Matthew Upson looks back on West Ham United’s dramatic escape from the Premier League drop zone in 2007 with a somewhat bittersweet feeling.
While the Hammers signed Pablo Felipe, Taty Castellanos, Axel Disasi and Adama Traore in an attempt to repeat the trick from nearly two decades ago, the January 2007 transfer window is a fine example of what can be achieved with a few well-placed additions.
Famously, Matthew Upson was the last to wear Bobby Moore’s old number six shirt at West Ham United before it was retired. He inherited that legendary jersey shortly after joining from Birmingham City in a deal worth £7.5 million, arriving in the same window as Lucas Neil, Luis Boa Morte, Nigel Quashie and Callum Davenport.
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Malick Diouf playing for West Ham against Newcastle United. Mateus Fernandes playing for West Ham against Tottenham.
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Matthew Upson reflects on nightmare start to West Ham United life
A calf injury half an hour into his debut, and then a further setback moments into that iconic 4-3 thriller against Tottenham, would limit Upson’s involvement in that ‘Great Escape’, though.
“When I came to West Ham, I was broken,” Upson says on the Ironcast podcast. “I didn’t play the first six months because I couldn’t get fit. It was an accumulation of all those major injuries, the rehab, and the mechanical issues you have.
West Ham United Unveil Matthew Upson
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“I did an ACL, then I had a broken leg, a couple of back-related injuries, and then I ruptured my Achilles at Birmingham City. So when West Ham got me, it was after all those injuries. My body just said, ‘Sorry’. I was finished.”
Those 41 minutes of football were Upson’s only minutes in a West Ham jersey until the start of the 2007/08 season, by which point final day hero Carlos Tevez was long gone.
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“I’ve never been more gutted. The atmosphere at Upton Park for that [Tottenham] game was incredible, but I jumped for a header – boom – calf gone.”
Upson bounced back at Upton Park
That Upson would go on to enjoy a successful career at West Ham and elsewhere, following a series of career-threatening injuries, is testament to his resilience, plus some rather unconventional treatments. Upson recalls speaking to a specialist who helped ‘re-align’ his body with a handful of the Yellow Pages stuffed into his boot and strapping made out of masking tape.
Manager Alan Curbishley did not get on with everybody at Upton Park, but a commendable team spirit, but the odd flash of brilliance from Tevez, made that Houdini-esque escape act possible.
“I was dealing with all that injury stuff at the point, so I was present, but I wasn’t, if you know what I mean. I couldn’t get on the training pitch. I couldn’t play,” Upson says, wishing he could have contributed more to a legendary campaign.
“It was one of the worst periods. You go to a club as a significant signing and then you can’t play when the team is struggling.
“For me, that was an awful period.
“I was literally lying with my leg up on the sofa at home [when Tevez scored the winner at Old Trafford on the final day]. Honestly, I remember watching the game. It was just the worst game ever to watch. But by the end, I was jumping about – I probably shouldn’t have been!
“I couldn’t believe it. To maintain Premier League status at that point, having just moved here… the relief was incredible, to be honest.
“It was a big moment, and it wasn’t my doing! It was the lads in the dressing room, and the likes of Tevez he just hit a run, Bobby Zamora started banging in some goals, and the team just clicked. They got the job done right at the last moment. Great drama, isn’t it?”
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