West Ham United's Greatest Ever Side
(as chosen by Football England)

Substitutes:

Mervyn Day
Ray Stewart
Paul Ince
Len Goulden
Tony Cottee

Manager: John Lyall

Phil Parkes
1979-90; 344 appearances.

West Ham set a new world record transfer fee for a goalkeeper when they purchased "Big Phil" from QPR and, a decade later, they could be happy in the knowledge that it was money well spent.
Not the most agile or spectacular keeper but Parkes was big, fearless, commanding in the air and solid as a rock with anything within reasonable diving distance.

Billy Bonds
1967-88; 673 appearances, 48goals.

"Bonzo", the man who put the iron into The Iron, was always getting into this side, the only question was in which position?
He was possibly at his most effective for The Hammers as a maverick midfielder in the 1970’s and he came closest to winning that elusive England cap as a centre half in the early 80’s.
He actually came to the club as a right back, however, and possessed all the attributes needed to be a success in that position. In fact if he had not been needed elsewhere by West Ham he may well have become England’s right back in the mid 70’s.
No doubt "Bonzo" will be suitably happy to see the midfield put in front of him in this side which ensures that he will be called upon to do just about everyone else’s tackling for them.
Nothing changes, eh, Billy?

Alvin Martin
1977-96; 469 appearances, 27 goals.

Tall, solid and commanding in the air which makes him the ideal partner for Mr. Moore. Alvin had his limitations but made sure that these were seldom exploited by opposing forwards. No frills but effective and edges out his doppelganger from the 50’s and 60’s, Ken Brown.

Bobby Moore
1958-74; 544 appearances, 24 goals.

One of England’s finest as well as West Ham’s, "Mooro" was always going to be an automatic selection for this team as centre half and captain.
A cultured defender whose reading of the game was second to none and a perfect timer of challenges. Also oozed class on the ball and will make sure that the ball playing midfield in front of him is kept well supplied with quality possession.

Frank Lampard
1967-85; 551 appearances, 18 goals.

Frank Lampard shades Noel Cantwell for the left back slot in this side, perhaps only because he was a bit more aggressive than the typically elegant Hammer, Cantwell.
Another magnificent servant, Lampard was uniformly consistent for the best part of two decades proving himself a rugged competitor and a relentless marker.
The fact that he scored the winning goal in the 1980 FA Cup semi final didn’t gain him automatic entry into this side but the fact that he then went and did a silly jig around the corner flag might just have.

Peter Brabrook
1962-68; 167 appearances, 33 goals.

This speedy, out and out right winger came from Chelsea at the start of the sixties and provided a consistent threat down the flank for over five years. There was nothing overly complicated about his wing play but he kept his forwards, particularly Geoff Hurst, interested at all times.
Only needed half a yard to get a telling centre in and not many full backs could catch him once he was gone.

Martin Peters
1961-70; 302 appearances, 81 goals.

Peters was excellent for The Hammers throughout the sixties without, perhaps, ever becoming the truly great midfielder his talent suggested he should have been.
The ability to ghost into goalscoring positions was one of his strengths but he sometimes seemed to be using that as an excuse to avoid the uglier sides of the game. Not a unique trait among West Ham midfielders.

Trevor Brooking
1967-84; 528 appearances, 88 goals.

Ditto Martin Peters, perhaps.
Brooking was elegance personified as he strolled across the midfield for almost two decades, slipping in a stream of cunning through balls and occasionally unleashing a fierce drive. Not noted for his tackling or his heading though.

Alan Devonshire
1976-90; 358 appearances, 29 goals.

Devonshire was a lovely footballer in the traditional West Ham mould and would have made an even greater impact on the game had it not been for recurring injury problems.
Blessed with a sweet left foot Devonshire was also an elusive dribbler who would drift beyond tacklers without any apparent effort. Intelligent and probing in his distribution he was a schemer of genuine class.
Not a bad finisher either and I’m struggling to believe he didn’t score more than 29 goals. If I was managing this team I’d advise him to be a bit more selfish. But I’m not.

Johnny Byrne
1962-67; 156 appearances, 79 goals.

Budgie Byrne had it all, except perhaps self discipline, and he was at the peak of his game during his first few years at Upton Park.
Another tremendously stylish player, Byrne was a wonderfully creative forward who scored goals at a healthy ratio into the bargain. Was an ideal foil for the more physical Geoff Hurst so there are no prizes for guessing who’s getting the last place in this team.

Geoff Hurst
1959-72; 411 appearances, 180 goals.

Most famous for his World Cup final hat trick, Hurst was the leader of the West Ham attack for a decade and was one of the most feared forwards in the country.
Big and strong, but mobile as well, Hurst was a fine target man both with his heading ability and his excellent control as well as being an uncomplicatedly effective finisher.
Just look at his thighs and his puffed out bullfrog cheeks when he’s taking a pop at goal and you know that rascal’s staying hit.

Substitutes Bench

Mervyn Day can keep the bench warm watching Parkesy. Day was his predecessor in the West Ham team and was more spectacular but not quite so reliable as the man who took his gloves. Ray Stewart is the back up defender knowing Billy Bonds can cover the other positions and he can fill in at right back if anyone gets injured. He’s definitely getting on if it’s going to penalties as well.
Hammers fans might not be too happy seeing Paul Ince on the bench in their all time greats team but if he’d stuck around at The Boleyn a little longer he’d have been in line for a starting place. "Incey" can come on and provide a bit of bite in midfield if the starting four are looking a little lightweight, which means he’d better start warming up from the word go most weeks.
Len Goulden only ever played for The Hammers in the second division but his dashing inside forward performances were good enough to make him an England regular just before World War II. Fast, direct and with a stinging shot his finest moment came in Berlin when he slammed the sixth England goal past the supposed master race in a 6-3 drubbing that gave the Germans an indication of things to come. Tony Cottee completes the bench because the side is without a true poacher of goals and nobody sniffed out and snapped up chances at Upton Park better than "TC" during the mid 80’s.

Manager: John Lyall
1974-89.

I suppose this is quite controversial because the name of Ron Greenwood is more easily associated with The Hammers but we’re giving Lyall the nod.
Both men led West Ham to two cup triumphs, Lyall had two runners up medals to Greenwood’s one but the clincher is the 1985-86 season when Lyall put together a gloriously attacking team and mounted a genuine title challenge, something Greenwood never managed despite the splendid talent at his disposal.
In fact The Hammers probably should have won the league that season only they seemed to panic when they realised what was happening late on.
Lyall also came across as a better man manager than Greenwood who appeared unable, or unwilling, to move with the times as players gained more freedom and control of their own destiny following the removal of the maximum wage, most obviously demonstrated in his frosty relationship with Bobby Moore.
Having said that Lyall was never able to keep Frank McAvennie on the straight and narrow, was he?
Lyall still gets the vote, though, and, for what it’s worth, he was the manager of surely the best ever second division team in 1980-81.

To conclude

This team sums up West Ham United to a tee and there are two very clear observations to be made.
Firstly, the players comprising the best ever West Ham side confirm the widely held theory that the club has a history of ball playing, footballing artists who are brilliant to watch but might not be the first out of the trenches when the going gets a bit tougher.
The team also testifies to the number of magnificent servants the club has been blessed with over the years. When we complete our mission of selecting each clubs’ best ever team few, if any, will have a higher number of aggregate league appearances.
Bonds, Moore, Martin, Lampard, Brooking, Devonshire, Hurst. Stalwarts of the highest order each and every one of them. They make the likes of Parkes and Peters with their ten years service look like new starters.
The presence of long service men of such quality suggests that, when the money available to footballers was reasonably similar wherever you went, Upton Park was a pretty good place to play, and watch, your football.
So how would this select eleven fare in a league of best ever sides? Almost certainly the same way West Ham have been faring for the past fifty years or so. They would always be good for a cup run but in the league they would be flitting around mid table with the odd relegation dog fight thrown in for good measure.