Our Academy holds an important place in the development of elite players. Over the years, we’ve seen our own become West Ham legends, lift European trophies and go on to have successful careers. But before all that, they were humble Hammers, making their names at Chadwell Heath and representing their nations at youth level.
In this series, we explore some of the talent our very own West Ham graduates have shared a pitch with on the international stage…
Glen Johnson in 2004 UEFA U21 Euro qualifying action
At West Ham United from the age of nine, Glen Johnson was a regular fixture for England across the youth age groups.
Just two months after his 18th birthday, in October 2002, he was handed his first taste of senior football with a three-month loan at local rivals Millwall in the second tier, ahead of a planned integration into West Ham’s first team for the second half of the 2002/03 campaign.
Johnson returned to the Hammers in December, and by the time he made his Premier League debut, coming on as a substitute in a 4-2 defeat at Charlton Athletic in January 2003, the Club were rooted to the foot of the table.
Having picked up only three wins in their opening 24 matches, things were looking bleak for Glenn Roeder’s side. Johnson then started every game for the Hammers as they lost just three of their next 13 games to take their chances of Premier League survival to the final game of the season.