Blast from the past
23rd August 1975 – 1.25million were unemployed in the UK, The Stylistics were in the middle of three weeks at number one with ‘Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love)’, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was in UK cinemas and 28,048 saw West Ham United defeat Burnley 3-2 at Upton Park. A strike from Graham Paddon was supplemented by a double from future Burnley striker Alan Taylor (pictured) for the Hammers.
The Irons would end the 1975/76 season six points clear of the dreaded drop in 18th position while the Clarets would be relegated in 21st place. Trevor Brooking was voted Hammer of the Year with Paddon runner-up in a season which saw Liverpool win the league title and Southampton succeed the Hammers as FA Cup winners.
West Ham United: Mervyn Day, John McDowell, Kevin Lock, Tommy Taylor, Frank Lampard, Pat Holland, Graham Paddon, Trevor Brooking, Keith Robson, Alan Taylor, Billy Jennings (Johnny Ayris).
Club Connections
A small collection of players have turned out for the Hammers and the Clarets. They include
Goalkeepers: Frank Birchenough.
Defenders: Tyrone Mears, Joe Gallagher, David Unsworth, Jack Tresadern, Jon Harley and Mitchell Thomas.
Midfielders: Junior Stanislas, Reg Attwell, Matt Taylor and Luke Chadwick.
Strikers: 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 played for Burnley before earning a place in West Ham history. Herman Conway was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire on 11th October 1908 – he began his career with his local Midland League club, Gainsborough Trinity, establishing himself as their regular first-team goalkeeper from mid-March 1929. In February 1930 the 21-year-old was transferred to First Division Burnley, having been scouted for them by former Clarets and England goalkeeper Jerry Dawson. The club were relegated to the second tier at the end of 1929/30 and finished eighth in Division Two the following season, while a further relegation was only avoided by two points in 1931/32. West Ham were themselves relegated in 1932 and both clubs were involved in a relegation dogfight in 1932/33, the Hammers avoiding a second successive demotion to the third tier by one place and one point with Burnley just one position above them with one more point. Both sides improved in 1933/34 with the Hammers finishing seventh and the Clarets thirteenth. After making 81 appearances for Burnley, Conway made the switch to Charlie Paynter’s West Ham United in the summer of 1934.
Ted Hufton, a former England goalkeeper who gave 13 years of exceptional service to the Hammers, had departed two years previously and the Hammers had struggled for a suitable long-term replacement having tried out George Watson, Pat McMahon and Jack Rutherford between Hufton’s departure to Watford and Conway’s arrival. The 25-year-old Conway (pictured) became the club’s 30th custodian when he made his Hammers debut in a 2-1 home defeat to Burnley, the team he’d just departed, on 27th August 1934. He kept his first clean sheet in his eleventh appearance, a 2-0 home win over Swansea Town on 20th October 1934 which pushed the Hammers up into fifth place in the Second Division table. Conway made 43 appearances in his maiden season in east London as the Hammers finished third, only losing two of 21 home games but agonisingly missing out on a top-flight return on goal average to Bolton after finishing level on points with the Trotters. Conway and his defence had conceded only 17 goals at home but shipped 46 goals on their travels.
A similar pattern followed the next season with the Irons conceding 23 times at home but 45 goals were conceded away from the Boleyn Ground. Conway made 35 appearances, fewer than the previous season, as the Hammers finished just three points adrift of promotion in fourth position. Conway started the first seven matches of the following campaign, 1936/37, but did not keep a clean sheet and conceded 13 goals. He did not appear again that season as new signing Arthur Weare from Bristol Rovers took over goalkeeping duties. The Hammers finished sixth, again shipping more than twice as many goals on their travels than they did at home.
Conway’s game time increased in 1937/38 as he made 21 appearances but the Hammers’ inconsistencies continued, losing just three times at home but winning only once away as they finished ninth. Conway again made 21 appearances in 1938/39 as the away form improved but, typically, the home form dipped and the Irons dropped again in the league, this time finishing eleventh. Conway’s last official league appearance for West Ham came on 28th January 1939 in a 2-2 draw at Tranmere.
The outbreak of the Second World War saw the suspension of the Football League, by which time Conway had signed for Tunbridge Wells Rangers. Conway returned to West Ham to play for the club in the Wartime League, making his comeback appearance on 13th January 1940 in a 3-1 defeat at Watford. Conway only missed one match in West Ham United’s run to 1940 Football League War Cup triumph, helping the Hammers to the first Wembley triumph in their history in the process – Harry Medhurst had replaced Conway prior to the war but wartime service requirements meant he was only available for one game, against Chelsea in the first round second leg. Conway kept a clean sheet in the 3-0 second round second leg win over Leicester on 11th May 1940 before keeping a clean sheet in the Final itself, a 1-0 victory over Blackburn at Wembley on 8th June 1940. Fears for Britain’s safety from Luftwaffe bombings were increasing, but 42,399 fans braved the warnings and attended the game at the national stadium. Conway can be seen in the video below making a late catch, collecting his medal (third in line) and carrying captain Charlie Bicknell with the cup.
Having made 24 appearances since his return in the second half of the 1939/40 campaign, Conway played 13 times in 1940/41, his final match for West Ham United arriving on 14th December 1940 in a 5-1 home win over Clapton Orient. He had made 164 appearances for the club in total. He signed for Southend United in August 1945 where he remained until his retirement as a player at the age of 37 in May 1946. Herman Conway died aged 74 in April 1983.
Referee
The referee on Wednesday will be Bobby Madley. The Yorkshire-based official will take charge of a West Ham game for the fifth time in the Premier League, having refereed our 2-1 victory at Manchester City in September 2015 and our 2-0 home win over Liverpool in January. His most controversial appointment with the Irons saw him award Chelsea a last-minute penalty at Stamford Bridge which saw Chelsea salvage a 2-2 draw – replays showed that Michail Antonio’s foul on Reuben Loftus-Cheek had occurred outside the penalty area. His most recent Hammers match was our last league win, the 1-0 triumph over Sunderland in October.
Madley has been the man in the middle on a previous occasion when the Hammers met 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. Madley, who is 31 years old, first refereed in the Premier League in April 2013.
Possible line-ups
For West Ham United, Alvaro Arbeloa and Cheikhou Kouyate could return from injury but Sam Byram, James Collins, Reece Oxford, Gokhan Tore, Diafra Sakho and Simone Zaza are all on the sidelines. Slaven Bilic could opt to start Andy Carroll, with Andre Ayew the likely candidate to make way.
Burnley are set to be without Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who has a hamstring injury. The Clarets have allowed their opponents 95 shots on target in the Premier League this season.
Possible West Ham United XI: Randolph; Kouyate, Reid, Ogbonna; Antonio, Noble, Obiang, Cresswell; Lanzini, Payet; Carroll.
Possible Burnley XI: Heaton; Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward; Arfield, Defour, Marney, Hendrick, Boyd; Vokes.
Enjoy the game – Come On You Irons!