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Blast from the past
17th February 1973 – The Sweet were number one with ‘Blockbuster’; Iggy and the Stooges had just released ‘Raw Power’; Maggie Smith and Alec McCowen were in UK cinemas in Travels With My Aunt; Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em had just made its television debut and West Ham United recorded a 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion in front of 26,079 at Upton Park.
West Ham captain Bobby Moore led the Hammers out having won his 100th England cap during midweek in a 5-0 win over Scotland at a snowbound Hampden Park. Ron Greenwood’s Irons were victorious against Don Howe’s struggling Baggies courtesy of goals from Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson and Billy Bonds; Tony ‘Bomber’ Brown was on the scoresheet for the visitors. Robson (pictured below, celebrating with Bonds in a victory at Crystal Palace the following month) scored 28 goals in 46 appearances in 1972/73, a tally which made him the Football League’s top goalscorer that season; he was also voted Hammer of the Year with Trevor Brooking runner-up.
The Hammers continued a march which saw them end up sixth in the First Division. The Baggies were to finish bottom in 1972/73 and were relegated. Liverpool won the First Division title and Sunderland won the FA Cup.
West Ham United: Bobby Ferguson, John McDowell, Tommy Taylor, Bobby Moore, Frank Lampard, Johnny Ayris, Billy Bonds, Trevor Brooking, Pat Holland, Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson, Clyde Best.
Club Connections
Craig Dawson welcomes his former club, while Robert Snodgrass and Grady Diangana return to London Stadium. Former Baggies player and Hammers manager Sam Allardyce is now in charge of the visitors. The Irons and the Baggies have shared a decent number of players over the years. These include:
Defenders: Danny Gabbidon, Peter McManus, David Burrows, Steve Walford, Gary Strodder, Tyrone Mears, Harry Kinsell.
Midfielders: Peter Butler, Alan Dickens, Franz Carr, Freddie Fenton, Morgan Amalfitano, Nigel Quashie.
Strikers: Geoff Hurst, Tudor Martin, David Speedie, Frank Nouble, John Hartson, Chippy Simmons, Vince Haynes, Tommy Green, David Cross.
Alan Pardew has managed both clubs. Archie Macauley played for West Ham and managed West Brom, while Super Slaven Bilic played for the Hammers and managed both clubs. Bobby Gould played for both clubs and also spent a period as manager at The Hawthorns.
This week’s focus though is on a player who played for West Ham and had a loan spell at West Brom. Jeroen Boere was born in Arnhem on 18th November 1967. He started his career with Excelsior in 1985 before moving to De Graafschap two years later. An old-fashioned centre-forward in the target man mould, Boere moved to VVV-Venlo in 1988 but returned to De Graafschap in a loan deal – he scored an impressive 28 goals in 56 appearances during his two spells with De Graafschap. Boere was on the move again in 1990, signing for Roda JC but he returned to VVV-Venlo later that same year. He joined Go Ahead Eagles in 1991 before moving to England two years later.
The 25-year-old Boere joined Billy Bonds’ newly-promoted West Ham United for a fee of £250,000 in September 1993, hot on the heels of the arrivals of David Burrows, Mike Marsh and Lee Chapman. He suffered an ignominious debut on 25th September 1993, receiving a red card for an elbow on Kevin Scott in a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle shortly after entering the fray as a substitute. Boere scored his first goal for the Hammers in a 2-0 League Cup second round second leg win at Chesterfield on 5th October 1993. He made only three further appearances in claret and blue in 1993/94 and spent the final weeks of the campaign on loan at Portsmouth.
Boere joined West Brom on loan in the early stages of the 1994/95 campaign, with Harry Redknapp now in the manager’s hotseat at Upton Park – he made five goalless appearances for the Baggies during his loan spell at The Hawthorns. He returned to east London in November 1994 with the Irons entrenched in a relegation battle; he scored his first league goal for the club in his first Premier League start, in a 2-1 defeat at QPR on 4th December 1994. Boere followed this up with a brace of headers the following weekend in a 2-2 draw at Leeds, salvaging a point from Elland Road after the Hammers had been two goals down. Forging a promising strike partnership with Tony Cottee, Boere scored with another header against Tottenham at the Boleyn on 14th January 1995 but the Irons would lose 2-1 to a Spurs side inspired by goalscorers Jurgen Klinsmann and future Hammer Teddy Sheringham. Boere’s strike against Tottenham’s Ian Walker did, however, deny the goalkeeper a chance to break a consecutive clean sheets record held by Ray Clemence.
With the return from injury of Don Hutchison, Boere found his first team opportunities again restricted, although he did score in a 3-0 home win over Wimbledon on 13th April 1995 and bagged a vital late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich four days later, which would transpire to be his final goal for the club. He made his final appearance in claret and blue as a substitute in a 1-1 home draw with Tottenham on 30th August 1995 before joining Crystal Palace the following month as part of the deal which brought Iain Dowie back to Upton Park for a second spell. Boere had scored seven goals in 29 appearances for West Ham United – all of these goals can be viewed in my video below.
After six months with the Eagles, Boere moved to Southend in March 1996 and spent two years at Roots Hall before moving to Japan to play for Saitama-based Omiya Ardija. In May 1999, after dinner with his wife at a restaurant in Tokyo, he was stabbed in his left eye and arm by two unknown men; his attacker was reported to be an Israeli criminal who was later found shot through the head in a Bangkok river. Boere lost his eye in the incident, forcing his retirement from football at the age of 31.
After his retirement, Boere owned The Half Moon pub in Epping High Street from 1999 until 2004. He moved to Spain in September 2004 to work as a real estate agent. Jeroen Boere tragically died at the age of just 39, on 16th August 2007. Reports regarding the circumstances of Boere’s death are conflicting; some outlets reported that the Dutchman died in a car crash, possibly on Ibiza, while other media reported that he was found dead at his home in Marbella. The Ilford Recorder stated that Boere had committed suicide. Boere left his wife and child, as well as two sons from a previous marriage.
Referee
Tomorrow’s referee is 52-year-old Graham Scott. The Oxfordshire-based official will be taking charge of only his tenth Premier League match involving West Ham United – the Hammers have won six of the previous nine league matches he has officiated. His first Premier League appointment with the Irons was our 3-1 win at Southampton in February 2017. He also took charge of the Hammers for our 3-0 win at Stoke under David Moyes in December 2017 – Scott’s decision to award Manuel Lanzini a first-half penalty saw the Argentine retrospectively banned for two matches. He also refereed our 2-0 home win over Watford in February 2018, our 3-1 home win over Everton in Moyes’ last match of his first spell in charge of the Hammers and our 3-1 defeat at Arsenal in August 2018.
Scott was the man in the middle for both our matches against Cardiff in 2018/19. The match at London Stadium saw him award a penalty to the visitors which Lukasz Fabianski saved as the Hammers went on to win 3-1. He also officiated our 2-0 defeat in the Welsh capital in March 2019. Scott was also in charge of our 2-1 defeat at Manchester United in April 2019, awarding the home side two penalties. He most recently refereed the Hammers in our 4-0 home win over Bournemouth last January, awarding the hosts a spot-kick which Mark Noble converted. Scott was also in charge for our 2-1 League Cup victory over Cheltenham in August 2013 and sent off Callum McNaughton in the defender’s only Hammers appearance as the club were knocked out of the same competition by Aldershot in August 2011.
The VAR Official is Darren England.
Possible line-ups
For West Ham United, Fabian Balbuena and Arthur Masuaku are on the sidelines. There have been 25 goals scored in the past seven Premier League meetings between West Ham and West Brom in east London. The Irons have won both of their meetings against promoted sides so far this season.
Former Hammers boss Sam Allardyce has been on the losing side on both of his previous visits to London Stadium, with Crystal Palace and Everton. He welcomes back Conor Gallagher from suspension but is set to be without Sam Johnstone, Conor Townsend, Matt Phillips, Grady Diangana and Karlan Grant. Semi Ajayi has scored three goals in his past five appearances in all competitions, as many as he had in his previous 49.
Possible West Ham United XI: Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals; Antonio.
Possible West Bromwich Albion XI: Button; O’Shea, Bartley, Ajayi, Gibbs; Livermore, Gallagher; Snodgrass, Pereira, Grosicki; Robinson.
Enjoy the game – Up The Hammers!