Best young player West Ham let go.

[Late of the Boleyn]

How typical of us to back the wrong horse.

[StevePottsGoalsReel]

Given everyone else is stretching definitions here...

I'm always surprised that I've never seen any reported West Ham link with David Beckham as a youngster. Was obviously on our doorstep and seemed to spend time with a few London clubs, including Orient I think.

Seems his family always wanted him at Man Utd anyway, but a little surprising that we were never in contact as far as I'm aware...

[Bluelighter]

His life's work will live on well beyond his own years, his music has touched millions world wide - I think it's safe to say he made the right choice.

The blokes a legend and is the genius behind Iron Maiden, wrote alot of their stuff but never seeks the limelight. Has West Ham tatooed on his guitar every gig, what more could you ask, I think a statue or at least a photo should be at the London Stadium.

[steveyrockstar]

His life's work will live on well beyond his own years, his music has touched millions world wide - I think it's safe to say he made the right choice.

Norse, are you in the West Ham Metal-Heads group?

[norse]

No, never heard of it if I'm being honest

[Kermit]

Strangely enough John, when I saw the headline of this post I instantly thought of Ray Houghton, so when I opened it up and saw you lead with this I was in full agreement!

This of course was back in age when there weren’t big squads and fewer substitutes, so you didn’t keep top talent on the subs bench. Back in this era my grandfather worked at West Ham so I have a bit of inside information here.

You rightly point to this being the Brooking / Devonshire era, but it wasn’t those wonderful players that Houghton was competing with. At the time there was another young star coming through the ranks, hailed as the next Trevor Brooking… Alan Dickens.

It was felt that we couldn’t retain both youngsters and we chose to keep Dickens over Houghton as our future number 10. One went to achieve a bit more than the other.

Very puzzling what happened to Dickens. He was an integral part of our best ever team, imo, the 1985/86 vintage. But his career hit the buffers and apparently he is now a London cabbie. I don't recall any injury issues that may have played a part but it was a long while ago so maybe others have a better idea why he never developed as we had hoped.

I remember seeing him score on his debut at Notts County many years ago and, having seem him a few times in the youth set up, I , like many others, was convinced he would go right to the top. That said he did play nearly 200 games for us so it wasn';t too shabby a career.

[Patsy Belgium]

Very puzzling what happened to Dickens. He was an integral part of our best ever team, imo, the 1985/86 vintage. But his career hit the buffers and apparently he is now a London cabbie. I don't recall any injury issues that may have played a part but it was a long while ago so maybe others have a better idea why he never developed as we had hoped.

I remember seeing him score on his debut at Notts County many years ago and, having seem him a few times in the youth set up, I , like many others, was convinced he would go right to the top. That said he did play nearly 200 games for us so it wasn';t too shabby a career.

A good player and a nice fella is Alan

[jastons]

Jay Cartwright

[steveyrockstar]

No, never heard of it if I'm being honest

https://www.whufc.com/west-ham-metal-heads

A few of us meet in the Cart & Horses before/after some home games. I'm an admin on their facebook page.

[dasnutnock3]

Apparently, we had Sol Campbell as a junior player, according to today's Sky/Neville/Keane "Overlap" thing, but never gave him a contract. Said he decided to leave when he was finishing up one day, and someone made a remark to him about the West Indes being 2-1 up in a test series. Apparently, that was enough to convince him he should go somewhere else.

Always thought he was a prickly customer, but his laundry list of grievances is excessive. Great player, no doubt, and his desire to win titles was admirable, but man, what a mardy grudge-holding git he was.

[norse]

Always found it a bit strange that Paul Parker started at Fulham, not West Ham considering where he's from.

[Late of the Boleyn]

Always found it a bit strange that Paul Parker started at Fulham, not West Ham considering where he's from.

Way too small to make it. Same with Houghton.

[Late of the Boleyn]

https://www.whufc.com/west-ham-metal-heads

A few of us meet in the Cart & Horses before/after some home games. I'm an admin on their facebook page.

Is that Dennis Stratton on one of the the photos? Didn't realise he was a hammer too.

[norse]

Is that Dennis Stratton on one of the the photos? Didn't realise he was a hammer too.

He actually played for West Ham for a short while until he started playing guitar.

[mushy]

You rightly point to this being the Brooking / Devonshire era, but it wasn’t those wonderful players that Houghton was competing with. At the time there was another young star coming through the ranks, hailed as the next Trevor Brooking… Alan Dickens.

It was felt that we couldn’t retain both youngsters and we chose to keep Dickens over Houghton as our future number 10. One went to achieve a bit more than the other.

Great post Ethan.
Wasn't just Dickens though was it? he was also rightly or wrongly behind George Cowie in the pecking order at the time.
In fact if you look at the players playing in that infamous Arsenal match they read as follows -:
Brooking, Dev, Van der Elst, Paul Allen, Pike , Neil Orr and George Cowie all started .
That's 7 possible midfield players , we were awash with them.
I'm not sure either whose place in the normal setup Houghton would have taken, he replaced Cowie in that match but the more natural choice would probably have been Neil Orr but even then, they were different types of players.
Brooking was near the end, maybe him?
You can see really that Lyall had a real old conundrum with Houghton..

[norse]

Before my time really, I was a child at the time, but didn't Alan Dickens leave West Ham after relegation to join newly promoted Chelsea

[mattyD]

Always found it a bit strange that Paul Parker started at Fulham, not West Ham considering where he's from.

Has spoken, whilst commentating on one of our youth cup games I think, about Wally St Pier and the reasons why he didn't join us.

[Billydinho]

Just watched the Sky 6 wankfest that is “The Overlap” because Sol Campbell is on it and he’s Hannibal Lector to my Clarice Starling.

Anyway, turns out he was on our books as a local Plaistow lad. He left immediately after a fellow black player said “you must be happy” because West Indies were beating England at cricket.

So Terry or Campbell in terms of most saleable asset?

On a separate note, he’s absolutely fascinating to me. I hope someone gives him a managerial job one day, it would be pure box office.

[Chrissieboy]

Macclesfield and Southend don't count?

[Billydinho]

Macclesfield and Southend don't count?

Something in my brain was telling me he’d managed before but I couldn’t remember where for the life of me.