Ten years ago West Ham United pulled off one of the greatest of Great Escapes, but where are those players now?
Carlos Tevez at West Ham
The Hammers won seven of their last nine games under Alan Curbishley including that memorable 1-0 win against champions Manchester United at Old Trafford on the final day of the season back in 2007.
Carlos Tevez got the all-important goal that day as the Hammers ended up finishing 15th, a feat which seemed almost impossible just two months before.
A decade on and so much has changed with the club now playing at the 60,000 seater Olympic Stadium under the ownership of David Sullivan and David Gold.
Many players have come and gone since but here we take a look at what became of the squad which travelled to Old Trafford that fateful day.
Rob Green is still performing for Leeds aged 37
Rob Green
Green was just as crucial to West Ham staying up as Tevez was, particularly on that final day. Now 37, former Hammers hero Green left to join Queens Park Rangers in 2012 before joining Leeds United last summer. He has been an ever present for Leeds this season and has been in fine form of late to help Garry Monk’s side launch a bid for promotion back to the Premier League.
Lucas Neill
The captain of the side, Neill was signed in the January and helped galvanise the club and led them admirably to safety. Mark Noble paid tribute to the Australian on the pitch at Old Trafford after the game for his leadership. Spells at Everton, Galatasaray, Al Jazira, Al Wasl, Sydney FC, Omiya Ardija, Watford FC and finally Doncaster Rovers followed before he retired in 2014. Neill was declared bankupt last year, as reported by the Daily Mail.
James Collins
One of only two players in the squad that day who is at the club now. The fans’ favourite was sold to Aston Villa in 2009 but returned in 2012 much to the delight of the Hammers faithful. The Ginger Pele has made nearly 200 appearances for the East Londoners but has slipped down the pecking order under Slaven Bilic this season. At 33 his time in the Premier League could be coming to an end but he will always be fondly remembered at West Ham.
Anton Ferdinand
Anton Ferdinand
The 32-year-old was sold to Sunderland in 2008 but his star faded rapidly before spells in Turkey at Bursaspor and Antalyaspor, a stint playing for Thai side Police and a return to England with Reading. Ferdinand is now playing for Southend where he has made 21 appearances this season, scoring one goal.
George McCartney
A key figure in West Ham’s dramatic turnaround during their survival in 2007, his rampaging runs became a real feature of Curbishley’s side during the run-in. He was sold back to former club Sunderland along with Ferdinand before loan spells at Leeds and a return to West Ham on loan in the Championship in 2011/12. He helped the club win promotion back to the Premier League and was released in 2014 before retiring.
Yossi Benayoun
The little Israeli magician had successful spells at Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal before returning to West Ham on loan in 2012. He made just six appearances, though, and ended up at Queens Park Rangers before returning to Israel with Maccabi Haifa in 2014. Aged 36, Benayoun is still playing having signed for Maccabi Tel Aviv last summer.
Nigel Reo Coker
Nigel Reo-Coker
Like Ferdinand, Reo-Coker’s star faded quickly after leaving West Ham. He fell out with the club’s fans and was sold to Aston Villa in a double deal with teammate Marlon Harewood. After Villa Reo-Coker had spells at Bolton Wanderers, Ipswich Town, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Chivas USA and has been without a club since last year aged just 32. Last week he admitted he did not appreciate what he had at West Ham until he left the club.
Mark Noble
The second of only two players involved that day who is still at the club, Noble is the ultimate homegrown Hammer. Now captain under Bilic, Noble has made 397 appearances for his boyhood club, scoring 47 goals. He led the club to a memorable last ever season at the Boleyn Ground but has polarised opinion with his performances this season. Was granted a testimonial last year which sold out.
Luis Boa Morte
Boa Morte had a difficult relationship with West Ham fans but he always gave his all during his four years at the club and played his part in the great escape, especially in a crucial 3-0 win away at Wigan where his brave closing down of the keeper put the Hammers 1-0 up. The Portuguese left West Ham in 2011 and most recently played for Chesterfield back in 2012/13. After retiring he joined Arsenal as a scout and left the role last month to join Sintrense, a club in the third division back in his homeland.
West Ham’s Bobby Zamora celebrates his promotion winning goal with Mark Noble
Bobby Zamora
Another Hammer at heart, Zamora was West Ham’s top scorer in the Great Escape season with 11 goals. But like so many of his teammates he was sold in 2008, to Fulham, and went on to shine in West London scoring 37 goals in his four years there and earning an England call-up. He went on to QPR where he proved the play-off final hero like he had at West Ham. He ended his career with Brighton in the Championship and retired in December last year. He is now concentrating on his football academy in Dubai and the Legacy Foundation housing project he is part of in East London with former Hammer Rio Ferdinand and his old teammate Noble.
Carlos Tevez
Ten years on and after trophy-laden spells with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus, West Ham’s Great Escape hero is now the highest paid footballer in the world earning a staggering £63,960,000 over his two year contract at £615,000 per week. Was given a warm welcome by Hammers fans whenever he faced the club after leaving and will always be remembered as a cult hero.
Subs:
Jonathan Spector
Utility man Spector was used in all manner of positions during his five-year spell with the club. Best remembered for his rejuvenation under Gianfranco Zola – particularly that brace against his former club Manchester United in the cup on that snowy winter’s night. Spector, now 31, moved to Birmingham in 2011 and spent seven years with the club before returning to America with Orlando City in January.
Harewood celebrates victory and survival at Old Trafford
Marlon Harewood
One of West Ham’s highest scoring forwards for many years, Harewood will be best remembered for his stunning goal against Middlesbrough which put the Hammers into the FA Cup final. After being sold to Villa, Harewood went on to have a nomadic career before retiring in 2015. Now 37 Harewood runs his own company modifying footballers’ luxury sports cars, AC13 Premier, with a client list which includes the likes of Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and Andy Carroll.
Hayden Mullins
Mullins was a popular and reliable performer for the Hammers during his six years at the club and famously kept Barcelona and Argentina star Javier Mascherano out of the side during the Great Escape season. He played more games for West Ham than any other club during his career and left in 2009 to join Portsmouth. Last played for Notts County in 2015 before retiring and has since taken up a role in Reading’s academy.
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