As West Ham fans, we’ve endured our fair share of highs and lows, especially since the turn of the millennium. We wanted to focus on those highs, so we asked the writers here at Read West Ham: Who would make your greatest West Ham XI of the 21st Century?
How we selected the team:
We asked each writer to send in their starting XI, with the formation 4-4-2, including players that played for the club in the last 15 seasons. We tried to avoid selecting players that weren’t stars for the club, but went on to big things, such as Javier Mascherano; we wanted the players who were at the top of their game whilst at the club.
GK: Robert Green
‘England’s Number One!’ spent six years at West Ham from 2006 to 2012 having come through the Norwich City academy. Rob was an integral part to our initial success back in the Premier League during his first few seasons, but when we dropped down into the Championship again, he played a key role in our immediate return to the big time. Choosing to stay with the club, rejecting offers from Premier League sides to honour his contract and help us get promoted at the first attempt was huge for the club, and we’ll forever be indebted to him for his dedicated service. Single-handedly (pardon the pun) won us several points that season, and came up with clutch saves in the Play-Off Final.
RB: Sebastien Schemmel
This was the hardest contested position in the team, but Schemmel gets the nod. The Frenchman only spent a couple seasons at the club during the early 2000’s, but made a real impact. Having initially signed on loan for the second half of the 2000/01 season, he impressed enough to have his stay prolonged. He earned Hammer of the Year honours for the 2001/02 season, his first full season in English football.
CB: Tomas Repka
If you love rugged, hard-nosed, no-nonsense defenders, look no further. Tomas Repka was signed by Glenn Roeder in 2001 for a then club-record fee of £5.5m, but boy was he worth it. Despite being sent off twice in his first three games as a Hammer, Repka formed a formidable central defensive partnership with Christian Dailly during the early-mid 2000’s, Repka was another player to stay true to the club to help us battle out of the Championship. He left after five-and-a-half years at the club, but left a true fan-favourite.
CB: Winston Reid
The first player to make this team who is still playing at the club. Reid joined the club following an impressive display at the 2010 World Cup with New Zealand, but it was only when we were relegated that he cemented his place in the side. For the last few seasons, he and James Tomkins have made an excellent match at the heart of our defence. With his contract whittling down this season, and Champions League clubs keen, he repaid the faith shown in him by the club by signing a new long-term contract.
LB: Aaron Cresswell
The attacking fullback has been a revelation since he joined from Ipswich last summer, and was named Hammer of the Year during his debut season at the club. Cresswell played every minute of every league game this season, and has proved to be one of the signings of the season. We hope for many, many more years of his marauding runs down the left-hand side.
RM: Joe Cole
A true Hammer, Cole was one of our own having come through the club’s academy. He dazzled early on in his career on the wings, and was tipped to become the next star of English football. He didn’t quite meet those heights, but did have some extraordinary moments during his stint at Chelsea, and was an established England international. His return on an 18-month deal was a special one to most fans. Although he was past his prime, he still flashed glimpses of the ability he showed as a promising teenager.
CM: Scott Parker
What more needs to be said about Scott Parker! The determination and character he showed week in week out for the club was second-to-none. He pretty much single-handedly kept us afloat in the Premier League, and the football writers acknowledged this with their awarding of the Player of the Season award to Parker. Despite leaving for rivals Tottenham when we were relegated, you can’t fault him for wanting to further his international career by playing at a higher level, especially after everything he did for the club.
CM: Mark Noble
Mr West Ham himself was the first name on the team-sheet. Currently our longest serving player, Nobes has been with us during the highs and the lows over the last decade or so. No player is more passionate about the cause that Noble, willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the team. It looks like he’ll be one of the last true one-club players in European football, and that cannot be understated. He loves a penalty, too.
LM: Paolo Di Canio
Had to fit Di Canio in somehow, so he slots in at left-midfield in this team. During his three-and-a-half years in East London, Di Canio captured Hammers hearts with his exciting play, moments of absolute brilliance, and being one of the most sporting players to have graced the Premier League. He also scored arguably the greatest goal in the history of the League. A true cult-hero, Di Canio will always be considered a club icon.
ST: Dean Ashton
One of the saddest stories at the club in recent years. Ashton signed for the club from Norwich in January 2006 and made an immediate impact, scoring three goals in our FA Cup run, including one in the final against Liverpool. He suffered a broken ankle that Summer in England training following his first call-up, and missed the entire 2006/07 season. He rallied back the next season, scoring ten league goals, and would final get that England cap he greatly deserved. Unfortunately, perennial ankle injuries were to follow, and he retired in 2009 from what was a very promising career. He’s only 31 now, he could’ve become a West Ham great.
ST: Carlos Tevez
Speaking of club great’s, it’s hard not to make this team without finding a place for the hero that is Carlos Tevez. His controversial one-year stay at the club would go down in the record books. Only scoring his first goal for the club in March in that epic 4-3 defeat to Tottenham, he went on to score six more goals in our final nine games, seeing the club win seven of those and complete what would be one of the greatest escapes in Premier League history. He was then named Hammer of the Year for his efforts, and has always held the club in high regard, stating he wouldn’t be the player he is today if not for West Ham.
