In the absence of club football, fans of Premier League teams have been asking a big question on social media and there’s only one answer for West Ham.
It says a lot about the tedium of the international break that fans of Premier League clubs like West Ham have to find ways to keep themselves entertained.
Just as the Hammers found some momentum with that 4-1 win over Ipswich, the October break kicked in.
Attentions will soon turn to West Ham’s big clash with rivals Spurs.
But in the meantime, supporters have been pondering a big question.
With club news thin on the ground during the international breaks, fans find themselves getting nostalgic.
Picking a West Ham player to have an injury-free career
Whether it is clips of West Ham’s recent and distant past history resurfacing.
Or listing the best and worst players to play for the club.
Jarrod Bowen’s European trophy winning goal has had another airing on socials.
Hammers fans have also been debating Julen Lopetegui’s best XI for when the Premier League action resumes.
The question that has been getting plenty of traction of late, though, resonates particularly deeply in east London.
That being picking a player to have an injury-free career.
And there’s only one answer for West Ham.
Sky Sports floated the question to fans on X and garnered over 6,000 responses and in excess of 2.3 million views.
Plenty of candidates but only one answer for West Ham
Not all fans think the same of course.
But for West Ham there is surely only one correct answer to that question.
One thing is for sure, the club – unfortunately – has plenty of candidates for this particular poser.
West Ham fans will be dearly hoping new signing Niclas Fullkrug is not added to the list.
The big German striker arrived for £23.5m in the summer.
However, in keeping with West Ham’s ‘striker curse’ he has already missed more than half the club’s games through injury and has no set return date as yet.
A host of names from Hammers history kept cropping up in response to the big question.
We think there’s only one correct answer, though, as we run you through West Ham’s candidates for this hypothetical quandary.
Julian Dicks
Julian Dicks is a certified West Ham legend. He joined the club in 1988 and soon established himself as a tough-tackling left-back with a powerful left foot. Dicks’ physical presence, passion, aggressive tackling and ability to score goals made him a fan favourite in east London – to this day.
In two spells at West Ham, Dicks played 315 competitive games and scored 64 goals, many of them unstoppable and ferociously struck penalties.
But knee injuries limited that number over the years. He sustained his first serious knee injury at 22 and suffered on and off with them for the remainder of his career, retiring from top level football in the 1998/99 season aged 31.
Dicks may have achieved even more with West Ham had it not been for injuries. But he did so much and remains such a legend that we don’t think he necessarily needs any more games to add to his legacy.
Simon Webster
There were high hopes for defender Simon Webster when he joined the Hammers from Charlton in 1993.
But Webster broke his leg in two places in a tackle with Dicks in training within weeks of joining the Hammers.
Although he was able to play again, the Tottenham academy product chose to retire from the professional game in November 1995 and study physiotherapy. Once qualified, he came back to work for West Ham before going on to Gillingham.
Many feel Webster would have been a top class player and legend material as well as an England international.
But it’s hard to judge whether that would have been the case and so our answer is elsewhere.
Craig Bellamy
If there’s one striker who really could have been a West Ham great down the years it’s Craig Bellamy.
The firebrand Welshman, now manager of his national team, may not have been at West Ham that long.
But he left a real impression on the club and its fans during and since his time in east London.
Bellamy clearly gets West Ham and its supporters – who he has repeatedly lauded ‘the most knowledgeable of any he ever played for’.
The forward lit up games with his electric pace and was one of the most exciting forwards to come to West Ham for many years when he arrived in 2007.
Bellamy often defends the Hammers and ‘the West Ham way’ when it is ridiculed by journalists, rival fans and former managers – as you can see below.
He also insists to this day he never wanted to leave West Ham when he was sold to Man City for £14.5m after just two seasons with the club.
The Hammers were desperate for money at the time after the collapse of the Icelandic banking system run by then owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson.
Bellamy’s career was severely hampered by persistent injuries that restricted the amount of time he could train and play. Gianfranco Zola, who managed Bellamy at West Ham, once stated: “Injuries have been the downside of his career. The fragility he has got in the muscles has stopped him from being a higher player.”
On that basis alone he makes it into the conversation for this question. But given West Ham’s dire financial situation at the time it seems unlikely the club would have been able to hold on to Bellamy even if he was granted an injury-free career.
Manuel Lanzini
West Ham’s “jewel” Manuel Lanzini will already go down as a true Hammers hero in the history books.
The ridiculously talented Argentine midfield playmaker lit up the Boleyn Ground and London Stadium in eight years with the club.
Lanzini played 226 games scoring 32 goals for the Hammers.
But it could and should have been many more had it not been for a fateful and serious knee injury when he was away at the 2018 World Cup with Argentina.
Lanzini missed the World Cup and spent a long spell out. Most West Ham fans agree he was never quite the same afterwards.
Although there were still flashes of brilliance and some unforgettable goals – such as that screamer in the legendary 3-3 comeback draw at Spurs – Lanzini seemed to lose half a yard of pace and the acceleration which saw him glide past players.
Instead of being a difference maker week in, week out for West Ham, Lanzini transitioned into a useful squad player. He played an important part in West Ham’s run to Europa Conference League glory and is still playing over in Argentina for his boyhood club River Plate, much to the delight of Hammers fans.
There’s no doubt he could have done even more with the Irons had it not been for the knee injuries. But he achieved and showed enough not to be granted an injury-free career.
Jack Collison
When you look at how much midfielders who can do a bit of everything go for nowadays, it is frightening to think what Jack Collison might have been worth.
The West Ham Academy graduate is definitely one who is right in the mix for this question.
A brilliant midfield player who endured so much pain and heartache as he rose to prominence with West Ham.
A hugely popular player and character at the club, Collison played 89 minutes of a 2–1 defeat at home to Tottenham before learning his father had been killed in a motorcycle accident while travelling to watch the game at Upton Park.
Just two days later, Collison bravely started an infamous League Cup match against Millwall that went into extra-time and ended 3–1 to West Ham amid crowd violence inside and outside the ground. Collison left the pitch in tears and exhausted.
He would go on to suffer persistent knee injuries throughout his time with the club. Collison put himself through agonising pain to make some hugely important contributions to the club, including a brace away at Cardiff in a 2-0 Championship play-off semi-final victory which set up a 5-0 aggregate win and laid the foundation for West Ham’s return to the Premier League.
Collison was restricted to just 105 appearances for the Hammers over seven years due to injuries.
He tried to make a fist of his career elsewhere but eventually had to admit defeat in 2016 as he retired aged just 28.
Collison, who is still just 36-years-old, would undoubtedly have been one of West Ham’s midfield greats had he enjoyed an injury-free career.
He would be many fans’ pick for this question. But he just misses out in our opinion.
Alan Devonshire
Alan Devonshire is another certified West Ham legend.
The mesmeric midfielder played for West Ham for 14 years between 1976 and 1990. He was a skilful master of dribbling skills and precise passing.
Devonshire was an integral part of the West Ham team during some halcyon years.
‘Dev’ made a total of 358 appearances for West Ham and scored 32 goals in all competitions. He played under several different managers during his time at the club, including John Lyall, Lou Macari, and Billy Bonds.
Devonshire was part of the West Ham team that won the FA Cup in 1980 and reached the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1981. He was known for his tireless work ethic and his ability to create chances for his teammates. He was a player very much ahead of his time.
Often lauded by former teammates as the best they played with, Devonshire suffered with injuries throughout his career. Serious knee and Achilles injuries also stopped him becoming a great for England too.
But like with Dicks, Devonshire enjoyed a hugely successful career despite his injury woes. And he still amassed a fair number of games too. On that basis he doesn’t quite get the injury-free career pick.
Andy Carroll
Andy Carroll was hugely popular among West Ham fans for his full-blooded displays and undeniable commitment during his time with the club.
But his time at West Ham mirrored much of his career in that it was seriously blighted by injuries.
Across seven seasons from 2012 to 2019, Carroll played just 142 times for West Ham scoring only 34 goals.
That was an average of just 20 games per season and less than five goals for every campaign he played in the claret and blue.
So the fact he is so fondly remembered tells you everything about his commitment to the cause when he did play.
The big man still keeps a close check on his former team too.
Carroll has revealed he often returns to the London Stadium to watch his old club.
Carroll even famously followed the Hammers on European away days during their memorable adventures in recent seasons.
It should have been so many more appearances and goals for Carroll in east London. But a host of persistent injuries have dogged his career – which continues in the fourth tier of French football with Bordeaux.
Injuries did not only disrupt his time with West Ham, though. So while he is the pick for many of the younger generation of fans, Carroll isn’t the answer to this particular question.
Special mention: Dylan Tombides
It seems poignant that Dylan Tombides gets a special mention in this piece in the week a touching documentary focusing on his life, career and untimely death was released.
The Premier League Stories film tells the heart-breaking tale of of Australian striker Tombides, who was tipped to become a great for club and country.
Growing up in Perth, Western Australia, where he excelled for Perth Soccer Club and Stirling Lions, Tombides’ talent was spotted by the Hammers.
In 2009, aged 15, he joined the Academy of Football and his family relocated to east London. Under the guidance of legendary Academy Director Tony Carr, Tombides continued to develop and improve, scoring goals and showing real promise as a potential future first team star.
It was a random doping test carried out at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico in late June 2011 when Tombides world was turned upside down, though.
He was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
After three years battling the disease, Tombides passed away aged just 20 with his mother Tracy, father Jim and brother Taylor by his side.
West Ham will never know what the young forward would have gone on to achieve. But it says everything about the player and person that the DT38 Dylan Tombides Foundation is intrinsically linked to West Ham to this day.
Dean Ashton
Dean Ashton was adored by Hammers fans who hailed him the best striker they had seen in decades when he signed from Norwich City for a then record £6.5million back in 2006.
The forward was well on his way to West Ham greatness.
He helped the club reached that FA Cup final against Liverpool in 2006, scoring in it too.
But Ashton’s career was cruelly cut short as a result of the after-effects of a serious ankle injury sustained in a tackle from Shaun Wright-Phillips while training with England.
When Ashton was forced to retire aged just 26, it was a dark day for the player and everyone connected with West Ham.
Hammers fans still point to Ashton as proof the club is somehow cursed.
He was one of the finest emerging strikers in the country and West Ham had him for what proved to be the best years of his career.
Dubbed the ‘new Alan Shearer’ and the ‘new Teddy Sheringham’ Ashton really had all the makings of a top international striker.
Strong, powerful, good in the air, technically superb and with one of the most unerring finishing abilities since Robbie Fowler, the former Norwich City and Crewe man was a sight to behold when fully fit and firing.
So when it all ended far too early back on that fateful day December 11 2009 it was a bitter pill for not only Ashton but West Ham and England fans to swallow too.
There was to be some form of poetic justice at least and the 35,000 in attendance at Mark Noble’s testimonial were there to witness it.
Coming near the end of the club’s emotional farewell season at West Ham’s beloved Upton Park just made it all the more special.
As the ball looped up and Ashton – carrying slightly more bulk than his playing days as you might expect – arched back into the air time seemed to stand still for a moment.
As he connected with THAT overhead kick and sent it flying into the goal it was greeted with a roar usually reserved for goals in matches that carried a lot more significance than Noble’s enjoyable pat-on-the-back jolly up.
Ashton would have cemented his place as a true West Ham legend and would surely have set the club’s record for Premier League goals. There’s no doubt England greatness beckoned too.
Many feels feel a big money move to his boyhood club Man United may also have beckoned had he continued on his upward trajectory without injuries. But we’ll never know on that score.
And that is why Ashton is the only answer when it comes to picking a West Ham player to have an injury-free career.
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