WC of WH Players: Group 31

Korea Hammer · Post by **Korea Hammer** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 8:47 am

Please vote for whichever player you like best, using the poll, which will be added shortly. They don't have to be the best at football, just your favourite, the player you have good memories of etc. The thread can also be a good place to discuss the players.

IAIN DOWIE

RONNIE BOYCE

STAN LAZARIDIS

SLAVEN BILIC

smuts · Post by **smuts** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:19 am

Ticker hands down. One club man, multiple cup winner and nearly 300 appearances.

Dowie always battled but another one that we signed again after an average first spell and his most famous moment will always be the infamous OG.

Stan was extremely frustrating, most of his crosses always seemed to end up about 12 foot in the air and flying out for a goalkick.

Bilic as a player? Nah very good but couldn't wait to get out of dodge first chance he got.

Korea Hammer · Post by **Korea Hammer** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:35 am

smuts wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:19 am Dowie always battled but another one that we signed again after an average first spell and his most famous moment will always be the infamous OG.

An absolutely astonishing OG. I remember I was in a snooker club in Eastbourne half-watching this game when this happened.

In those days you halfg-expected us to lose these kind of Cup games. BUt even so, I don't think anyone expected this.

Korea Hammer · Post by **Korea Hammer** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:37 am

I think you're a bit harsh on Skippy though. Maybe it's claret and blue specs, but I remember him being pretty good for us

Chicken Run Supreme · Post by **Chicken Run Supreme** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:48 am

An easy choice even though I never saw him play for us, Ronnie Boyce.

Iain Dowie? Nah, a proper trier and a fan who got to play for his own club but he was of limited ability and his most famous achievement was that spectacular own goal against Stockport County.

Aussie Stan? Nah, just nah.

Slaven? The player, a definite nah, as said above, couldn’t wait to leave us for the Blue Scouse. As a manager he was there for the final season at Upton Park and that is a season full of happy memories but it didn’t last long. He was always likeable though, despite being out of his depth.

So back to Ticker, a proper local lad and a proper one club man. I don’t know how I acquired it, I think perhaps my Dad got it off a mate at work who went, but the first programme I ever had was Boyce’s testimonial game against Man Utd from November ‘72 which was 5 months before I actually went to my first game. I must have read that programme to death.
After he retired he remained as part of the coaching staff and was always a familiar face over on the West Stand dugout sitting among Manager and other backroom staff, he was even caretaker charge in 1990.
A true club legend.

StevePottsGoalsReel · Sat Nov 26, 2022 10:06 am

One club legend who I never saw play v. three varying flavours of cult hero that I did.

Lazaradis so under-rated that he gets his name spelled wrong in his own poll

Gone for Dowie as I suspect no one else will. Emblematic of our 90s struggles, but a West Ham fan (I believe) who gave 100% every game and wasn't his fault he didn't have the necessary skill for the top level.

(Also, to paraphrase the famous Mark Waugh sledge, can't even claim to be the best or most successful footballer in his own family!)

Korea Hammer · Post by **Korea Hammer** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 10:44 am

StevePottsGoalsReel wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 10:06 am
Lazaradis so under-rated that he gets his name spelled wrong in his own poll

Good job I'm only an English teacher

Korea Hammer · Post by **Korea Hammer** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 10:48 am

Pointless information sidebar:

Dowie coined the word 'bouncebackability' which entered the Oxford English Dictionary.

hammer1975 · Post by **hammer1975** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 10:49 am

Bilic was great as a player - but happened to get the credit for being the final part of the puzzle with Rieper and Dicks at the back imo.

Ronnie Boyce is an easy choice for me.

PF. · Post by **PF.** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:00 am

Korea Hammer wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:35 am In those days you halfg-expected us to lose these kind of Cup games.

In those days? I expect us to still loose them now!

Alan Pardew's Dad · Post by **Alan Pardew's Dad** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:04 am

It’s Skippy for me. Some very fond memories of him. He wasn’t a world beater, but on his day he was great to watch.

JLCABA · Post by **JLCABA** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:20 am

Ticker

WestHamLyallStyle · Post by **WestHamLyallStyle** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:48 am

I guess it should be the second-hand car salesman from Lewisham but I'm going Bilic.

A more than competent cb in his day.

steveyrockstar · Post by **steveyrockstar** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:59 am

Bilic - a brilliant defender, incredible style, plays guitar, a real gentleman, and a metal-head (of sorts). For the brief time he played for us, he was by my fave player as a kid, and I was absolutely devastated when he engineered a move away from us so soon. He was actually originally trying to move to Spurs

.

For years and years, I hated him after that - in the only way an impressionable kid can create and harbour such deep grudges. When Croatia conceded a 120th min equaliser to Turkey in a Euros QF (in 2008), I even took delight in seeing the horror of his face after thinking his side had won it a minute earlier.

But all was virtually forgiven when he returned as our manager, and with Payet, gave us, at the time, our best ever season in the Prem. We really should've won the FA Cup that year though!

Anyway, my vote defo goes to Bilic for that whole rollercoaster. I remember someone saying they bumped into him recently in the moshpit at a GNR gig, more credit there

StevePottsGoalsReel · Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:01 pm

Korea Hammer wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 10:48 am Pointless information sidebar:

Dowie coined the word 'bouncebackability' which entered the Oxford English Dictionary.

Dowie also had a degree in Engineering and worked at British Aerospace before becoming a pro footballer late in the day.

Improbable parallels with Shaka Hislop, who also got an engineering degree and interned at NASA.

S-H · Post by **S-H** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:05 pm

Slav.

Burnley Hammer · Post by **Burnley Hammer** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:09 pm

I'm sure Ronnie Boyce was best, but if I'm sticking to the rules then I have to vote Slav as Ronnie was before my time. I did like Lazaradis though.

steveyrockstar · Post by **steveyrockstar** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:17 pm

I am expecting your vote, Mr Bond.

Korea Hammer · Post by **Korea Hammer** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:17 pm

Tomorrow brings the last first round group. Can anyone work out the final 4 players?

Your clues are: 3 forwards and 1 defender, 1 who is currently playing at the World Cup in Qatar, 2 who played for us in FA Cup finals, 1 who is now registered with a Championship club, and 1 legend-tier player with over 450 club appearances.

Collison Theory · Post by **Collison Theory** » Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:57 pm

Korea Hammer wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:37 am I think you're a bit harsh on Skippy though. Maybe it's claret and blue specs, but I remember him being pretty good for us

I voted for him purely for this goal. I was a little kid, I had the 97/98 season review on vhs and I watched it every weekend. It had different commentary for that goal, he went "It's Lazaridis... OH MY" and it's permanently etched into my brain.