West Ham has a special place in English football tradition, and that has largely been due to the club’s reputation for producing some of the best homegrown talent the English game has seen, along with its reputation for playing attractive, progressive football.
While the odds at LeoVegas suggest that the Hammers are a long way from challenging for trophies this season, the club has a star-studded history that many Premier League teams can’t match. Here are six of the very best West Ham players of all time.
Bobby Moore
Widely considered one of the world’s greatest-ever defenders, Bobby Moore is arguably the most famous Hammers player of all. He was born and grew up in the East End, and started to play for West Ham as a teenager, staying on the club’s books from 1958 to 1974. In that time, he experienced both domestic and international success, much of it as captain. His greatest achievement, of course, is leading England to World Cup glory in 1966, but in his time at West Ham, he won the FA Cup and lifted the European Cup Winners’ Cup. His calm composed style of defending and his unsurpassed leadership skills will live long in the memory of anyone who watched him in his heyday.
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Geoff Hurst
Originally a midfielder, before being converted into a striker by manager Ron Greenwood, Hurst was a graduate of the famous West Ham youth setup, scoring more than 200 goals in 400 appearances for the Hammers. The only player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, his starring role for England in 1966 came after he had also helped West Ham to win the FA Cup in 1964 and the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965.
Martin Peters
The third of the West Ham representatives in England’s World Cup success, Martin Peters was a crucial component in England’s triumph and a Hammers stalwart who played for the club between 1959 and 1970, making more than 300 appearances in claret and blue. In an era when English footballers were very often stereotyped in narrow roles, Peters offered a level of versatility, work rate and tactical acuity that stood out, and he is unquestionably a West Ham and England great.
Trevor Brooking
A player who perhaps more than any other epitomised the West Ham style of play, Trevor Brooking spent his entire career at Upton Park, turning out more than 500 times for the Hammers, from 1967 to 1984, featuring prominently in the club’s FA Cup successes of 1975 and 1980. A regular for England, earning 47 international caps, Brooking was one of the greatest playmakers of his generation, and the style and elegance with which he played the game means he will always be fondly remembered in East London.
Billy Bonds
The holder of the West Ham appearance record, having played for the club on more than 700 occasions, Billy Bonds was a Hammers stalwart between 1967 and 1988, with much of that time spent as captain. He was in many ways the opposite of fellow midfielder Brooking and was known for his physically robust style of play and crunching tackles, as well as his ability to come up with crucial goals. Bonds typically led from the front and was an inspiring presence throughout the 1970s, playing a vital role in both the 1975 and 1980 FA Cup wins, as well as the run to the Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1976.
Joe Cole
The Hammers have not enjoyed the same success as they did in the 1960s and 1970s, but the club has continued to produce elite-level players, and Joe Cole has to be considered one of the very best. A phenomenally gifted player, capable of playing in an attacking midfield or wide role, Cole came through the West Ham academy, featured in the 1999 FA Youth Cup winning team and quickly became a star of the late 1990s and early 2000s Hammers’ sides.
His dribbling and audacious shot-making earned him a high-profile move to Chelsea, for whom he went on to win multiple trophies, and he also earned 56 England caps, but he will always be remembered as a product of the West Ham system, and a fan favourite, making 150 appearances for the club.
Conclusion
The Hammers may be fighting hard to return to the upper echelons of the Premier League under Julen Lopetegui but they remain one of England’s famous old clubs, thanks in part to some of the great players who have worn the famous claret and blue.