While West Ham’s days aren’t as good as they used once used to be some decades ago, the Hammers have succeeded in establishing themselves as a regular top-flight club over the past few seasons. And while the club is still a largely recognisable one in the country, it has obviously lost its shine in the global arena.
Despite that, the club still hasn’t lost its knack for producing quality English players by making perfect use of its famed youth academy. The East Londoners have handed loads of youngsters the right platform to grow, including the great World Cup winner Bobby Moore, who was at the club for 18 years during the glittering career.
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It’s not just him that West Ham have produced with excellence par none. And we run the rule over players who have been the Hammers’ best academy graduates in recent times.
#5 Jermain Defoe
Having recently joined Bournemouth on a free transfer following Sunderland’s condemnation to the Championship, this would be Defoe’s second stint at Dean Court with the previous one coming being a loan spell back in the 2000-2001 campaign. It came when Defoe was a West Ham player, but the spell at Bournemouth saw the Englishman make a breakthrough for the very first time.
Defoe plied his trade with the Hammers from 1999 to 2004 and ended up making as many as 93 appearances, finding the back of the net 29 times after having joined as a 16-year-old. The earlier spell at Bournemouth saw Defoe became the club’s highest goal-getter for that season and convinced many into believing that the Hammers had a proper player on their hands.
The platform allowed by West Ham allowed Defoe to seal a move to Premier League giants Tottenham, where he went onto play twice and enjoyed the best of his career at White Hart Lane. The Englishman also helped Spurs to qualify for the Champions League in the 2009-10 campaign.
#2 Michael Carrick
Another one of those stars who ended up joining Tottenham at the end of their West Ham careers, Carrick joined the Hammers’ academy way back in 1997 and climbed through the ranks gradually.
The current Manchester United vice-captain spent loan stints at Swindon Town and Birmingham City, where he made six and two appearances respectively. Carrick won the FA Youth Cup in 1999 and ended up making his first-team debut in the Intertoto Cup that very year.
It was in the 2000-2001 campaign that Carrick broke into the West Ham first team, making as many as 41 appearances in all competitions for the Londoners. He sealed a £3.5 million move to Tottenham in 2004 and his performances attracted interest from United, who viewed him as a successor to Roy Keane.
The Red Devils shelled out £14 million to sign the man from up north and the rest, as they say, is history.
#3 Rio Ferdinand
Big Rio Ferdinand is well and truly retired now and currently acts as an expert on television, but the former Manchester United defender’s beginnings in the game can be traced back to his time at Upton Park.
Ferdinand was born around 10 miles away from Upton Park and joined the club back in 1992 and made his debut in 1996, after being scouted by Frank Lampard Senior. Ferdinand won the Young Hammer of the Year award in 1998 and attracted attention from Manchester United, but the approach was turned down.
An £18 million move to Leeds United followed and after impressing at Elland Road, the Englishman finally sealed a move to Old Trafford, where he went on to make more than 300 appearances in all competitions.
The defender retired after a brief spell with Queens Park Rangers and has gone down in history as one of the greatest English defenders ever.
#4 John Terry
John Terry recently signed for Championship outfit Aston Villa after announcing his departure from Chelsea, but it was a different side wearing the Claret and Blue where it all began for the former Blues skipper who will be adored by every Chelsea fan for what he’s done for the club.
Terry joined West Ham, rather surprisingly, as a midfielder back in 1991 before moving to Stamford Bridge and transforming himself into a centre-back in around 1994. The fact that Chelsea picked him at an early age makes many forget that he was a Hammer at a point of time.
He was handed the captain’s armband by Jose Mourinho and he kept on vindicating the faith of managers to come to Chelsea for years on in, leading them to success in both England as well as Europe.
#1 Frank Lampard
Many fondly recall Harry Redknapp’s defence of Lampard in a press conference back in 1996 and that clearly proved how much potential he had. And Redknapp played an ever-vital role in making him the player he went on to become apart from West Ham.
Having joined the Hammers back in 1994 at a time when his father Frank Lampard senior was the assistant boss at the club and quickly climbed through the ranks at the academy. His debut came in 1996 itself and after impressing for over a period of five seasons, Lampard earned himself a move to Chelsea for a £18 million. The midfielder plied his trade at Stamford Bridge for thirteen years, winning the Premier League thrice, the FA Cup four times and the Champions League in 2012.
And Lampard undoubtedly is one of the best players ever to have come through the West Ham United academy. That’s certainly something to be proud of.
