Well, this one shouldn't take too long! When Curbishley bought Upson, I thought, "Oh no!" and all my fears were confirmed almost immediately. The guy was a physical wreck and, at his very best, had never been anything other than marginally above ordinary anyway. Like the signings of Downpipe and Quashie, this smacked of utter desperation (Yes, I admit that I thought Boa-Morte was a good signing at the time!). Remember Upson limping off after just 10 minutes against Tottenham? He was bought to help us avoid the drop and managed just 40 minutes of football that season, missing the whole of the Great Escape in the process. Finding Upson in a West Ham shirt was like trying to spot the director's cameo in a Hitchcock movie, and we lost both games that Upson appeared in anyway.
And then we went out and bought Dyer, Bellamy and Ljungberg, and the signing of Upson suddenly seemed to make sense. Curbishley wasn't building a football team but a Casualty ward, desperately trying to fill the beds to prevent closure of the BUPA ward in Newham General Hospital. Poor Beano needed company to keep up his spirits and Curbishley was the man to find him some friends. We only needed to sign Roy Figgis to set up a remake of Only When I Laugh! (Images of baggy eyed Curbishley in the Richard Wilson role exploding, "I do not believe it!")
Then there was the lump. No, not a lump on the leg or the testicles, something much worse, the "Upson lump", that long aimless thump up-field that characterised the Curbishley era. I imagine the dressing room before the game. Upson turns to Turds and asks, "One lump or two boss?"; Curbishley rubs his eyes and replies, "At least five, then after the first ten minutes we will review the plan." It was dire and, although he was looking superb as a defender, Upson was the "Lumper In Chief", the heavy artillery of Field Marshall Curbishley's "Over the top and Charge!!!!!!!!" idea of tactics.
But look at him now! Until the build up to the recent England games, an ever present in the Prem all season after starting 33 games last season. There are stories of witchcraft and Yellow Pages inserts to keep the guy fit, but credit where credit is due, he is the modern Lazarus. His defending is now excellent, so good in fact that at times I've wished that number 6 shirt hadn't been retired - Upson deserves to wear it. And with the arrival of Zola, so the lump has been retired. Now Upson feeds the ball to a midfielder and we play from the back.
Three goalless draws in one season at Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal is unheard of at West Ham. Tomkins, Neill and Collins have all looked top notch, no doubt enhanced by playing alongside Upson. As the senior partner of the centre backs he is the defensive captain of the team and, this season, he has done that job superbly. He is my choice as Hammer of the Year.
How good is Upson? He is our best centre back since Bobby Moore, so good that he would not disgrace that number 6 shirt. And I can't pay the guy a bigger compliment than that!
17 comments:
Gteat article! I have to say I completely forgot about when we first signed him... only because there is SUCH a difference. One of the Curbishley signings who we saw go out injured straight away. When he first came it was like - ok... another Championship signing. NOW - you can't even comprehend that it'd be Upson you were talking about. In my eyes he is one of the top defenders in the country... And by one of I mean top 3 (no doubt it's bias but I'd want him in my team over anyone). I also think he deserves to start every game for England but he's not got the fortune of playing for the top 4 / being named Terry or Ferdinand. (See: Frank Lampard). I genuinely think he deserves a place over Ferdinand. DEFINITELY candidate for Hammer of The Year. In fact, with Behrami and Cole now out I think it will be a 2 horse race between Upson and Parker. It's the Young HOTY that will stump us!! SO MANY!
Hi Hayden, thanks for looking in! I still rate Rio over Upson personally but he is a worthy understudy and, if he stays fit, will be in the World Cup 23. And if Dyer can get fit, he may join him. His pace has amazed me in the recent cameo appearances. I may have to eat my words about that signing too. I hope so!
Ledley King sh*ts on him from a very very great height!
No doubt that Ledley is a great centre half. Shame he hasn't got any cartilage in his knees.
well he has enough cartilage in his knees to be playing every week! upson would of been a back up for king if he stayed in the england squad! capello describes ledley as world class, funny ive never heard him say quite the same of upson!
I forgot to add - I miss Upson's beard.. BRING BACK UPSON'S BEARD.
Anon - he has to play 2 games a week to get through a full season. The "In, out, in, out, don't shake him all about" protection of King has done you no favours. The best back 4s have stability, all this chopping and changing comes with a price. You went out of the UEFA Cup because Redknapp couldn't risk King. He is no good for England because he would be too big an injury risk for a major tournament. That's why Capello is ignoring Owen. He has seen how our World Cup campaigns have been undermined by taking along partially fit players.
King is TECHNICALLY a great player because of his ability.... but I wouldn't call him a great player all round because of his condition. No fault of his own but you need someone who is (barring any unforeseen problems) going to be there week in, week out - more than once a week if needs must. I am actually shocked Curbishley didn't try to snap him up - damaged goods. Anon may think King's skill or ability would 'shit' upon Upson (very eloquently put - you do wonders for the image of Tottenham fans) but I, along with every single Premier League manager (I am CERTAIN) would rather have Upson in the squad because he is solid, consistent, reliable. All grudges aside, as an Englishman (assuming you are) you cannot argue with the fact that he is one of the best central defenders in the country.
Spot on Hayden! I would love to see King fully fit and in the England squad in South Africa, but I'd love Bobby Moore to be alive and in the stands to see us win it. Sadly, the one is as likely as the other!
Personally I dont think Upson is anywhere near Woodgate let alone King. Upson gets exposed for pace has a heavy first touch and is not as a calm on the ball as the likes of Rio , King and Woodgate. Upson is more on par with the likes of Dawson where you know exactly what your going to get from these types of players, 100% commitment, monsters in the air, put there head in front of a bus for the team and love a last ditch tackle or block and thats why they become fans favourites. Woodgate's anticipation levels, calmness under pressure and genuine class is the reason why he was picked up by the likes of Real Madrid and why he should certainly be ahead of Upson in the England setup.
A solid defender Upson maybe, but he's no Rolls Royce defender like the big boys
Hammersfan, what's the best way to contact you? My company is looking for the help of some prominent West Ham bloggers.
Thanks and keep up the good work.
Upson is indeed great. If he has a defensive weakness it's the occasional loss of concentration which does not happen often. During that run of shut-outs there was such an unusual intensity of concentration between Upson and Collins, Green as well, and while that little magic spell was happening it was hard to see anyone scoring on them.
Curbishley: thank god that waking nightmare is over. It was the first time in my forty five years as a Hammer supporter that it became clear that I'd much rather see them lose entertainingly than win on soccer like that. A disgrace. What more can you say about Curbishley (a decent man), than that he left Carlitos on the bench?
As for Upson wearing number 6, I also disagree. Until he has confidence enough to carry the ball calmly out of defense and become a distributor like Rio, never mind Moore (my memory of Bobby Moore is him pushing the ball upfield and pointing his arms out to each wing like a musical conductor shaping the phrase), then we'll have to be content with him as a merely superb defensive center back.
Upson is indeed great. If he has a defensive weakness it's the occasional loss of concentration which does not happen often. During that run of shut-outs there was such an unusual intensity of concentration between Upson and Collins, Green as well, and while that little magic spell was happening it was hard to see anyone scoring on them.
Curbishley: thank god that waking nightmare is over. It was the first time in my forty five years as a Hammer supporter that it became clear that I'd much rather see them lose entertainingly than win on soccer like that. A disgrace. What more can you say about Curbishley (a decent man), than that he left Carlitos on the bench?
As for Upson wearing number 6, I also disagree. Until he has confidence enough to carry the ball calmly out of defense and become a distributor like Rio, never mind Moore (my memory of Bobby Moore is him pushing the ball upfield and pointing his arms out to each wing like a musical conductor shaping the phrase), then we'll have to be content with him as a merely superb defensive center back.
Boggs, if ou would like to leave a link here, or an email address, or a phone number, I will make contact. I will also set up an email link on here this evening.
MM, not for one minute am I suggesting he is in the same league as Moore, just that he would not disgrace the shirt. I can imagine he would grow in it rather than shrink!
Upson is good, not great. We've had many better footballing centre halves over the years - Martin, Gale, Bilic, Rio and some others whose names esape me for the moment. Upson is very strong in the air but he can be bullied - viz Jones, Davies etc - in a way that say Terry can't. He also lacks pace, but he's lucky enough to be a smart footballer and can think his way out of trouble most times.
That said I think he's a really important player for us, solid, reliable and a committed tackler. He's very experienced now and a great organiser of a defence, he also poses a serious threat at set pieces. Mr Consistency, in fact. But our best since Bobby Moore? Nah.
Some good points DaDon. The Manchester United version of Rio is undoubtedly better than Upson, but he was raw when he was with us and prone to Anton like errors. Centre backs are like wine, they mature in the bottle. Personally, I rate Upson as better than Alvin. The Scouser was piratical in his approach and wore his heart on his sleeve but he was just below true international class. Upson has matured into a true international centre back. That term Mr Consistency is spot on, that's what we want from a centre back. Bilic or Upson? Tough call. I side with Upson.
There is no comparison between Rio and Upson. Ferdinand is world class, OK he was young and raw here, but he still was far superior to Upson. Wenger makes very few boobs and I think he was right to move Upson on as he does not have the desired quality for a top 4 team.
Lets face it this year, with the exception of the top 4 and maybe Villa the rest of the Premiership teams are average at best. This is typified in the position WHU, Wigan and Everton find themselves now. Next season I expect more from Man City, Spurs and Newcastle if they survive.
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