Tag: west ham

The curious case of Portuguese sensation Dani

Portuguese, devilishly handsome, full of himself and self-centred. A product of the Sporting Clube de Portugal academy, fond of a step-over or two and a footballer who made his name in the…

Frank Lampard: the last legend of a dying breed

If ever there was a time for Harry Redknapp to effusively proclaim a player as “triffic”, it was when describing Frank Lampard. The year was 1996, the venue was a West Ham…

Why is West Ham’s academy providing diminishing returns?

Will West Ham ever return to the days where local lads played beautiful football among their peers, with many born close to the stadium itself? It’s highly unlikely, but that won’t stop…

Michail Antonio: from Tooting and Mitcham to West Ham star

Michail Antonio’s rise from non-league star to getting an England call-up interestingly mirrors that of Leicester City star Jamie Vardy. Both came from semi-professional football to eventually reach the promised land of…

The polarisation of Craig Bellamy

Few players have split opinion amongst football fans as much as Craig Bellamy. The former Welsh international striker was the epitome of a Marmite footballer. Born and raised in a working-class area…

The relentless, restless mind of Paolo Di Canio

They are there for all to see; the burning intensity of the glare, the endless cavern of passion, and the relentless desire that seems to give an advantage in any confrontation. They’re ever-present in the sublime, the ludicrous,…

Diego Tristán: the brilliant but tortured lizard of Galicia

The story of Diego Tristán is an all-too-common tale, one that has beset numerous players across the eras of football. Aptly nicknamed ‘The Lizard’ for his slippery style of play, most notably when dribbling,…

Remembering Geoff Hurst and his unlikely spell at Cork Celtic

Ten long years after Kenneth Wolstenholme’s oft-quoted words became forever etched in football’s annals, signalling the end of West Germany’s World Cup dream at a jam-packed Wembley Stadium on July 30, 1966, the…

Is West Ham’s class of 2003 the best to ever get relegated?

Nothing in football compares to the crushing feeling of defeat when a team is relegated. Sometimes there is a dull predictability about it, after a consistently abject season; sometimes it follows last day…

When Tevez and Mascherano went to West Ham

Cast your minds back, if you will, to the summer of 2006. Fresh off the back of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany two members of the Argentina squad that were knocked…

When Bobby Moore went to Denmark

Bobby Moore – England’s greatest defender – spent his last moments in football in the wilderness of amateur Danish football