One thing that really annoyed me in my early days of supporting West Ham was that we never had a really good goalkeeper. Ernie Gregory was before my time so I could not judge him. I know Phil thought a lot about Ernie and was friends with him right up to his death. Jim Standen was our first goalie that I saw and a few years later we broke the World record fee for a keeper when we signed Bobby Ferguson. Both were good at what they did but when you consider that we had great players like Moore, Hurst, Peters, Bonds, Brooking, Devonshire and more, why was it that we never had a really great keeper? Mervyn Day had flattered to deceive in the seventies as his bright start between the sticks inevitably led to an awful loss of form. Then one day in 1979 I had finished work and walked over to the newspaper shop to get my football fix from the Evening Standard. There it was, all over the back page – West Ham sign Phil Parkes! Back in those days there was no transfer window and no internet full of transfer rumours. Many players never even moved clubs back in those days and there was no lure of Champions League or agents working the last drop of blood from the stone. The Phil Parkes transfer came as a shock to most Hammers fans as again we had smashed the World record fee for a goalkeeper – but this time we had got it right!
Phil signed from QPR for £565,000 and at the time some thought this might be a risk as he was a 29 year old with a reputation for knee problems. Hindsight would have lifted those fears as he went on to play 11 years and over 400 games for West Ham. His cat like agility belied his huge frame and the most unfortunate thing about his career was that he played at the same time England had Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton to choose from in goal. Phil’s only cap came in 1974 against Portugal, but in any other era since, he would have played a huge part for the national team. His only major trophy won was the 1980 FA Cup final win against Arsenal. The following season he kept 22 clean sheets which helped the Hammers win promotion back to the top flight. It also sealed the coveted Hammer of the Year award for his efforts. Phil at age 36, played his part and was ever present in the great team of the 1985/6 season. Age and dodgy knees were catching up with the big man in the late eighties as he first lost and then won his place back from Allen McKnight, who had been called in to replace him. But eventually time did catch up with Phil and in 1990 he moved on to once again join John Lyall, this time at Ipswich. In 2003 a poll of West Ham fans voted Phil Parkes West Ham’s greatest ever goalkeeper.