Hello and welcome to the 46th and final match preview of an often challenging but nonetheless significant season in the history of West Ham United, one that began researching obscure Slovenian opposition back in July and closes with the Hammers comfortably safe in the Premier League.
Blast from the past
In today’s preview, we travel back to 19th February 1980: Kenny Rogers was number one with ‘Coward Of The County’, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was in UK cinemas and, in the week which saw the broadcast of the first ever episode of Yes Minister, West Ham United beat Burnley away from home by one goal to nil.
Alan Devonshire (pictured above) scored the only goal of the game in front of 10,610 spectators for a Tuesday night encounter at Turf Moor. It was Dev’s second of six goals from 49 matches that season. David ‘Psycho’ Cross would be the Irons’ top goalscorer with 18 goals in 53 matches in 1979/80.
The victory was the Hammers’ fifth consecutive triumph in all competitions in a six-match winning run but, after this streak, they would not win in the league again for another seven games, until 5th April. West Ham would go on to finish 7th in a 1979/80 campaign that saw them win the FA Cup with a 1-0 triumph over Arsenal at Wembley. 21-year-old centre-back Alvin Martin was voted Hammer of the Year with 20-year-old right-back Ray Stewart runner-up. Burnley finished 21st and were relegated alongside Charlton and Fulham.
West Ham United: Phil Parkes, Frank Lampard, Ray Stewart, Alvin Martin, Paul Brush, Jimmy Neighbour, Paul Allen, Geoff Pike, Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire, David Cross.
Club Connections
A small collection of players have turned out for the Hammers and the Clarets. They include:
Goalkeepers: Tommy Hampson, Herman Conway and Frank Birchenough.
Defenders: Tyrone Mears, Joe Gallagher, David Unsworth, Jack Tresadern, Jon Harley and Mitchell Thomas.
Midfielders: Junior Stanislas, Reg Attwell and Matt Taylor.
Strikers: Alan Taylor, Sam Jennings, Walter Pollard, Ian Wright, Ian Moore and Zavon Hines.
John Bond played for the Hammers and managed the Clarets.
Today’s focus, though, falls on a player who enjoyed spells at both clubs in the 2000s. Luke Chadwick began his career at Manchester United, scoring two goals in 25 appearances for the Red Devils, while also spending loan periods with Antwerp and Reading.
With David Beckham blocking his route to the Manchester United first team, Chadwick joined Lancastrian neighbours Burnley on loan for the 2003/04 campaign – he failed to have much of an impact at Turf Moor as the Clarets spent the season at the wrong end of the First Division and only just avoided relegation to England’s third tier. The winger made a total of 40 appearances for Burnley, scoring six goals.
The 23-year-old Chadwick signed for Alan Pardew’s West Ham on a free transfer at the start of the 2004/05 season and made his debut as a substitute in a 1-0 home win against Reading on 10th August 2004, setting up Teddy Sheringham for the late winner. He played the majority of games before Christmas on the right wing and scored his only goal for the club in a 1-1 draw with Leeds in a televised Friday night match, opening the scoring by bundling home after a Marlon Harewood header had been blocked (this goal can be seen in my video below). Leeds ruined Chadwick’s night however, equalising through an injury-time penalty by David Healy after the Northern Ireland striker had blatantly dived to win the spot-kick. Injury disrupted the rest of Chadwick’s season as the Hammers won promotion back to the top flight by beating Preston in the play-off final in Cardiff. His final appearance for the Hammers was as a substitute in a 1-0 win at Stoke on 19th April 2005.
After 36 appearances and one goal for West Ham, Chadwick joined Stoke, initially on loan at the start of the 2005/06 season. Following impressive performances, this move was made permanent the following January for a fee of £100,000. Chadwick won many admirers amongst the Stoke faithful but fitness issues again caught up with him, fainting due to dehydration against Southend on the opening day of the 2006/07 season. Chadwick’s former assistant manager at Upton Park, Peter Grant, took the winger to Norwich as Stoke more than doubled their money on the England Under-21 international.
After leaving Norwich in 2008, Chadwick made 210 appearances for MK Dons, scoring 17 goals, before getting his dream move to boyhood club Cambridge United in the spring of 2014. Discussing his debut for Cambridge against Welling in March that year, Chadwick told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire:
“I remember coming on in a Champions League quarter-final against Munich. That was quite a nerve-wracking and an incredible experience. But this is the biggest one now. The missus buys me the Cambridge kit every Christmas or my birthday. I’ve had it the last 10 to 15 years, so to wear one in a proper game was a great feeling. I still think I’ve got years left in me. My body will tell me when it is time to stop. Ideally, I’ve got three, four, five or six years left. You never know in this game, I just want to be successful here.”
Chadwick helped Cambridge win promotion back into the Football League in May 2014 after a nine-year exile for the club and played for them in League Two in the 2014/15 season. After leaving Cambridge, Chadwick signed for Isthmian League Division One North side Soham Town Rangers in November 2015 and spent one season at Soham. Now 36, Chadwick is a full-time coach at the Cambridge United Academy.
Referee
The referee on Saturday will be Bobby Madley. The Yorkshire-based official will take charge of a West Ham game for the seventh time in the Premier League, having also refereed our 2-1 victory at Manchester City in September 2015 and our 2-0 home win over Liverpool in January 2016. Madley’s most controversial appointment with the Irons saw him award Chelsea a last-minute penalty at Stamford Bridge last season which saw the Blues salvage a 2-2 draw – replays showed that Michail Antonio’s foul on Reuben Loftus-Cheek had occurred outside the penalty area.
The 31-year-old has refereed three Hammers matches this season, these being the 1-0 home wins against Sunderland in October and Burnley in December, as well as the 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth in March, when he awarded the home side two penalties which were both missed. Madley has been the man in the middle on a previous occasion when the Hammers travelled to Burnley – Matt Taylor and Jack Collison converted one spot-kick each in a 2-0 League Cup fourth round win at Turf Moor in October 2013, while Keith Treacy was sent off for the hosts for his involvement in the second penalty incident.
Possible line-ups
Burnley centre-backs Ben Mee and Michael Keane face late fitness tests, while Dean Marney is a long-term absentee. The Clarets have won just twice in 15 league and cup games since January, losing eight times. Burnley’s only home victory against the Hammers in the last 39 years was a 2-1 win in February 2010.
West Ham United’s squad is beset by injuries – Winston Reid joins Cheikhou Kouyate, Mark Noble, Pedro Obiang, Michail Antonio, Gokhan Tore, Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho in the treatment room. Arthur Masuaku faces a late fitness test on a foot injury while Under-23 captain Declan Rice travels with the squad and could make his first team debut. The Hammers have dropped 22 points from winning positions this term, more than any other Premier League side.
Possible Burnley XI: Heaton; Lowton, Long, Tarkowski, Ward; Boyd, Hendrick, Westwood, Arfield; Barnes, Vokes.
Possible West Ham United XI: Adrian; Fonte, Rice, Collins; Byram, Nordtveit, Fernandes, Cresswell; Lanzini, Ayew; Calleri.
Enjoy the game – Come On You Irons!