MY ACCOUNT
West Ham have rarely been far from the headlines in the Premier League era — for both good and bad reasons.
And while the East Londoners have not typically challenged for silverware, they have enjoyed their fair share of entertainers, enigmas and heroes down the years.
So which Hammers have made the biggest impact on the Premier League?
LiveScore remembers five of West Ham’s best players from the past 30 years.
Mark Noble
It is hard to think of a player more associated with West Ham than Mark Noble.
East London-born, Noble made 414 Premier League outings for his boyhood club, appearing in a total of 550 games.
Noble, 35, is joint-second on West Ham’s all-time top scorers list in the competition with 47 strikes — a remarkable achievement for a central midfielder.
He retired at the end of last season and manager David Moyes was full of praise for the Irons icon.
He said: “If you’re a West Ham supporter, you should be incredibly proud of what Mark Noble has done throughout his career for the club.
“Mark’s always conducted himself incredibly well. I can only tell you that, in the time I’ve had with him, he’s been a great ambassador for the club.
“He speaks incredibly highly about West Ham and has sorted out so many small bits when it’s been needed.”
Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio is remembered as much for his controversial moments as his spectacular goals — and the Italian entertained the Premier League with both during his spell at West Ham.
Only Michail Antonio has scored more Premier League goals for the club than Di Canio’s 47, accumulated between 1999 and 2003.
The Roman attacker helped West Ham to their highest-ever finish in the competition — fifth in his first campaign — while his stunning volley against Wimbledon in March 2000 earned him the BBC Goal of the Season award.
He also won a FIFA Fair Play Award while at Upton Park in recognition of his sportsmanship, after catching the ball when Everton stopper Paul Gerrard was injured on the edge of the box in December 2000.
A maverick and a true one-off.
Carlos Tevez
He only made 26 Premier League appearances as a Hammer but Carlos Tevez’s impact at Upton Park was enormous.
A shock signing on the final day of the 2006 summer transfer window, the tenacious forward joined along with fellow Argentine international Javier Mascherano.
Unlike Mascherano, Tevez forced his way into Alan Pardew’s side — but it took until March to score his first West Ham goal and he only bagged seven in total.
However, the Buenos Aires native saved the best until last, scoring most memorably at Manchester United on the final day of the season to keep the Hammers up at Sheffield United’s expense.
Michail Antonio
West Ham have enjoyed some of their best top-flight campaigns in recent years — and Antonio has played a major part in that success.
The converted winger has emerged as a talisman for the East Londoners, leading the line with aplomb and netting 56 league goals across seven seasons.
That total makes him the Irons’ all-time Premier League top scorer, after he broke Di Canio’s record with a brace against Leicester last August.
A powerful presence up front who continues to scale new heights despite frequent injury issues, the 32-year-old has been at the forefront of West Ham’s significant progress under Moyes’ management.
Julian Dicks
Voted Hammer of the Year four times between 1990 and 1997, Julian Dicks’ Premier League career with West Ham only comprised five seasons.
But Dicks — nicknamed ‘The Terminator’ — remained no less popular upon his return to Upton Park, following a season-long stint at Liverpool in 1993-94.
A hard-as-nails left-back with a ferocious temper to match his left foot, Dicks was a reliable penalty and free-kick taker who chalked up 24 Premier League goals for the East Londoners.
England honours eluded Dicks, who returned to West Ham in 2014 as manager of West Ham Ladies. A year later, he joined former team-mate Slaven Bilic’s staff as first-team coach at the club.
