West Ham's Greatest Ever Players Numbers 1-3

Ok, I can only base this on those I have seen since 1969, but I thought it might be interesting to give a view on who have been our best players over the last 40 years in rank order. This, of course, will be highly personal and subjective but it gives you guys the opportunity to challenge my opinion and put forward counter arguments. What are the criteria? Obviously quality of performance and games played must be a factor, but many will make a case for Tevez to be "in the top 10" despite a limited contribution, both in terms of games played and overall effectiveness. We won nothing with Tevez in the team and a case could be made to suggest that his arrival undermined team morale and led to all our problems in the first place whilst what has followed has, of course, been a disaster. But to many, like Di Canio, he is a West Ham god.

How can you compare a striker with a keeper many will argue. Well we all feel comfortable rating every player out of ten on a game by game basis so any comparison is against a measure of perfection for a player in that position. As an example, if Moore is the best defender ever but Parkes is only the 20th best keeper ever, then Moore must figure above Parkes in the list. Make sense?

The idea is to work through the list, ranking over the next 18 months every player who has worn the Claret and Blue since 1969. This will test my memory in some cases because certain players have filtered their way out of my braincells. To qualify, a player has to have represented the first team so, I think, that stops Joey Beauchamp figuring at the bottom of the pile doesn't it?

What's the point? A bit of fun and, maybe, it will help younger fans to get a handle on players who they may have heard of but never seen. Yes the game has changed so comparisons are a bit unfair but what the hell - if you disagree, argue the toss!

The top 5 or so are unlikely to be too controversial, although there may be some dispute over the order of greatness.

1. Bobby Moore

Surely not much explanation needed here! Moore played in a total of 646 games for the Hammers (one as a sub), scoring 27 goals, and set a record of 108 caps for England in the days before mass rotation of substitutes and a multitude of meaningless friendlies and qualifiers against the likes of The Former Republic of Burton Upon Trent. Anybody who saw that seminal battle of Moore and Banks against Brazil in the 1970 World Cup will be able to testify to the sheer genius that was Bobby Moore. A defender who supposedly never tackled, a defender who was supposedly short of pace and a defender who couldn't apparently head for toffee, Moore was, nevertheless, one of the greatest the game has ever seen. Pele, Maradonna, Cruyff, Beckenbaur, Mooore, Zidane, Banks - he really does merit a place in such exalted company.

Why was he so good? Because he read the game better than anybody. A great striker knows instinctively where the ball will drop in the box and Moore was the defensive equivalent, able to second guess a pass and pick up the pieces before it ever got to the intended recipient; but it was his passing that really set him apart. Hoddle, Gascoigne, Waddle, Brooking, Currie...they could all deliver fantastic passes over half the length of the pitch but, believe me, none were better than Bobby. Who can forget the way he would release Hurst as he burst into the box or hit a ball into the stride of Brooking? Add to that his inspirational qualities as a captain alied to his humility and he really was both a great player and a great man.

I met Bobby and will never forget his immense charm and decency. I wept as an 11 year old when he was arrested in Bogotta, fearing he would never play again, and our 75 triumph in the FA Cup lost some of its sheen for me because the great Bobby Moore was on the losing team. I was at Upton Park to see him stop a game against Wolves by blowing the whistle after he had knocked the referee out with a header and was in the crowd paying my respect for his memorial game, also against Wolves. He will never ever be topped in my opinion because he is the ultimate West Ham legend, the man who captained England to victory in the World Cup.

2 Geoff Hurst

The clue to why Hurst is my number 2 lies in the last sentence of the Moore piece. Yes many will argue the case for Brooking or Bonds or even Di Canio, but, at the end of the day, it was Hurst who scored that immortal hat trick against West Germany. He did what nobody else has done, scored three goals in a World Cup Final, and he did it as a West Ham player. I have seen many dark days over the years but, to all our detractors and gloating Cockyfool fans, I have always been able to reply, "But West Ham won the World Cup for England". Hurst's three goal have been gold dust for me over the years!

How good was he in truth? Well 24 goals in 49 England games show that he was not a one game wonder but also point to the fact that his England career was not as long as some might imagine. His 249 club goals in 501 starts (he also came on once as a sub) point to a class striker operating at a goal every two games throughout his career, despite starting life as a wing back. Hurst was strong in the air, solid in the challenge, hungry in front of goal - and he couldn't half leather a ball when he saw the whites of a keeper's eyes. And Banks apart, keepers dived out of the way of his penalties for fear of breaking a wrist! Banks, however, did get in the way of one in the semifinal of the League Cup and, as a result, we missed out on the final. Even the gods are flawed I discovered to my horror!

Not as talented as Shearer, Hurst was, nevertheless a damn effective striker and merits his place in second place in the list of Claret and Blue immortals.

3 Billy Bonds

Just to prove my inconsistency, my third greatest Hammer is an Englishman who was never once capped by England. For me, this was a huge injustice. Bonds may have lacked a little in class but he more than made up for that in heart, stamina, power and influence. Had he been selected for England, Billy would have more than held his own for as long as the referee allowed the rampaging pirate to stay on the pitch! Billy started 791 games for West Ham (with another 13 as a sub) and scored 61 goals. No other player will ever top that appearance record!

Playing at right back, in midfield or at centre half, Bonds was always in the thick of the action. With socks rolled down, he dared opponents to bruise his shins, but few were mad enough to take him up on the invitation. I was at Southampton to see Galbraith grab Billy by the bollocks and I will never forget the chase that ensued, with the Scot running for dear life as an enraged Bonds gave chase, with the rest of the West Ham team running after him like the keystone kops! Bonds, Paddon and Brooking were my favourite ever West Ham midfield, two piratical captains and a gentleman officer in glorious league together. Brooking had more class and caps, Peters was a World Cup winner, but Bonds, despite starting at Charlton, was West Ham through and through. He is my Immortal Number Three!