The Claret and Blue Book of West Ham United


Book Description

The Claret and Blue Book of West Ham United is packed with fascinating facts, figures, trivia, stats, stories, and anecdotes all relating to the history of West Ham United. From memorable matches and favorite sons, the book follows no set order, chronological or otherwise, but has plenty to keep any fanatic coming back for more--and is fully endorsed by the club.




For The Claret & Blue


Book Description

Two or three of them came over and asked what team I was ...they followed me at a distance and when I looked across the platform I saw the other lads from the train getting a good kicking. I felt uneasy and was obviously next on their list for a hiding. I could not bottle it. I had to front it and act as normal as possible...You don't choose West Ham - it chooses you. Following West Ham United is not about how many pieces of silverware the team can win. For true fans, it's a lifelong, sometimes agonising passion. In 1964, when footballing legend Bobby Moore held the FA cup aloft for West Ham, Micky Smith was in the crowd, experiencing the unique thrill of seeing his club emerge victorious. In 1967, when Manchester United came to the East End, Micky witnessed the birth of the football hooligan. This is the gripping, inside account of run-ins with the police, rivalry between firms and events such as Heysel that changed the face of football as we know it today.In this unique memoir, the co-author of the bestselling Want Some Aggro? recalls tales from his life as a Hammers fan and draws on the experiences of other dedicated fans to produce a unique memoir recalling the violent days when the notorious InterCity Firm ruled the terraces




The Official West Ham United Annual 2022


Book Description

Welcome to the Official West Ham United Annual 2022! Packed full of exclusive features, interviews and photographs, the Official West Ham United Annual 2022 is the perfect companion for any soccer fan. The Annual is crammed with exciting, interesting and unique features and photographs from inside the Club you love. As the Hammers enjoy another exciting season in the Premier League, the Official West Ham United Annual 2022 is the perfect companion for fans of all ages. Inside, you can find out more about your heroes in Claret and Blue, the Hammers' iconic London Stadium and meet some all-time greats and future stars. With all this, plus much, much more, the Official West Ham United Annual is a must-read for all Hammers supporters! IMAGE OF 2021 ANNUAL FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES




Claret and Blue Blood


Book Description

From the World Cup-winning days of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters to highly acclaimed modern-day heroes such as Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe, West Ham United supporters have always had the greatest affection for homegrown Hammers. Since the 1960s, talents such as Trevor Brooking, Tony Cottee, Paul Ince and Rio Ferdinand (who has twice hit the headlines as the world's most expensive defender following his move to Leeds and Manchester United) have been nurtured and brought through the club's ranks, ensuring the Hammers can rightly lay claim to having one of the country's most fruitful youth policies. In this revised and fully updated paperback edition, Claret and Blue Blood brings together all these characters and others for the very first time, including new chapters on Anton Ferdinand, Stephen Bywater and Kevin Horlock. Using exclusive new interviews, the authors present biographical pieces that collectively tell the story of West Ham United's evolution over the last half-century. Focusing on each player's roots, development and personal achievements, Claret and Blue Blood is a unique book that features key characters, candid conversations, successes, failures and controversies as it explores the very essence of West Ham United.




West Ham United on This Day


Book Description

West Ham United On This Day chronicles, in diary form, the major events in the club’s history. With individual entries for every day, and multiple listings for more historic and busier days, the book includes all the club's big matches, promotions, cup runs, significant events, and sensational signings.




Boys of '86


Book Description

The highlights have been few and far between for West Ham United's long-suffering fans over the years: three FA Cup wins, a European Cup-Winners' Cup victory, various other cup runs that failed on the verge of success and, of course, the enjoyment of watching great players such as Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, and Trevor Brooking. Throughout the 47 seasons the East London club has spent in the top flight of English football, the prospect of challenging for the League Championship title has been little more than a pipe dream, with the exception of one season: 1985-86. Little did he know it at the time, but manager John Lyall's summer purchases of young unknown Scottish striker Frank McAvennie from St Mirren and diminutive winger Mark Ward from Oldham Athletic were the final pieces in a jigsaw that fell into place spectacularly to provide West Ham fans with a campaign they would never forget. On the final Saturday of the season, the Hammers faced West Bromwich Albion still holding genuine hopes of finishing as League Champions. With Liverpool playing at Chelsea that day, Lyall's men knew that if they beat the Baggies and the Blues triumphed at Stamford Bridge, they only needed a victory against Everton two days later to secure their first-ever league title. Despite victory at the Hawthorns, though, news filtered through that Liverpool player-manager Kenny Dalglish had hit a winner against Chelsea to ensure that the Reds couldn't be caught. Eighteen years on, this book reflects in detail on the one and only season in which the claret-and-blue army were really able to chant "We're gonna win the league." This volume includes exclusive interviews with the management and players who recount exclusive stories and anecdotes from this record-breaking season.




An Irrational Hatred of Luton


Book Description

Somewhere in a parallel universe there is another Robert Banks, who is a season ticket holder at Manchester United and is a highly successful novel writer and adored by everyone in the world, regardless of footballing, religious or racial denomination. But is he happy? You bet the hell he is. But Robert Banks is not that man. Since childhood, he has been obsessed with West Ham United Football Club. A team of persistent and historical under-achievers. After all, the only thing West Ham ever brought home was the 1966 World Cup, but that doesn't count, apparently. Laugh out loud funny, and almost devastatingly poignant, AN IRRATIONAL HATRED OF LUTON is an odyssey through the world of a committed football supporter. A real-life Fever Pitch, and with a Hornby-esque deftness of tone, Banks' book shows how intricately in the life of a true fan, football interconnects with the everyday. Banks' friendships, relationships, work, emotions of joy and despair all take place against a backdrop of claret and blue. Then Saturday comes and he watches his team get thumped again. A compelling and hilarious journey into the nature of obsession.




Home of the Hammers


Book Description




Mr Moon Has Left the Stadium


Book Description

JEREMY NICHOLAS is West Ham United's stadium announcer. A supporter since the age of six, Jeremy's blood runs claret and blue. In the summer of 1998, after decades in the stands, he became the voice of his club - announcing the players, the substitutions, the trials and tribulations, and best of all the goals. Over the years he's established himself as one of the best announcers in the business, combining information with a gentle humour that make visits to the Boleyn Ground that bit more special. Mr Moon Has Left the Stadium is the hilarious tale of one man's obsession with football and doing things the right way. Part love story, part autobiography, part nostalgia, it will make you laugh and cry. It also answers the all-important question - who is Mr Moon?




Golden Len Goulden


Book Description

This is a biography of one of West Ham United's greatest ever players, and the history of the club during his time in claret and blue. During those dozen years, Len Goulden had a glittering career, and became an England star. He scored the final goal in the defeat of Germany in May 1938; the game being made infamous by the England players being obliged to give the Hitler salute prior to the kickoff. West Ham goal-keeping legend Ernie Gregory, who watched Goulden from the stands of Upton Park before signing for the club in 1936 claimed that: "We've had some great forwards over the years at West Ham but Len was the greatest--the daddy of them all. He was the one I paid my money to see... I can still see Len now--controlling the ball, he killed it instantly... Len was the tops." 'Golden Len Goulden' plucks from history a player who ranks with the best ever to wear the hammers over his heart.