Blast from the past
5th December 1987 – Doctor Who and Avengers star Karen Gillan had been born the week before, T’Pau were number one with ‘China In Your Hand’ and Dennis Quaid, Martin Short and Meg Ryan were in UK cinemas in Innerspace.
John Lyall’s mid-table West Ham United took on Chris Nicholl’s Southampton in front of 14,975 at The Boleyn Ground – there was a club connection in the visitors’ line-up with Kevin Bond, son of former Hammer John Bond, captaining the Saints.
The hosts took the lead after 13 minutes when Tony Cottee nodded on for 20-year-old Kevin Keen to smash home his first league goal for the Hammers – Keen had already scored in both the FA Cup and the League Cup before this First Division strike against Southampton. The Saints were soon level when Stewart Robson’s poor backpass was intercepted by Andy Townsend – Tom McAlister could only palm Townsend’s cross into the path of Danny Wallace, who hooked home the equaliser.
Cottee was twice denied by excellent saves by Southampton goalkeeper John Burridge, with Keen also having an effort stopped and Robson flashing wide. The Hammers claimed their winner when George Parris’ pass found Alan Dickens (pictured above) and he tickled a low shot beyond the grasp of Burridge and into the far corner of the net. Mark Ward was sent off for the second time in his West Ham career. The goals from this match can be viewed in my video below.
West Ham went on to finish the 1987/88 season in 16th position. Cottee was the club’s top goalscorer with 15 goals from 44 matches; Robson was voted Hammer of the Year, with Billy Bonds runner-up. Southampton finished 12th, Liverpool won the league and Wimbledon won the FA Cup.
West Ham United: Tom McAlister, Ray Stewart, Gary Strodder, Billy Bonds, George Parris, Mark Ward, Alan Dickens, Paul Ince, Stewart Robson, Kevin Keen, Tony Cottee.
Southampton: John Burridge, Gerry Forrest, Kevin Moore, Kevin Bond, Derek Statham, Jimmy Case, Glenn Cockerill, Graham Baker, Andy Townsend, Danny Wallace, Colin Clarke.
Club Connections
Michail Antonio welcomes his former club. An array of West Ham United’s good, bad and ugly have also turned out for Southampton:
Goalkeepers: Richard Wright, George Kitchen.
Defenders: Richard Hall, Christian Dailly, Joe Kirkup, Wayne Bridge, Neil Ruddock, Jose Fonte, Ian Pearce, Bill Adams, Darren Powell, Albie Roles, Horace Glover, Calum Davenport.
Midfielders: Bobby Weale, Luis Boa Morte, Nigel Quashie, Eyal Berkovic, Robbie Slater, Peter Cowper, Paul Allen.
Strikers: Vic Watson, Justin Fashanu, David Speedie, David Connolly, Viv Gibbins, Iain Dowie, Ted MacDougall, Henri Camara, Alex McDonald, Frank Costello, Fred Harrison, Walter Pollard, Arthur Wilson, Jimmy Harris, Jack Foster, Jack Farrell.
In addition, George Kay played for the Hammers and managed the Saints while Harry Redknapp and Alan Pardew have managed both clubs.
Today’s focus though is on a player who turned out for West Ham before representing Southampton later in his career. Jimmy Carr was an outside-left who was born on 19th December 1893 in Maryhill, Glasgow. He joined Watford in 1908 at the age of 14 and made his Southern League debut as a 16-year-old. The 20-year-old Carr moved to West Ham United in 1914 and made his debut in a 1-1 home draw with Swindon on 26th September 1914. With the perfect build for a winger at 5’7 in height and weighing in at 10st, he scored his only Hammers goal in his sixth appearance, a 2-0 win over Plymouth at Upton Park on 5th December 1914 (73 years to the day before this preview’s featured match, above). His ninth and final appearance for the Irons was on the 30th January 1915, in a 1-1 draw at Swindon, the same opposition and result as his debut.
During World War One, Carr was enlisted into the Army as a Private and played as a guest for Portsmouth and Kilmarnock in the Wartime Leagues. After the cessation of hostilities, Carr joined Reading in 1919, spending four years in Berkshire and making over 100 appearances for the club before moving to Southampton at the age of 29 in June 1923, where he teamed up with former Reading team-mate Jimmy Andrews (Carr is pictured during his Reading days).
Having played in every match from the start of the 1923/24 campaign, a serious knee injury in January required an operation and put Carr out for the rest of the season. He returned for the start of 1924/25 but his season was again disrupted by injuries – he did, however, play a significant part in the Saints’ run to the FA Cup Semi-Finals in 1925, where they were defeated 2-0 by Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge. After three years at The Dell, the 32-year-old Carr was released and switched to Swansea Town, as they were then known, in May 1926. He had scored ten goals in 86 league games for Southampton.
Carr scored one goal in seven appearances for the Swans but, with the end of his career approaching, he took the unprecedented step of placing an advertisement in the Athletic News, stating that he would ‘assist a club outside the League in exchange for a business’. Carr was soon playing for Southall and running The Red Lion Hotel in the town. Jimmy Carr passed away in Harrow on 26th June 1980, at the age of 86.
Referee
The referee on Saturday will be Stuart Attwell. The Birmingham-based official will take charge of a West Ham game for only the eighth time – he has sent off a Hammers striker in two of his other seven games officiating the Irons. He refereed our 1-0 victory at Wigan in March 2009 and our 3-1 win at Blackpool in February 2011. The 36-year-old sent off the Latics’ Lee Cattermole for a shocking challenge on Scott Parker, while the Hammers’ Carlton Cole also received his marching orders during the aforementioned win at Wigan. Even Latics boss Steve Bruce criticised the decision to dismiss the Irons striker. Attwell also issued a first-half red card to Andy Carroll in our 1-1 draw at Burnley in October 2017.
Attwell also awarded an infamous ‘phantom’ goal for Reading in a Championship match against Watford in September 2008. He was the youngest-ever Premier League referee but was demoted from the Select Group in 2012. He refereed the Hammers in August in our 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth, when he awarded the Irons a penalty which was converted by Marko Arnautovic, and in our 3-1 League Cup home defeat to Tottenham in October. Attwell’s most recent Hammers appointment saw him award a dubious match-winning penalty to Manchester City at the Etihad in February.
Possible line-ups
Manuel Pellegrini is without Winston Reid, Andriy Yarmolenko and Andy Carroll. Carlos Sanchez made an appearance for the Development Squad on Monday, while Aaron Cresswell, Manuel Lanzini and Samir Nasri are all available. There has still been no news on Robert Snodgrass’ suspension appeal.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is likely to be without Alex McCarthy, Jannik Vestergaard, Maya Yoshida and Michael Obafemi.
Possible West Ham United XI: Fabianski; Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku; Rice; Antonio, Noble, Snodgrass, Anderson; Arnautovic.
Possible Southampton XI: Gunn; Valery, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand; Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg; Long, Ings, Redmond.
Enjoy the game – Up The Hammers!