The Hammers have seen some fantastic players leave the club, but who would make the best West Ham Premier League XI if they had hung onto their best players?
Ludek Miklosko
Joined the club for a fee of £300,000 and quickly became a fans’ favourite.
Relegation meant the club missed the opening season of the Premier League in 1992, however this man made a huge contribution to ensure they were in it the year after with some stellar performances.
Eight years and 318 appearances later, his time at Upton Park was up where he initially went on loan to Queens Park Rangers before making the deal permanent where he stayed there till 2001.
Glen Johnson
Product of the famous West Ham youth set up, Johnson made 15 appearances for the Hammers before swapping East London for West when he joined Chelsea for a fee of £6 million – becoming Roman Abramovich’s first signing in his debut season as owner of the club.
He later played for Portsmouth and Liverpool before signing for Stoke City in 2015 where he is still contracted today.
Rio Ferdinand
Similar to Johnson, another player who was a much talked about product of the youth set up at Upton Park. Rio Ferdinand was tipped as being a future star by many at the club and he sure was.
A early loan spell to Bournemouth helped Ferdinand quickly break into the Irons first team although Leeds United soon snapped the centre back up paying £18 million in 2000, he was on the move again when he signed for Manchester United where he won multiple Premier League titles and a Champions League winner in 2008.
Rio Ferdinand
James Tomkins
Came through the ranks at Upton Park and supported the club as a boy, he was certainly a player who played with his heart on his sleeve.
The 2009/10 season saw Tomkins earn a real opportunity after the sale of James Collins and Danny Gabbidon, and he was able to forge a partnership with Winston Reid.
He played 208 times for the club scoring 11 goals before making a move to Selhurst Park to team up with Alan Pardew at Crystal Palace for £10 million.
Julian Dicks
Four time Hammer of the Year Dicks walks into the side after becoming a cult hero with the supporters at Upton Park.
His hard, aggressive and tenacious nature was the main reason as to why he was so loved in the East End however manager Harry Redknapp wanted to sell some of his best players to enable more transfers and Dicks was sold to Liverpool in 1993.
Michael Carrick
Carrick started his career at West Ham and won the FA Youth Cup in 1999, his performance on loan at Swindon Town and Birmingham City saw the midfielder force his way into the first team and he broke into the side 2000/01 season.
He experienced relegation in 2003 although he didn’t stick around for long and a year later completed a move to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for a fee in region of £3.5 million.
Carrick has gone onto become one of the most successful graduates from the academy, winning multiple Premier League titles with Ferdinand and the Champions League at Manchester United.
Michael Carrick for Tottenham Hotspur v Charlton Athletic
Frank Lampard
Many bitter West Ham United fans would leave this man out of their XI but given the career he’s had, how can you?
Following his father Frank Lampard Snr, Lampard Jnr became an important part of the side and by the 1997/98 season the midfielder was one of the first names on the team sheet and helped the club to a fifth place finish, their highest ever placing.
A move to Chelsea was completed in 2001 for £12 million where he became a club and Premier League legend scoring 211 goals for the club and winning every honour there is in the game including the Champions League.
Javier Mascherano
One of the more exciting talents that the club have been able to land was the signing of Argentine Javier Mascherano.
Signing from Brazilian side Corinthians in the summer of 2006, Mascherano only featured five times for West Ham after a troubled time in East London where he failed to adjust to life in the capital.
The Argentine signed for Liverpool a year later where he spent five seasons on Merseyside before moving to Barcelona, then Barca manager Pep Guardiola transformed him into a ball playing centre back and has won every club prize to think of since being at the Nou Camp.
Picture Supplied by Action Images – Jose Antonio Reyes
Joe Cole
Much hype was surrounding Joe Cole with his trickery and bravery on the ball, he made his debut at the age of 17 against Manchester United at Old Trafford having impressed in the youth sides.
He was named captain at the age of 21 under Glenn Roeder although like Lampard and Johnson, he swapped West Ham for Chelsea in the summer of 2003 where he won three Premier League crowns, three FA Cups and two League Cups before he moved onto Liverpool.
Di Canio
A cult hero at Upton Park during his four years at the club where he became a fan favourite for many with his flamboyant and exuberance on the ball.
The Italian scored one of the most memorable goals in Premier League history with his astonishing bicycle kick against Wimbledon in March 2000, and that season he was voted Hammers Player of the Year.
In his final campaign with the club he had a very public row with manager Glenn Roeder and was dropped for a number of games before he scored a crucial go on the penultimate weekend against Chelsea to give them hope of survival on the last day of season. Although it wasn’t enough, the club were relegated which saw Di Canio released on a free transfer and signed for Charlton Athletic.
Carlos Tevez
If you were a West Ham fan you wouldn’t have believed your luck when the club landed Argentine sensation Carlos Tevez.
A slow start to life in London saw the West Ham faithful wait till March until they saw him at his best. But when they needed points to stay up in the Premier League he was there, with a memorable goal against Tottenham and an even more important one on the last day at Old Trafford to keep the Hammers up.
His performances gripped the attention of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and United signed the forward that summer.
Carlos Tevez – West Ham
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