West Ham United F.C.
| Crest | |||
| Full name | West Ham United Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Hammers,The Irons The Academy of Football | ||
| Founded | 1895 as Thames Ironworks | ||
| Ground | Boleyn Ground (Upton Park) | ||
| Capacity | 35,304[1] | ||
| Chairman |  Björgólfur Guðmundsson[2] | ||
| Manager |  Alan Curbishley | ||
| League | Premier League | ||
| 2007–08 | Premier League, 10th | ||
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West Ham United Football Club is an English football club based in Upton Park, London Borough of Newham, East London, and have played their home matches at the 35,303 capacity Boleyn Ground stadium since 1904.
The club was originally founded as Thames Ironworks F.C. in 1895 and later reformed, in 1900, as their current incarnation. They initially competed in the Southern League and Western League before joining the full Football League in 1919 and enjoyed their first top flight season in 1923, also featuring in the first FA Cup Final to be held at Wembley. The club, who have spent their entire league career in the top two divisions, have been FA Cup winners three times: in 1964, 1975 and 1980. In 1965, they won the Cup Winners Cup (now defunct), and in 1999 they won the Intertoto Cup. They also won the first War Cup in 1940. The club's best final league position is third place in the 1985-86 (old) First Division. West Ham currently holds the dubious distinction of being the only team to breach the 40 point boundary in a 38-game Premier League season and still be relegated (in 2003).[3]
They currently compete in the Premier League, after finishing in 10th position in the 2007-08 season.[4] The club's current manager is Alan Curbishley who was appointed on 13 December 2006[5]; the club's current captain is Australian Lucas Neill.
History
The earliest generally accepted incarnation of West Ham United was founded in 1895 as the Thames Ironworks works team by foreman and local league referee Dave Taylor and owner Arnold Hills[6] and was announced in the Thames Ironworks Gazette of June 1895.
The team played on a strictly amateur basis for 1895 at least, with a team featuring a number of works employees including Thomas Freeman (ships fireman), Walter Parks (clerk), Johnny Stewart, Walter Tranter and James Lindsay (all boilermakers), William Chapman, George Sage, and William Chamberlain and apprentice riveter Charlie Dove.[6]
The club, Thames Ironworks F.C.[7] were the first ever winners of the West Ham Charity Cup in 1895 contested by clubs in the locality, then won the London League in 1897. They turned professional in 1898 upon entering the Southern League Second Division, and were promoted to the First division at the first attempt.[8] The following year they came second from bottom, but had established themselves as a fully fledged competitive team. They comfortably fended off the challenge of local rivals Fulham F.C. in a relegation play-off, 5-1 in late April 1900 and retained their First Division status.[8]
The team initially played in full dark blue kits, as inspired by Mr. Hills, who had been an Oxford University "Blue", but changed the following season by adopting the sky blue shirts and white shorts combination worn through 1897 to 1899. In 1899 they acquired their now traditional home kit combination of claret shirts and sky blue sleeves in a wager involving Aston Villa F.C. players.
Following growing disputes over the running and financing of the club in June 1900 Thames Ironworks F.C. was wound up,[7] then almost immediately relaunched on 5 July 1900 as West Ham United F.C. with Syd King[7] as their manager and future manager Charlie Paynter as his assistant. Because of the original "works team" roots and links (still represented upon the club badge), they are still known to this day as 'the Irons' or 'the Hammers' amongst fans and the media.[7][9][10]
The reborn club continued to play their games at the Memorial Ground in Plaistow (funded by Arnold Hills) but moved to a pitch in the Upton Park area when the team officially severed ties with the company (losing their works provisioned offices in the process). After being made groundless in 1901 the team became transient, playing their home games on a number of local teams grounds. However, in 1904 the team moved to its current home of Upton Park in the guise of the Boleyn Ground stadium.
Their first game in their new home was against local rivals Millwall F.C.[7] (themselves an Ironworks team, albeit for a rival company) drawing a crowd of 10,000 and with West Ham running out 3-0 winners,[11] and as the Daily Mirror wrote on September 2 1904:
"Favoured by the weather turning fine after heavy rains of the morning, West Ham United began their season most auspiciously yesterday evening; when they beat Milwall by 3 goals to 0 on their new enclosure at Upton Park."
West Ham Utd F.C. had joined the Western League for the 1901 season[12] in addition to continuing playing in the Southern Division 1. In 1907 West Ham were crowned the Western League Division 1B Champions, and then defeated 1A champions Fulham 1-0 to become the Western Leagues Overall Champions.[12]
In 1919, still under King's leadership, West Ham gained entrance to the Football League Second Division and were promoted to Division One in 1923, making the FA Cup final at the same time. The team enjoyed mixed success in Division 1 but retained their status for 10 years and reached an FA Cup semi final in 1927, 4 years later.
In 1932 the club was relegated to Division Two and long term custodian Sydney King was sacked after serving the club in the role of Manager for 32 years, and as a player from 1899 to 1903. He was replaced with his assistant manager Charlie Paynter who himself had been with West Ham in a number of roles since 1897 and who went on to serve the team in this role until 1950 for a total of 480 games.
The club spent most of the next 30 years in this division, first under Paynter and then later under the leadership of former player Ted Fenton. Fenton succeeded in getting the club once again promoted to the top level of English football in 1958 and in helping develop both the initial batch of future West Ham stars and West Ham's approach to the game.
Ron Greenwood was appointed as Fenton's successor in 1961 and he soon led the club to two major trophies, winning the FA Cup in 1964 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965. During the 1966 World Cup, an important part of the England national football team was composed of West Ham players, including the captain, Bobby Moore, Martin Peters (who scored in the final), and Geoff Hurst, who scored the only ever hat-trick to-date in a World Cup final. After a difficult start to the 1974-75 season, Greenwood moved himself "upstairs" to become General Manager and without informing the board, appointed his assistant John Lyall to the role of Team manager. The result was instant success as the team went on an incredible goalscoring run hitting the net no fewer than 20 times in their first 4 games under the new Manager who then led them on to win the FA Cup in his first season.
Lyall then guided West Ham to another European Cup Winners' Cup final in 1976, though the team lost the match 4-2 to Anderlecht. Greenwood's new role within the club lasted less than three years as he was appointed to manage England in the wake of Don Revie's resignation in 1977.
In 1978, the club were again relegated to Division Two but the board stuck by their manager and Lyall was able to lead West Ham to another FA Cup win in 1980. No team since has won the trophy from outside the top division. They were promoted to Division One in 1981, having spent only 3 years in the lower league, although they were relegated after 8 seasons in 1989 This relegation resulted in John Lyall's sacking, in spite of the fact that this stay in Division One saw West Ham achieve their highest ever placing in the top division, finishing 3rd in 1986.
Very briefly, they were led by Lou Macari, though he resigned after less than a single season in order to clear his name of allegations of illegal betting whilst manager of Swindon Town, and former player Billy Bonds was the next West Ham manager in charge. In his first full season, 1990-91, West Ham again secured promotion to Division One. The following season, 1991-92, they were relegated, to the newly christened Division One (formerly Division 2), missing out on the inaugural Premier league season. West Ham again only spent one year in Division One, before finishing 2nd and gaining promotion to the Premier League in May 1993.
After a more stable season in the Premier League, Bonds acrimoniously and controversially quit, and was replaced by Harry Redknapp in August 1994. Redknapp was active in the transfer market, and gained a reputation as a "wheeler-dealer" especially with foreign players being more available following the Bosman ruling. He led West Ham to 5th place in 1998/99 but they missed out on automatic qualification for the UEFA Cup (despite seasons prior to and since where 5th was good enough), but did indeed qualify for that competition as winners of the Intertoto Cup. Despite consolidating the league placings for a handful of seasons, a disagreement with the board of directors during the close of the 2000-01 season, found Redknapp replaced with Glenn Roeder, promoted from Youth team coach.
In Roeder's first season the team finished 7th (an improvement on Redknapp's last finish of 15th.), but there were worrying signs as West Ham lost 7-1 to Blackburn and 5-0 and 5-1 to Everton and Chelsea respectively. The subsequent season started poorly and eventually resulted in relegation. Following ill-health and poor results, Roeder was sacked in August 2003 after only 3 games in charge in Division 1. Trevor Brooking (who served as manager during Glenn's ill health the previous season) stepped in as interim manager before being replaced with Alan Pardew in October 2003, headhunted from promotion rivals Reading. Pardew led the team to a playoff final, though they were beaten by Crystal Palace. The club stayed in Division One for another season, when they again reached the playoff final, but this time won and gained re-entry to the Premiership.
On their return to the Premiership, West Ham finished in 9th place,[13] restoring pride to many West Ham supporters.[citation needed] The highlight of the 2005-06 season, however, was reaching the FA Cup final, and taking favourites Liverpool to a penalty shootout where they lost, but gained entry to the UEFA Cup as Liverpool had qualified for the Champions League through league position.
West Ham completed a major coup by the end of the 2006 transfer window, after completing the signings of Carlos Tévez and Javier Mascherano.[14] The club was eventually bought by an Icelandic consortium, led by Eggert Magnússon in November 2006.[15] Manager Alan Pardew was sacked after poor form during the season[16] and was replaced by former Charlton manager Alan Curbishley.[5]
The signings of Mascherano and Tévez were investigated by the Premier League, who were concerned that details regarding the transfers had been omitted from official records and the club was found guilty and in April 2007 fined 5.5 million pounds.[17] However, the Club was lucky to avoid any points deduction which ended up being critical in their fight to avoid relegation at the end of the 2006/07 Season. Following on from this event, the Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan threatened legal action supported by other sides facing possible relegation, including Fulham and Sheffield Utd.[18]
West Ham ultimately escaped relegation by winning seven of their last nine games, including a 1-0 win over Arsenal, and on the last day of the season defeating newly crowned League Champions Manchester United 1-0 with a goal by Carlos Tevez to finish outside the relegation zone in 15th. The contribution of Carlos Tevez ended up being critical to the survival of the club in the Premiership as he scored seven goals, five of them crucial, in the last couple of months of the season to enable the team to stay up.
In the 2007/08 season West Ham had a reasonably consistent place in the top half of the league table despite new signings Craig Bellamy and Kieron Dyer missing most of the campaign. The last game of the season, at the Boleyn Ground, saw West Ham draw 2-2 against Aston Villa; ensuring their spot in tenth place, finishing three points ahead of rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Crest
The original club crest was a crossed pair of rivet hammers; tools commonly used in the iron and shipbuilding industry. A castle was later (circa 1903/4) added to the crest and represents a prominent local building, Green Street House, which was known as "Boleyn Castle" through an association with Anne Boleyn. The manor was reportedly one of the sites at which Henry VIII courted his second queen, though in truth there is no factual evidence other than the tradition of rumour.[19]
The castle may have also been added as a result of the contribution made to the club by players of Old Castle Swifts, or even the adoption (in 1904) of Boleyn Castle FC[20] as their reserve side when they took over their grounds on the site.
The crest was redesigned and updated by London design agency Springett Associates in the late 1990s, featuring a wider yellow castle with fewer cruciform "windows" along with the peaked roofs being removed the tops of the towers that had previously made it appear more akin to Disneyland Sleeping Beauty's Castle than a functioning fortress. The designer also altered shape of the hammer heads, border and other small changes in order to give a more substantial feel to the iconography.
When the club redesigned the facade of the stadium (construction finished 2001/02) the 'castle' from the later badge was incorporated into the structure at the main entrance to the ground. A pair of towers are now prominent features of the grounds appearance, both bearing the clubs modern insignia (which is also located in the foyer, and other strategic locations).
Colours
     1895-1896: First kit. |
The original colours of the team were dark blue, due to Thames Ironworks chairman Arnold Hills being a former student of Oxford University. However the team used a variety of kits including the claret and sky blue house colours of Thames Ironworks, as well as sky blue or white uniforms.[21][22]
The Irons permanently adopted claret and blue for home colours in the summer of 1899. Thames Ironworks right-half Charlie Dove received the kit from his father William Dove, who was a professional sprinter of national repute, as well as being involved with the coaching at Thames Ironworks. Bill Dove had been at a fair in Birmingham, close to Villa Park, the home ground of Aston Villa and was challenged to a race against four Villa players, who wagered money that one of them would win.
Bill Dove defeated them and, when they were unable to pay the bet, one of the Villa players who was responsible for washing the team's kit offered a complete side's 'uniforms' to Dove in payment. The Aston Villa player subsequently reported to his club that the kit was 'missing'.
Thames Ironworks, and later West Ham United, retained the claret yoke/blue sleeves design, but also continued to use their previously favoured colours for their away kits, and indeed, in recent years the club have committed to a dark blue-white-sky blue rotation for the away colours.
West Ham announced on 2 March 2007 their new kit supplier will be Umbro for the next 3 seasons and on 7 June 2007 announced their new kit sponsor will be XL.com.[23][24]
Supporters, and hooliganism and rivalries
Supporters
I'm forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air.
They fly so high, nearly reach the sky,
And like my dreams they fade and die.
Fortune's always hiding,
I've looked everywhere...
I'm forever blowing bubbles,
pretty bubbles in the air.
— original lyrics to "Bubbles", from John Helliar[25]
The team's supporters are well known for their rendition of the chorus of their team's anthem, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" introduced to the club by former manager Charlie Paynter in the late 1920s. At the time, a Pears soap commercial featuring the curly haired child in the Millais "Bubbles" painting who resembled a player Billy J. "Bubbles" Murray in a local schoolboy team of Park School for whom the headmaster Cornelius Beal coined singing the tune "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" with amended lyrics.
Beal was a friend of Paynter, whilst Murray was a West Ham trialist and played football at schoolboy level with a number of West Ham players such as Jim Barrett. Through this contrivance of association the clubs fans took it upon themselves to begin singing the popular music hall tune before home games, sometimes reinforced by the presence of a house band requested to play the refrain by Charlie Paynter.[25]
There is a slight change to the lyrics sung by the Upton Park faithful. The second line's "nearly reach the sky" is changed to "they reach the sky", "Then like my dreams" is also changed to "And like my dreams". In addition the fans begin a chant of "United, United!" to cap it off.
Bow Bells are ringing, for the Claret and Blue,
Bow Bells are ringing, for the Claret and Blue,
When the Hammers are scoring, and the South Bank are roaring,
And the money is pouring, for the Claret and Blue,
Claret and Blue,
No relegation for the Claret and Blue,
Just celebration for the Claret and Blue,
One day we'll win a cup or two, or three,
Or four or more, for West Ham and the Claret and Blue.
— Supporters song to the tune of 'The Bells are Ringing', circa 1960[26]
The 1975 FA Cup version - which contains the original lyrics, and features vocals from the teams then current players - is always played before home games, with the home crowd joining in and carrying the song on after the music stops at the verse line "Fortune's always hiding". The song was originally released as a single by the 1975 Cup Final squad and has been covered on occasion by such as the Cockney Rejects.
Like other teams (such as Liverpool F.C.'s adoption of "You'll Never Walk Alone") the team also have a history of adopting or adapting popular songs of the day to fit particular events, themes, players or personas. These have included serious renditions of theatre and movie classics such as "The Bells are Ringing", along with more pun laden or humorous efforts such as chanting former player Paolo di Canio's name to the canzone La donna è mobile by Verdi, or D.I.Canio to the tune of Ottawans D.I.S.C.O., or singing That's Zamora to the tune of Dean Martins 1953 classic That's Amore in honour of Bobby Zamora.
On the fans' darker side, they gained national attention after giving a torrid time to David Beckham in his first away match of 1998-9 the season after the England midfielder was sent off for a petulant foul on Diego Simeone.[27] Coinciding with the game there were claims (and an image taken) that fans, organised by a hardcore, had hung an effigy of the player outside a local pub. Although it was later revealed that the pub was in South-East London, the heartland of West Ham's greatest rivals Millwall. The West Ham fans did boo Beckham's every touch of the ball during the game, however.[28]
They have also displayed a particular zeal when it comes to abusing former players particularly those who are perceived to have abandoned the club, or performed some disservice. Famously Paul Ince ("Judas, Judas"[29]), Frank Lampard("Fat Lumpolard"[30]) Jermain Defoe ("You're just a small Paul Ince"[31]) and Nigel Reo-Coker[32] have born the brunt of verbal assaults and a guaranteed hostile reception at Upton Park. However, players such as Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Carlos Tevez receive applause and even standing ovations in honour of their contributions during their time at the club..
Hooliganism
The origins of West Ham's links with organised football-related violence starts in the 1960s with the establishment of The Mile End Mob (named after a particularly tough area of the East End of London).[33]
During the 1970s and 1980s (the main era for organised football-related violence) West Ham gained further notoriety for the levels of hooliganism in their fan base and antagonistic behaviour towards both their own and rival fans, and the police.
The Inter City Firm were one of the first "casuals" (so called because they avoided police supervision by not wearing football-related clothing) and travelled to away matches on regular "Inter City" trains, rather than on the cheap and more tightly-policed "football special" charter trains). The group were an infamous West Ham-aligned gangs. As the firm's name suggests violent activities were not confined to local derbies - the hooligans were content to cause trouble at any game, though nearby teams often bore the brunt.
During the 1990s, and to the present day, sophisticated surveillance and policing coupled with club supported promotions and community action has reduced the level of violence, though the intense rivalry and association with Millwall, Chelsea and other major players in the 'firm' scheme remains.
The 2005 film "Green Street" (an allusion to the road on which the Boleyn Ground stands) depicted an American student played by Elijah Wood becoming involved with a fictional firm associated with West Ham, with an emphasis on the rivalry with Millwall. The two teams and their Chairmen moved to distance the clubs from the movie.
Rivalries
West Ham have strong rivalries with several other clubs. Most of these are with other London clubs, especially with their neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and also with Chelsea, which sublimates the age-old East versus West London rivalry.
The strongest and oldest rivalry is with Millwall. The two sides are local rivals, having both formed originally around the works sides Thames Ironworks and Millwall Ironworks shipbuilding companies. They were rivals for the same contracts and the players lived in the same locality. The early history of both clubs are intertwined, with West Ham proving to be the more successful in a number of meetings between the two teams, resulting in West Ham being promoted at the expense of Millwall. Millwall later declined to join the fledgling Football League while West Ham went on to the top division and an FA Cup final. Later in the 1920s the rivalry was intensified during strike action started by the East End (perceived to be West Ham fans) which Isle Of Dogs-based companies (i.e. Millwall fans) refused to support, breeding ill will between the two camps.
The rivalry between West Ham and Millwall has involved considerable violence and is one of the most notorious within the world of football hooliganism. However, the two clubs have not played each other in 4 years.
Another rivalry which has recently developed is with Sheffield United. The Blades have tried to sue West Ham and the Premier League for damages, over their claim that West Ham had an unfair advantage by playing Carlos Tevez when he was supposedly not a Premier league registered player. The FA fined West Ham a record £5.5 million for a third party contract agreement (illegal in the English Premier League) in the deal that brought Tevez to Upton Park, but ruled that the player was registered to play and had always been registered. The FA has sat twice on the matter and have thrown the case out twice. Sheffield United still continue to pursue damages, as they think that West Ham should have been docked points instead of fined.
The day after West Ham were fined, they continued their fight to stay in the Premier League by defeating Wigan Athletic 3-0. In their last 9 games West Ham picked up 21 points by winning 7 of their last 9 games. Sheffield United only won 2 of their last 9 games, one of which was by defeating West Ham 3-0 at home to initially go 5 points above them. Their 2-1 defeat by Wigan on the last day of the season sealed their relegation. Meanwhile, West Ham won 1-0 away to Manchester United, with Carlos Tevez scoring the only goal, to ensure that they remained in the Premier league. This action by Sheffield United has increased fan and club rivalry and they are now seen as fierce rivals.
Nicknames
The fans and club alike are known as "The Hammers" by the media, partly because of the club's origins as Thames Ironworks company football team (see club crest) and also (incorrectly) due to the club's name. However, they are also known as "The Irons" by their own supporters (again, from the club's origins at the Thames Ironworks). They are also known as "The Cockney Boys" from their history of being a cockney team. Yet another nickname is "The Academy of Football", or just "The Academy", a nickname given, then adopted by West Ham United by the media.
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (August 2007) |
- The first ever FA Cup final to be held at the old Wembley stadium, in 1923, featured West Ham United vs Bolton Wanderers. This was also known as the White Horse Final. This is because so many people turned up to the game, (estimated at 200,000), that they spilled out on to the pitch. The pitch had to be cleared prior to kick-off, by Billie, a giant white horse (actually grey) being ridden by P.C. George Scorey. The cup final match itself ended at 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers. Some West Ham supporters felt because of crowd encroachment the game should have been postponed. It was not postponed because King George V was in attendance to present the Cup and it was thought too impolite to ask the King to return. It was considered that it was very appropriate that West Ham United appeared at the first Wembley final on the basis that the club name is an anagram of "The New Stadium". Had the new Wembley Stadium been completed on schedule for the 2006 FA Cup final West Ham would also have featured in the opening of the new stadium.
- West Ham are the most recent team to win the FA Cup with an all English side, and the last team to win the competition whilst outside of the top flight of English football. Both of these occurred when they beat Arsenal 1-0 in the 1980 FA Cup Final.
- West Ham are the last team to ever win at Arsenal's old ground Highbury, and became the first team to win at Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium on April 7th 2007 winning 1-0. In that same season West Ham did the league 'double' over Arsenal and Manchester United winning all four games 1-0.
- There is a "Champions" statue in Barking Road, opposite The Boleyn pub, commemorating West Ham's three sons who helped win the 1966 World Cup: Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. Also included on the statue is Everton's Ray Wilson.
- The character Alf Garnett in the TV series Till Death Us Do Part is a West Ham supporter. Episodes of the series[34][35] featured Bobby Moore and other members of the team.
- Also, the character Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter series is a West Ham supporter. Dean keeps a poster of the West Ham team in the dormitory he shares with Harry and others in his year.
- A 2005 film entitled Green Street is based around the exploits of a fictional West Ham firm (loosely based on the ICF).
- Iron Maiden founder and bassist Steve Harris is a die-hard fan of the team, and it shows on his bass guitar, which sports the Ham United crest. During the mid 1970s he was a youth team footballer for West Ham United. He still is a talented amateur football player, and he has stated his first ambition in life before music was to become a professional footballer.
- Leading candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election Barack Obama has been a fan of West Ham since a trip to the UK.[36]
- 10/06/2008 West Ham were declared the best team in the world
Stadium
West Ham are currently based at the Boleyn Ground, commonly known as Upton Park, in Newham, East London. The capacity of the Boleyn Ground is 35,303.[37] This has been West Ham's ground since 1904. Prior to this, in their previous incarnation of Thames Ironworks F.C., they played at Hermit Road in Canning Town and briefly at Browning Road in East Ham, before moving to the Memorial Grounds in Plaistow in 1897. They retained the stadium during their transition to becoming West Ham United and were there for a further four seasons before moving to the Boleyn Ground in 1904.
Former chairman Eggert Magnússon made clear his ambition for West Ham United to move to the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Olympics. However, the move to the Olympic Stadium was abandoned when it was revealed that the stadium would have a reduced capacity from the current Boleyn Ground, and would have to remain primarily an athletics venue.[38]
As the move is no longer possible, Magnússon is eager to find another venue, and insists West Ham will preferably move from the Boleyn Ground in the future.[39]
Magnusson along with Legal and Commercial Director,- Scott Duxbury, have said that a move to a new ground is likely by approximately 2011, with the site for the new stadium likely to be the current Royal Mail depot next to West Ham station.[40]
The Academy of Football
The club promotes the popular idea of West Ham being "The Academy of Football", with the monicker adorning the ground's new stadium façade. The comment predominantly refers to the club's youth development system which was established by Manager Ted Fenton during the 1950s, that has seen a number of international players emerge through the ranks.[41] Most notably the club contributed three players to the World Cup winning England side of 1966 including club icon Bobby Moore, as well as Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst who between them scored all of England's goals in the eventual 4-2 victory. Other academy players that have gone on to play for England have included Trevor Brooking, Alvin Martin, Tony Cottee and Paul Ince. More recently, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson, and Frank Lampard have begun their careers at the club. Frustratingly, for the fans and managers alike,[42] the club has struggled to retain many of these players due to (predominantly) financial[43] reasons. West Ham, during the 2007/08 season, had an average of 6.61 English players in the starting line up, higher than any other Premiership club[44], which cemented their status as one of the few Premier League clubs left that were recognised to be bringing through young English talent and were recognised as having 'homegrown players'.
Players
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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