Up The Hammers – Latest West Ham United FC News

Ever since the day that we were taken over by David Gold and David Sullivan, it is fair to say that we have had a knack for signing poor quality strikers. However, was it the owners fault? And exactly how bad were these attacking players? Benni McCarthy No more than ten days after the co-chairmen took control at Upton Park, it was announced that we had signed South Africa international Benni McCarthy from Blackburn Rovers. The then 31-…

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During this summer’s off-season, I’ve started taking part in a weekly 5-a-side team to keep up the fitness. It’s a good laugh and nice to get back on the pitch with a ball at my feet. However, after spotting a tweet recently from the lads at Hammers Chat (@Hammers_Chat) discussing an all time Hammers squad, I thought I would give it a go. 5-a-side required a well-rounded…

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Now this is a thorny subject. For some people, me included, the success of next season will depend on whether we can find a striker or two who can almost guarantee a double figure tally whilst staying fit enough to play for most of the season. This apparently is a tough ask as we have not been very successful in our attempts to make this happen recently. Last year’s scattergun…

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The 2008/2009 Premier League campaign was a fantastic season for any West Ham fan, but just who were the key players? And where are they now? David Di Michele The swashbuckling Italian forward was instrumental during the 2008/2009 campaign, when his goals helped us to a ninth placed Premier League finish, but where is he now? The former Italian international’s spell with us would only last a season, but his impact would last …

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Rumours have been circling for some weeks now around a proposed move to West Ham for England number one Joe Hart. Hart was shunned by Pep Guardiola last season and was shipped off to Turin with Serie A side Torino. Now back in England it is uncertain where his future will lie but one thing to note is, if he wants to stay at City he will likely play back up to new £…

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Super Slav has suggested that we don’t need to sign any midfield players and when you look at what is currently available you can kind of see where he’s coming from. There may be room for one wide player apparently but according to an official source on the West Ham web-site several weeks ago, we are looking at 2-3 signings max and we already have one new acquisition. As we are in desperate need of a striker…

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Julian Dicks 1988-1993 & 1994-1999 326 Apps The current Assistant Manager was first signed by John Lyall for £300,000 in 1988 and after a slow start quickly established himself as a both a first team regular and a fans favourite. A cultured left-back whose combative nature perhaps overshadowed his undoubted talent. Throughout both spells with West Ham Dicks won plaudits for his wholehearted approach and was very unlucky not to receive international recognition. During Dicks first spell West …

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This morning the Premier League fixtures were released and I was eager to see what hand we had been dealt for the forthcoming season. Fingers were crossed for a generous start, nice weather fixtures against the seaside clubs and most of all a decent run in. Sadly, I was disappointed on all three counts! The opening day fixture away against Manchester United gives me mixed feelings. It will add to our list of walk in the park, opening …

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As has been stated previously, our defence during the 2016/17 season was as leaky as Julian Assange’s outbox, so whole scale changes should be the order of the day surely? Um, well no actually. Injuries to key players took their toll. Aaron Cresswell – despite being called up for England duty this weekend – looked half the player that he had been prior to his pre-season ligament problem, Angelo Ogbonna was out for practically the whole …

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Matthew Upson 2007-2011 144 Apps Matthew Upson was clearly a defender with a great deal of talent, signed from Birmingham for 6 million in January 2007 at a time when the club were struggling to survive in the Premier League, he injured his calf in the first half an hour of his debut and then came off after the first 10 minutes of his comeback against Spurs in 4-3 defeat that looked to have condemned the club to relegation. Upson did not feature again that season, but …

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With the high turnover of players it’s very easy to lose track of those players who wore the claret and blue in the past. Here are 3 examples of our heroes who moved on from West Ham and perhaps out of our consciousness: Nigel Reo-Coker 2004-2007 Signed from Wimbledon in January 2004, Reo-Coker was one of the most promising English midfielders of his generation. Widely recognised for his leadership qualities Reo-Coker established himself in…

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West Ham broke the World Record Transfer fee for a Goalkeeper to bring Phil Parkes to Upton Park but, it wasn’t without risk as he was known to have serious knee problems. John Lyall was not deterred and Parkes went on to serve the club with distinction for the next 11 years. A key member of the 1980 Cup winning side and the famous boys of ’86 team which pushed the great Liverpool side close for the title in …

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I was recently picking over the bones of our 16/17 season with a fellow Hammer. The proverbial post-mortem tried, and mostly failed, to work out why our season had been so disappointing. I guess 11th isn’t too bad, and we finished only one point away from the Top 8 but there were times when we looked in serious trouble and the abiding memory of these last 12 months are not good ones, especially those emanating from our new flagship stadium. …

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Zabaleta joins on a free It has been confirmed in the last few days that we have signed Argentine defender Pablo Zabaleta on a free transfer from Manchester City. The The two-time Premier League winner’s deal will keep him at The London Stadium until 2019 and makes him our first signing of the summer window, and it comes less than a week after the conclusion of the 2016/2017 season. The highly …

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West Ham have had some legendary full backs, Julian Dicks, Stuart Pearce, Ray Stewart to name three, but as always we have had our share of slightly less successful players in the left and right back positions. Here are some examples of our worst right and left backs. Sebastien Schemmel 61 Apps, 1 Goal (2001-2003) A Harry Redknapp signing, Schemmel looked like being a world beater in his first season (2000-01). A busy attacking full back …

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The Hammers were beaten by Astra Gurgiu in the third qualifying round last season and will be hoping to exert revenge on the Romanian club this time.

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