Greatest West Ham United XI Of All Time
West Ham United have certainly had their highs and lows throughout their history. However, between all the failures and achievements, some top talents have emerged wearing the club’s famous claret and blue kit. In this article, we will have a look at the greatest West Ham United XI of all time. Talk of West Ham legends and icons often stretches back to the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s.
The Greatest West Ham United XI Of All Time is as follows –
Goalkeeper
Phil Parkes
Parkes was sold to West Ham for a then-record fee for keeper of £565,000. He was seen as a risk because of the severity of his knees, however, the risk paid off seeing him remain at the club for over 10 years making over 300 appearances and being included in the 1980 FA Cup winning team. Phil Parkes picked up one Hammer of the year in 1980.
Defenders
RB : Ray Stewart
Known as “Tonka” to the fans, as Tonka toys are indestructible. He was a hard-tackling Scot who was the club’s penalty-taker for a number of seasons. Nothing cheeky about his penalties, just hard and into the net! His passion and dedication towards the team earn him the right-back place in our West Ham’s greatest XI of all time.
CB : Bobby Moore
This team of West Ham’s greatest XI of all time, could only have one captain and that was the man himself, Mr Bobby Moore. He was by far the best centre-back England has ever seen, he was also West Ham’s best-ever captain. Bobby played over 540 times for the hammers scoring 24 goals.
Moore lifted the FA Cup in 1964 after beating Preston 3-2, he then lifted the European Cup Winners Cup in 1965 after beating 1860 Munich 2-0 in the final before leading England to the World Cup in 1966. Moore was Hammer of the year on 4 separate occasions.
West Ham retired the number 6 shirt number in 2008 in remembrance of Bobby Moore. Moore had a stand named after him in 1993. He also has a statue outside the home of English football, Wembley Stadium.
CB : Alvin Martin
The other centre-back would be Alvin Martin, “Stretch”, although he was attached as a schoolboy with Everton he signed as an apprentice with West Ham. He is one of only two players to have ever been awarded two testimonials by West Ham, the other is Billy Bonds
Martin remained loyal to West Ham despite their relegation from the top flight in 1989, and helped them gain promotion two years later. The club lasted just one season before again dropping down a level, only to bounce back at the first attempt. For decades the club’s longest-serving player, Martin spent three more years with the team in the Premier League before finally departing at the end of the 1995–96 season after 21 years of service, aged 37.
LB: Frank Lampard Snr
The left-back in the greatest West Ham United XI is Frank Lampard Snr. He played the majority of his career at West Ham playing 551 times and won two FA Cups in 1975 and 1980.
Lampard Snr became one of the most celebrated footballers in claret and blue. He came back to West Ham from 1994-2001 to become assistant manager for his brother-in-law Harry Redknapp. He is also the second-highest most-capped player behind only Billy Bonds.