches, a decision which did nothing to benefit West Ham. Marriner did, however, show leniency that day towards the visitors by failing to issue Arthur Masuaku with a second yellow card on more than one occasion.
Marriner was the man in the middle for our 0-0 home draw with Stoke last season and the 3-0 home win over the same opposition in 2011. He also officiated our 1-0 win over Tottenham at Upton Park in March. Since we achieved promotion back to the top flight in 2012 the Birmingham-based official has been far from a good omen for West Ham – he has refereed thirteen of our league matches, officiating in only three wins for the Hammers, four draws and six defeats.
Possible line-ups
West Ham United are without the suspended Michail Antonio, who serves a one-match ban for his red card at Watford last weekend. Angelo Ogbonna, Gokhan Tore and Diafra Sakho are also unavailable, while Andy Carroll is a doubt and may only feature from the bench. Carroll has scored in two of his last three games against Chelsea – his next Premier League goal will be his 50th.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will give a late fitness check to Eden Hazard but the Belgian is expected to start despite being kicked in training during the week. Chelsea’s three away defeats this season have all come at London clubs – a 3-0 loss at Arsenal in September, the 2-1 League Cup reverse at West Ham in October and the 2-0 defeat at Tottenham in January.
Possible West Ham United XI: Randolph; Kouyate, Fonte, Reid, Cresswell; Noble, Obiang; Feghouli, Snodgrass, Lanzini; Ayew.
Possible Chelsea XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Luiz; Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso; Pedro, Costa, Hazard.
Enjoy the game – Come On You Irons!