Last Thursday I watched the UEFA Cup match between West Ham United and Palermo, It was an interesting match. West Ham showed all the qualities of an attacking team they deserve to win, but the Italians showed their true colours again by playing a typical Italian game and nicking a 1-0 away win, but I am getting ahead of myself I like this club because they have a tradition of playing good football (you think Arsenal was great you have not seen the West Ham of the 60s, 70s and 80s). Before I go further let me tell you about the history of this club.
West Ham United can trace their history back to the formation of a works team, Thames Ironworks (thus, the nickname; the Hammers), in 1895. Their matches were first played in Hermit road, Canning Town, before moving to the Memorial Ground in the same locality in 1897.
Having acquired a good ground the Ironworks club decided to turn professional and in 1898 joined the Second Division of the Southern League, winning promotion at the first attempt.
By 1900 Mr. Arnold F. Hills, the club's benefactor and their employer at the Ironworks, decided that he could not carry on financing the club's affairs, so he persuaded them to form a limited company, while allowing them to continue to use the Memorial Ground rent free for three seasons (how times have changed). West Ham F.C. Ltd came into being on July 5, 1900 and continued in the Southern League until elected to the Second Division in 1919.
The best of West Ham's glory years were when they won the FA cup in 1964, 1975 and 1980 and the European Cup winners Cup in 1964-65 (even the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1999). They were also runners-up in 1975-76 European Cup Winners Cup. This West Ham team provided England's 1966 World Cup winning team with three gems Bobby Moore (who was captain of this England team), Geoff Hurst (who remains the only player to score a hattrick in a World Cup final) and Martin Peters.
West Ham always built a strong and steady team with the emphasize on youth. Ron Greenwood was the man who brought this nurturing to its climax and as if to give proof to this he was later given the task to be the England manager and England did not qualify in 1974 and 78 World Cups went on to qualify in Spain 1982 under Greenwood and they went out unbeaten in that World Cup, one of best England teams in the World Cup.
Throughout the years, West Ham have invariably employed managers who embody these values, doing much themselves to promote and sustain their footballing philosophy. The majority of them joined the club as youngsters, were brought up through the playing ranks at Upton Park, so they understood everything the club stands for.
Even Ron Greenwood, the first 'outsider' to be appointed manager when he arrived from Arsenal in 1961, epitomised the West Ham Way. Greenwood continued to build on the excellent foundations laid by his predecessor, Ted Fenton, and the vastly influential skipper, Malcolm Allison, in the 50s which established the club's famed 'Academy'. Allison combined his defensive duties in the then Second Division side with coaching the schoolboys. He, more than anyone, helped nurture the man who would ultimately replace him in the first team and become arguably the most famous English footballer of all - Bobby Moore.
Allison, with the encouragement of Fenton, inspired progress in all the youngsters who came under his tuition at the coaching sessions he held on the old main forecourt of the Boleyn Ground each Tuesday and Thursday night. He commanded the respect of team-mates young and old and was a tactician ahead of his time.
At the instigation of Allison, who marvelled at the magnificent Hungary side of the late 50s, West Ham embraced continental ideas and thinking before any of their English rivals. They adopted foreign training methods and were the first to wear new, lightweight boots, smaller shorts and lighter, silk shirts.
Allison and his disciples, great club men like Noel Cantwell, Frank O'Farrell, Dave Sexton, Malcolm Musgrove and Jimmy Andrews, would follow daily training sessions by getting together again in the afternoons at Cassettari's Cafe, just a short walk from the ground in Barking Road (it's still there today). There, Allison would hold court and the players would exchange views on the game and make tactical plans around the dinner table, illustrating their ideas with the use of salt and pepper pots. The culmination of those years of hard work, on and off the field, was the Second Division championship in 1958 - the springboard to great cup successes at a much higher level in the mid-60s. Those later achievements owed much to the tactical genius of Greenwood and the emergence of quality players like Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, but no one should underestimate the positive influence of Malcolm Allison's earlier role in Hammers' history.
He was a flamboyant and widely travelled football coach and manager, who was seldom seen without his fedora and a cigar. He was also a trainer for Sporting Lisbon, in Portugal, winning their last championship for 18 years, in 1981/82, and also the Cup of Portugal.
After Greenwood, John Lyall continued the tradition of the West Ham way and retained,bought and nurtured players well. At that time Trevor Booking was a key player for West Ham and even when West Ham was in the Second Division, Lyall stirred this team to the 1980 FA cup final victory over London rivals Arsenal (2-1) and the following year was promoted to Division one as champions.
West Ham during this period (late 70s and 80s) played sizziling football with players like Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard (senior), David Cross, Brooking of course, Geoff Pike, Paul Allen, Phil Parkes, Alan Devonshire and many more.
They played one or two touch football with great effect, Devonshire even told that when he had rough patches Lyall was fantstic, After a dismal England performance against Greece when they drew 0-0,he said "I felt West Ham's form (during that period) and mine ran on parallel lines. Lacking movement, making a struggle of everything, playing the ball too early or late and trying to make the difficult pass when the straigtforward move was on. In those times, its marvelous to have a manager like John Lyall to turn to. I had a series of long chats with him and because his knowledge of the game is so wideranging, my form came flooding back..as he knew it would.
"When times are hard, it is essential to be with a manager like John". Brooking one of the loyal servants at West Ham (they had a lot including the great Bobby Moore)said that despite West Ham being in the Second Division he still decided to stay at the club but only after Ron Greenwood said he did not care if he was in the Second Division as long as he was in good form and that he would still pick him for England, it was good advise.
In recent times West ham have produced some excellent players; Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard (junior), Michael Carrick and Jermaine Defoe. They have all flown the nest for greener pastures, some doing well and others still finding their feet.
Now West Ham have two great sisgnings, two Argentinians (Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano of course) who we would have never in the wildest dreams expect them to turn up at Upton Park, so wild that bookmakers did not even have a bet for such a outrageous transfer, it was that quiet. The last time a London club was buzzing with the news of two Argentinians was when Spurs acquired the services of World Cup players Ricardo Villa and Osvaldo Ardiles and the glory years poured in with two FA Cup wins and one UEFA cup win.
In the match against Palermo it had this electric European night about it, West Ham played well and it was so dissapointing that they lost, just like last season's FA Cup final it was exciting though not much goals. It would be nice to see West Ham
strengthen their defence and add a another midfielder to compliment the skills of Yossi Benayoun what a catch by West Ham. He was schooled in the Ajax school of football (plucked at the age of 15). He did not settle there and returned to Israel to play for clubs over there, after that he made his way to Spain with Racing Santander scoring 21 goals in 99 apperances, Pardew knew what he was getting into when he bought this player.
Though he looks frail he still proves that skill is mightier and he somehow rides the challenge, Tevez though he can play in Midfield is still a forward and Mascherano is a defensive midfielder. Benayoun needs a attacking partner, a foil that can work together someone in the mould of Lampard or Gerrard.
Trevor Brooking meanwhile is now Director of Football Development for England, a mere coincidence? I think not maybe we will see the reaps of the West Ham fruit reaped in a few years time for England.
In Manager Alan Pardew, West Ham continue their tradition of quiet but nurturing managers, right now what West ham need is to continue that tradition. West Ham does not need a manager who is going to go to greener pastures after his "West Ham odyssey" they need someone who can start a revolution and build a empire and with the likes of the Argentinians, Benayoun, Coker, Harewood, Anton Ferdinand, Zamora, etc it is not impossible, though they don't have Che Guevara to start a revolution like he did, they have two of his country men who can start that spark that can lead into a raging fire.
West Ham United can trace their history back to the formation of a works team, Thames Ironworks (thus, the nickname; the Hammers), in 1895. Their matches were first played in Hermit road, Canning Town, before moving to the Memorial Ground in the same locality in 1897.
Having acquired a good ground the Ironworks club decided to turn professional and in 1898 joined the Second Division of the Southern League, winning promotion at the first attempt.
By 1900 Mr. Arnold F. Hills, the club's benefactor and their employer at the Ironworks, decided that he could not carry on financing the club's affairs, so he persuaded them to form a limited company, while allowing them to continue to use the Memorial Ground rent free for three seasons (how times have changed). West Ham F.C. Ltd came into being on July 5, 1900 and continued in the Southern League until elected to the Second Division in 1919.
The best of West Ham's glory years were when they won the FA cup in 1964, 1975 and 1980 and the European Cup winners Cup in 1964-65 (even the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1999). They were also runners-up in 1975-76 European Cup Winners Cup. This West Ham team provided England's 1966 World Cup winning team with three gems Bobby Moore (who was captain of this England team), Geoff Hurst (who remains the only player to score a hattrick in a World Cup final) and Martin Peters.
West Ham always built a strong and steady team with the emphasize on youth. Ron Greenwood was the man who brought this nurturing to its climax and as if to give proof to this he was later given the task to be the England manager and England did not qualify in 1974 and 78 World Cups went on to qualify in Spain 1982 under Greenwood and they went out unbeaten in that World Cup, one of best England teams in the World Cup.
Throughout the years, West Ham have invariably employed managers who embody these values, doing much themselves to promote and sustain their footballing philosophy. The majority of them joined the club as youngsters, were brought up through the playing ranks at Upton Park, so they understood everything the club stands for.
Even Ron Greenwood, the first 'outsider' to be appointed manager when he arrived from Arsenal in 1961, epitomised the West Ham Way. Greenwood continued to build on the excellent foundations laid by his predecessor, Ted Fenton, and the vastly influential skipper, Malcolm Allison, in the 50s which established the club's famed 'Academy'. Allison combined his defensive duties in the then Second Division side with coaching the schoolboys. He, more than anyone, helped nurture the man who would ultimately replace him in the first team and become arguably the most famous English footballer of all - Bobby Moore.
Allison, with the encouragement of Fenton, inspired progress in all the youngsters who came under his tuition at the coaching sessions he held on the old main forecourt of the Boleyn Ground each Tuesday and Thursday night. He commanded the respect of team-mates young and old and was a tactician ahead of his time.
At the instigation of Allison, who marvelled at the magnificent Hungary side of the late 50s, West Ham embraced continental ideas and thinking before any of their English rivals. They adopted foreign training methods and were the first to wear new, lightweight boots, smaller shorts and lighter, silk shirts.
Allison and his disciples, great club men like Noel Cantwell, Frank O'Farrell, Dave Sexton, Malcolm Musgrove and Jimmy Andrews, would follow daily training sessions by getting together again in the afternoons at Cassettari's Cafe, just a short walk from the ground in Barking Road (it's still there today). There, Allison would hold court and the players would exchange views on the game and make tactical plans around the dinner table, illustrating their ideas with the use of salt and pepper pots. The culmination of those years of hard work, on and off the field, was the Second Division championship in 1958 - the springboard to great cup successes at a much higher level in the mid-60s. Those later achievements owed much to the tactical genius of Greenwood and the emergence of quality players like Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, but no one should underestimate the positive influence of Malcolm Allison's earlier role in Hammers' history.
He was a flamboyant and widely travelled football coach and manager, who was seldom seen without his fedora and a cigar. He was also a trainer for Sporting Lisbon, in Portugal, winning their last championship for 18 years, in 1981/82, and also the Cup of Portugal.
After Greenwood, John Lyall continued the tradition of the West Ham way and retained,bought and nurtured players well. At that time Trevor Booking was a key player for West Ham and even when West Ham was in the Second Division, Lyall stirred this team to the 1980 FA cup final victory over London rivals Arsenal (2-1) and the following year was promoted to Division one as champions.
West Ham during this period (late 70s and 80s) played sizziling football with players like Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard (senior), David Cross, Brooking of course, Geoff Pike, Paul Allen, Phil Parkes, Alan Devonshire and many more.
They played one or two touch football with great effect, Devonshire even told that when he had rough patches Lyall was fantstic, After a dismal England performance against Greece when they drew 0-0,he said "I felt West Ham's form (during that period) and mine ran on parallel lines. Lacking movement, making a struggle of everything, playing the ball too early or late and trying to make the difficult pass when the straigtforward move was on. In those times, its marvelous to have a manager like John Lyall to turn to. I had a series of long chats with him and because his knowledge of the game is so wideranging, my form came flooding back..as he knew it would.
"When times are hard, it is essential to be with a manager like John". Brooking one of the loyal servants at West Ham (they had a lot including the great Bobby Moore)said that despite West Ham being in the Second Division he still decided to stay at the club but only after Ron Greenwood said he did not care if he was in the Second Division as long as he was in good form and that he would still pick him for England, it was good advise.
In recent times West ham have produced some excellent players; Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard (junior), Michael Carrick and Jermaine Defoe. They have all flown the nest for greener pastures, some doing well and others still finding their feet.
Now West Ham have two great sisgnings, two Argentinians (Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano of course) who we would have never in the wildest dreams expect them to turn up at Upton Park, so wild that bookmakers did not even have a bet for such a outrageous transfer, it was that quiet. The last time a London club was buzzing with the news of two Argentinians was when Spurs acquired the services of World Cup players Ricardo Villa and Osvaldo Ardiles and the glory years poured in with two FA Cup wins and one UEFA cup win.
In the match against Palermo it had this electric European night about it, West Ham played well and it was so dissapointing that they lost, just like last season's FA Cup final it was exciting though not much goals. It would be nice to see West Ham
strengthen their defence and add a another midfielder to compliment the skills of Yossi Benayoun what a catch by West Ham. He was schooled in the Ajax school of football (plucked at the age of 15). He did not settle there and returned to Israel to play for clubs over there, after that he made his way to Spain with Racing Santander scoring 21 goals in 99 apperances, Pardew knew what he was getting into when he bought this player.
Though he looks frail he still proves that skill is mightier and he somehow rides the challenge, Tevez though he can play in Midfield is still a forward and Mascherano is a defensive midfielder. Benayoun needs a attacking partner, a foil that can work together someone in the mould of Lampard or Gerrard.
Trevor Brooking meanwhile is now Director of Football Development for England, a mere coincidence? I think not maybe we will see the reaps of the West Ham fruit reaped in a few years time for England.
In Manager Alan Pardew, West Ham continue their tradition of quiet but nurturing managers, right now what West ham need is to continue that tradition. West Ham does not need a manager who is going to go to greener pastures after his "West Ham odyssey" they need someone who can start a revolution and build a empire and with the likes of the Argentinians, Benayoun, Coker, Harewood, Anton Ferdinand, Zamora, etc it is not impossible, though they don't have Che Guevara to start a revolution like he did, they have two of his country men who can start that spark that can lead into a raging fire.
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