Blast from the past
6th October 1984 – Stevie Wonder was number one with ‘I Just Called To Say I Love You’, David Warner and Angela Lansbury were in UK cinemas in The Company of Wolves and actor Leonard Rossiter had passed away the day before. Meanwhile, the Hammers defeated the Foxes at Upton Park in front of 15,306 spectators.
38-year-old Hammers legend Billy Bonds (pictured below) was amongst the scorers in a 3-1 win for the Irons. Future Leicester striker Tony Cottee was also on the scoresheet for the Hammers, while a Ray Stewart penalty rounded off the hosts’ goalscoring. Winger Steve Lynex scored the Foxes’ consolation.
West Ham United would finish the 1984/85 First Division season in 16th position, while Leicester would end up 15th in a campaign which saw Everton win the title and Manchester United win the FA Cup. Tony Cottee would finish as the Hammers’ top scorer with 24 goals in 50 matches; the young striker would finish runner-up to Paul Allen in the Hammer of the Year voting.
West Ham United: Tom McAlister, Ray Stewart, Alvin Martin, Tony Gale, Steve Walford, Geoff Pike, Billy Bonds, Paul Allen, Bobby Barnes (Steve Whitton), Paul Goddard, Tony Cottee.
Leicester City: Mark Wallington, John O’Neill, Bob Hazell, Paul Ramsey, Bobby Smith, Steve Lynex, Andy Peake (Mark Bright), Kevin MacDonald, Ian Wilson, Alan Smith, Gary Lineker.
Club Connections
David Martin welcomes his former club to London Stadium. Others who join him in having represented both the Hammers and the Foxes include:
Goalkeepers: George Hebden, Colin Mackleworth.
Defenders: Gary Charles, Chris Powell, Dickie Pudan, Rufus Brevett, Paul Konchesky, Dai Jones, Matthew Upson, Clive Clarke, Billy Oakes, Fred Milnes, John Paintsil.
Midfielders: Andy Impey, Shaun Newton, Franz Carr, Sid Bishop.
Strikers: David Connolly, Albert Carnelly, Brian Deane, Keith Robson, David Speedie, Bertie Lyon, Paul Kitson, Norman Proctor, Les Ferdinand, Mike Newell, David Kelly, Tony Cottee, Jimmy Quinn.
Frank O’Farrell, Jimmy Bloomfield and Martin Allen have played for the Hammers and managed the Foxes.
Today’s focus, though, falls on a player who spent a season with West Ham United in the twilight of his career before representing Leicester for half a season. Nolberto Solano was born in Callao, Peru on 12th December 1974 – he played for Sporting Cristal and Deportivo Municipal in his homeland before moving to Boca Juniors of Argentina. ’Nobby’ joined Newcastle in 1998 and spent just over five years with the Magpies before signing for Aston Villa for £1.5m in January 2004. On transfer deadline day in August 2005, Solano rejected a late offer to join Liverpool and agreed to return to Newcastle in a £1.5m deal.
After two years with Newcastle in his second spell on Tyneside, the 32-year-old Solano signed a one-year contract with Alan Curbishley’s West Ham in August 2007 to be closer to his London-based family. He made his debut on 21st October 2007, as a 73rd-minute substitute for Mark Noble in a 3-1 win over Sunderland. His impact was immediate when, after just five minutes on the pitch and the game tied at 1-1, Solano hit the post with the ball rebounding off Black Cats goalkeeper Craig Gordon and into the net to restore the Hammers’ lead. He scored his first goal for the Irons with a trademark free-kick and the fifth goal in the 5-0 away triumph at Derby on 10th November 2007 and added another goal in the 1-1 home draw with Reading on Boxing Day. He struck the last-gasp winner over Fulham at Craven Cottage in a 1-0 win on 23rd February 2008 before rounding off his season, and his spell at Upton Park, with another free-kick in a 2-2 final-day draw against former club Aston Villa on 11th May 2008. He was released by West Ham when his contract expired at the end of the 2007/08 season having scored four goals in 23 appearances – each of these four goals can be viewed in my video below.
On being released by the Hammers, Solano spent six months in Greece playing for Larissa before going back to his native Peru to play for Universitario de Desportes. ‘Nobby’ then came back to England to join former coach Nigel Pearson at Championship side Leicester, where he made his debut in a goalless home draw with former club Newcastle on 30th January 2010. The 35-year-old played for the Foxes for four months, making 13 appearances without scoring in regulation play – he did convert from the spot during a penalty shoot-out defeat to Cardiff in the Play-Off Semi-Finals on 12th May 2010, his final appearance for the club.
Solano followed Pearson north to Hull for the 2010/11 season. After a year with the Tigers he moved on to Hartlepool but a change in management saw him fall from first team grace before an illness finished his season, and his career, in February 2012. Solano had also made 95 appearances for Peru, scoring twenty goals, in a fifteen-year international career.
Solano started off his coaching career as a part-time coach with Northern League Division one side Newcastle Benfield before being named head coach of his former side Universitario in May 2012. Two years later, on 1st May 2014, he was named head coach of Internacional de Toronto, a club in the Canadian third division. Solano, who turned 45 earlier this month, has been assistant manager of the Peru national team since December 2017.
Referee
The referee on Saturday will be David Coote. The Nottingham-based official will take charge of a West Ham game for only the fourth time – his only other Hammers appointments were for our 2-0 defeat at Burnley last December, our 3-0 loss at Wolves in January and, most recently, our 1-1 draw with Sheffield United in October.
Coote has refereed seven Premier League matches so far this season – he has issued 26 yellow cards, one red and awarded one penalty.
Possible line-ups
West Ham United have lost only three of their last 32 home matches against Leicester stretching back to 1967, with 21 victories and eight draws against the Foxes in that time. Manuel Pellegrini will be without Winston Reid and Jack Wilshere, while Aaron Cresswell is suspended. Lukasz Fabianski could make his comeback from injury and Ryan Fredericks returns from a ban.
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers will be without Matthew James. The Foxes are unbeaten in their last four visits to east London.
Possible West Ham United XI: Fabianski; Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Masuaku; Rice; Antonio, Noble, Snodgrass, Anderson; Haller.
Possible Leicester City XI: Schmeichel; Pereira, Soyuncu, Evans, Chilwell; Ndidi; Perez, Tielemans, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy.
Enjoy the game – Up The Hammers!