A few weeks ago, HotMort wrote a guest article suggesting that we should welcome back an array of former players in the Boleyn Ground’s final season – an opportunity to provide us, as supporters, with the opportunity to respect our past, to thank and applaud those who have turned out at the famous old stadium in the claret and blue, as well as for those ex-players to step out on the hallowed turf one last time.
The comments on the thread suggested that invitations should be issued to ex-players when another of their ex-clubs visit the Boleyn in 2015/16 to allow away supporters to feel a part of their own final Boleyn visit too. Some have since made the point that visiting supporters should not enjoy a visit to Fortress Upton Park – while I agree with this sentiment, I recall a trip to Stoke a couple of seasons ago. The Britannia Stadium can be as noisy and intimidating a place as any in the modern day Premier League but, at half-time in this particular game, Sir Geoff Hurst was interviewed on the pitch and both sets of supporters joined as one to acclaim a common hero. It can be done…
Based on the ‘Club Connections’ sections of my match previews, regular posters Steve and Banjo requested that I come up with a list of ex-players who could visit the Boleyn Ground when another of their ex-clubs roll into town. My suggestions are below – for those players who have represented more than one of our Premier League opponents for this coming season, I have selected the team they played more games for. The players must have played at least 10 games for both clubs to make the list. It certainly consists of the good, the bad and the ugly for West Ham United but, nonetheless, all have a part in our history. Those who are currently playing or managing elsewhere would not, of course, be able to attend if they are otherwise engaged with their current clubs but I have included them anyway. So, in order of our home fixtures this season, here are the lists:
Leicester – Brian Deane, Andy Impey, Paul Kitson, Paul Konchesky, Shaun Newton, Frank O’Farrell, Chris Powell.
Bournemouth – Junior Stanislas and Elliott Ward are still with the Cherries, while Carl Fletcher is a youth team coach at the club. Other players to have represented both clubs include: Bobby Barnes, Patsy Holland, Matty Holmes, Steve Jones, Ted MacDougall, Jimmy Quinn, Harry Redknapp, Keith Rowland and Tony Scott.
Newcastle – Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll are still with the Hammers. Other club connections include: Demba Ba, Craig Bellamy, Lee Bowyer, Kieron Dyer, Paul Goddard, Shaka Hislop, Vic Keeble, David Kelly, Rob Lee, Scott Parker, Wayne Quinn, Pop Robson and Nolberto Solano.
Norwich – Gary O’Neil is still with the Canaries. Other players to have represented both clubs are: Dean Ashton, Mark Bowen, Ken Brown, Kenny Brown, David Cross, Dale Gordon, Robert Green, Malky Mackay, John McDowell, Martin Peters, Keith Robson, John Sissons, Alan Taylor, Steve Walford.
Chelsea – Tal Ben Haim, Peter Brabrook, Carlton Cole, Alan Dickens, Avram Grant, Frank Lampard Jr, Scott Minto, Gianfranco Zola.
Everton – Slaven Bilic will be at the game as West Ham manager, while David Unsworth is the Everton Under-21 coach. Other players to have represented both clubs include: Tony Cottee, Don Hutchison, Lucas Neill, Mark Ward and Danny Williamson.
West Brom – Morgan Amalfitano is still with the Hammers. Other players to have represented both clubs include Peter Butler and Gary Strodder.
Stoke – Glen Johnson is currently at Stoke. Other players to have represented both clubs include: Luke Chadwick, Lee Chapman, Clive Clarke, Matthew Etherington, Abdoulaye Faye, Sir Geoff Hurst, Kevin Keen, Nicky Morgan and Lawrie Leslie.
Southampton – Wayne Bridge, Henri Camara, David Connolly, Christian Dailly, Joe Kirkup, Robbie Slater.
Liverpool – ex-Reds Andy Carroll and Julian Dicks are part of the current West Ham set-up. Other players to have represented both clubs include: Yossi Benayoun, David Burrows, Titi Camara, Stewart Downing, David James, Mike Marsh, Neil Mellor, Neil Ruddock and Rigobert Song.
Man City – Eyal Berkovic, Ian Bishop, Kevin Horlock, Steve Lomas, Trevor Morley, Stuart Pearce, Trevor Sinclair, Carlos Tevez, Paulo Wanchope.
Aston Villa – Joe Cole and Mark Robson are part of the current set-up at Aston Villa while James Collins is still at West Ham. Other players to have represented both clubs include: John Carew, Alan Curbishley, Mervyn Day, Marlon Harewood, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Nigel Reo-Coker.
Sunderland – Jermain Defoe is already with Sunderland. Others who have represented both clubs include: Gary Breen, Keith Coleman, Danny Collins, Paolo Di Canio, Anton Ferdinand, Harry Hooper, George McCartney, Mick McGiven and Andy Melville.
Tottenham – Clive Allen, Paul Allen, Calum Davenport, Ilie Dumitrescu, Dave Dunmore, Les Ferdinand, Jimmy Greaves, Chris Hughton, Frederic Kanoute, Robbie Keane, John Moncur, Sergei Rebrov, Teddy Sheringham, Mitchell Thomas, Bobby Zamora.
Watford – Alan Devonshire, Colin Foster, Jon Harley, Billy Jennings, Henri Lansbury, Jobi McAnuff, Stuart Slater.
Crystal Palace – Marouane Chamakh and Alan Pardew are part of the Crystal Palace set-up. Other club connections include: Paul Brush, Danny Gabbidon, Iain Dowie, Michael Hughes, Hayden Mullins, Freddie Sears, Alan Stephenson and Dave Swindlehurst.
Arsenal – Carl Jenkinson is technically part of both the current Arsenal and West Ham set-ups! Other club connections include: Luis Boa Morte, Liam Brady, Kaba Diawara, Bobby Gould, John Hartson, Fredrik Ljungberg, John Radford, Stewart Robson, Alex Song, Jim Standen, Davor Suker, Matthew Upson, Nigel Winterburn and Ian Wright.
Man Utd – Michael Carrick is already with Manchester United. Other club connections include: Roy Carroll, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Ince, Lou Macari and Stuart Pearson.
Swansea – Matthew Rush.
I know the club is planning on each home game having a theme for this season – the opening home match of the season this weekend against Leicester, for example, will take advantage of the warmer weather in being a ‘Claret and Blue Day’ where fans are encouraged to deck themselves out in the club’s colours. Other match themes this season will include the Academy, Hammer of the Year, the ‘60s (Moore, Hurst and Peters), the ‘70s (Bonds and Brooking), the Boys of ’86, Greatest Goals, Cult Heroes and Greatest Moments.
In addition, some of our greatest ex-players were actually one-club men or did play for other clubs but these may not be on our fixture list this season. The ‘Hammer of the Year’ Day could be an opportunity then to recognise the likes of two-time winners Steve Potts and Mark Noble, as well as Ludek Miklosko and Sebastien Schemmel.
What do you think? Should fans be given the opportunity to recognise our past by welcoming back an array of former players to the Boleyn Ground in the stadium’s final season? If you attend matches, would you be happy to be in your seat slightly earlier if the ex-players were paraded before kick-off, or to remain in your seat at half-time if they are introduced during the interval? I am happy to submit this list of players to the club if the general consensus is that this is something supporters would like to see.
Finally, with thanks to Claretbobby, there is a WHTID league within this season’s Premier League Fantasy Football Competition. The code to enter when joining the league is 1846794-607706.