West Ham United F.C. Reserves and Academy
The West Ham United Academy is recognised as one of the most successful academies in modern football, hence its nickname the Academy of Football.[1] The introduction of the FA's new Academy system in 1998 has placed even more emphasis on the developing of young homegrown players and today the youth system at West Ham is more important than it has ever been.[2] With the influx of many foreign players in the Premier League during modern times, West Ham United has been regarded as one of the few remaining clubs in top flight to continue producing and playing homegrown English players.
The Academy has notably produced England internationals Bobby Moore, Sir Trevor Brooking, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Kieran Richardson, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson.[3][4] Ferdinand and Lampard were part of the squad that lost the final of the 1996 FA Youth Cup while Cole and Carrick were part of the successful team in the 1999 campaign. Most recent graduates include first team regulars former England U-21 captain Mark Noble, Wales international Jack Collison and England U-21 internationals James Tomkins, Junior Stanislas and Zavon Hines.[5]
Development squad
The West Ham United Reserves competed in the Premier Reserve League South until relegation from the Premier League. The side is now classed as a development squad coached by Steve Potts. Friendly games were usually played at Chadwell Heath and other clubs training grounds.
Since the 2012–13 season, the team have played in the Professional Development League for players under the age of 21 and a restricted number of over age players.[6] Home games will be played at Rush Green and the Boleyn Ground.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserves
The West Ham United Reserves Team was founded in 1899 as Thames Ironworks Reserves and they changed their name to West Ham Reserves in 1900. They joined London League Division One in the season 1899-00. In 2007-08 they were FA Premier Reserve League Southern Division runners-up on goal difference.[7]
'A' team
Between 1948 and 1956 West Ham entered an 'A' team into the Eastern Counties League.[8] In 1952 they also began playing in the Metropolitan League. After leaving the ECL they remained in the Metropolitan League, winning the League Cup in 1957–58 and the Professional Cup in 1959–60, 1966–67 and 1968–69. They left the league when it merged into the Metropolitan London League in 1971, and instead entered a youth team into the South East Counties League, which they won in 1984–85, 1995–96 and 1997–98, before leaving when the FA Academy system was set up in 1998.[8]
Academy
see main article the Academy of Football
The West Ham Under-18s play in the Premier Academy League Group A. Home games are staged at Little Heath, Hainault Road in Romford, Essex. Tony Carr, a former West Ham player himself, was the youth academy director from 1973 to 2014.[9] They have won the U-19 title twice in 1998–99 and 1999-00, when the Academy League was split into the U-17s and U-21s.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Academy graduates (1958–present)
- Academy graduates who still play for West Ham United, including those that are currently out on loan to other clubs, are highlighted in blue.
- Updated 25 October 2016
Player | Current Club | Born | International Honours | Debut | Manager |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Died 24 Feb. 1993 (51 years) | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 17 v Manchester United, 8 Sep. 1958 | Ted Fenton |
![]() | Died 18 Apr. 2006 (66 years) | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 19 v Arsenal, 6 Apr. 1959 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 18 v Nottingham Forest, 27 Feb. 1960 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 18 v Cardiff City, 20 Apr. 1962 | Ron Greenwood |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | England U19 | Age 18 v Manchester City, 23 Aug. 1965 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 18 v Burnley, 29 Aug. 1967 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 19 v Manchester City, 18 Nov. 1967 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 18 v Ipswich Town, 27 Aug. 1973 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | England U21 | Age 17 v Newcastle United, 11 Oct. 1975 | John Lyall |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 19 v Birmingham City, 6 Mar. 1976 | ||
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 20 v Queens Park Rangers, 27 Oct. 1976 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 19 v Norwich City, 20 Aug. 1977 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 19 v Aston Villa, 18 Mar. 1978 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 19 v Luton Town, 9 Apr. 1979 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 20 v Wrexham, 28 Apr. 1979 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 18 v Cardiff City, 11 May 1979 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 18 v Chelsea, 20 Aug. 1979 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | England U21 | Age 17 v Southend United, 25 Sep. 1979 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 17 v Southend United, 8 Oct. 1979 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 17 v ![]() | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 19 v Coventry City, 17 Apr. 1982 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Full Ireland Caps | Age 20 v Arsenal, 1 May 1982 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | England U21 | Age 18 v Notts County, 18 Dec. 1982 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 17 v Tottenham Hotspur, 1 Jan. 1983 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 19 v Coventry City, 4 Sep. 1984 | ||
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 17 v Queens Park Rangers, 1 Jan. 1985 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 21 v Liverpool, 20 May 1985 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 20 v Liverpool, 20 May 1985 | ||
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 19 v Liverpool, 6 Sep. 1986 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 19 v Newcastle United, 30 Nov. 1986 | |
![]() | Died 20 Jun. 2016 (48 years) | ![]() | Ireland U21 | Age 19 v Manchester City, 9 May 1987 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | England B | Age 18 v Derby County, 3 Oct. 1987 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 19 v Hull City, 20 Jan. 1990 | Lou Macari | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 21 v Wolverhampton Wanderers, 15 Sep. 1990 | Billy Bonds | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 19 v Hull City, 6 Oct. 1990 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 19 v Watford, 12 Jan. 1991 | ||
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 20 v Bristol Rovers, 2 Sep. 1992 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 21 v Manchester City, 12 Feb. 1994 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 20 v Arsenal, 30 Apr. 1994 | ||
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 17 v Coventry City, 31 Jan. 1996 | Harry Redknapp |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 17 v Sheffield Wednesday, 5 May 1996 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 19 v Leeds United, 1 Mar. 1997 | ||
![]() | Retired | ![]() | England C | Age 18 v Sheffield Wednesday, 3 May 1997 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Age 19 v Tottenham Hotspur, 17 Jan. 1998 | ||
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 17 v Swansea City, 2 Jan. 1999 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Full Australia Caps | Age 20 v Leeds United, 1 May 1999 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 17 v ![]() | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Full Saint Kitts and Nevis Caps | Age 18 v Coventry City, 25 Sep. 1999 | |
![]() | Retired | ![]() | Ireland U21 | Age 18 v Newcastle United, 3 Jan. 2000 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 17 v Walsall, 19 Sep. 2000 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Full Northern Ireland Caps | Age 21 v Middlesbrough, 19 May 2001 | Glenn Roeder |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Full Australia Caps | Age 20 v Reading, 11 Sep. 2001 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Full England Caps | Age 18 v Charlton Athletic, 22 Jan. 2003 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | England U21 | Age 18 v Preston North End, 9 Aug. 2003 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 16 v Sunderland, 13 Dec. 2003 | Alan Pardew | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Australia U23 | Age 19 v Crewe Alexandra, 21 Aug. 2004 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | England U21 | Age 17 v Southend United, 23 Aug. 2004 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 20 v Reading, 12 Mar. 2005 | ||
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 18 v Sheffield Wednesday, 20 Sep. 2005 | ||
![]() | Free Agent | ![]() | England U19 | Age 17 v Sheffield Wednesday, 20 Sep. 2005 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | England U19 | Age 18 v West Bromwich Albion, 1 May 2006 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Full Wales Caps | Age 19 v Arsenal, 1 Jan. 2008 | Alan Curbishley |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | England U21 | Age 18 v Blackburn Rovers, 15 Mar. 2008 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Great Britain Olympic | Age 18 v Everton, 22 Mar. 2008 | |
![]() | Free Agent | ![]() | England U21 | Age 19 v Macclesfield Town, 27 Aug. 2008 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | England U21 | Age 19 v West Bromwich Albion, 16 Mar. 2009 | Gianfranco Zola |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 18 v Blackburn Rovers, 21 Mar. 2009 | ||
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 19 v Arsenal, 3 Jan. 2010 | ||
![]() | Free Agent | ![]() | England U21 | Age 19 v Manchester City, 9 May 2010 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 19 v Aldershot Town, 24 Aug. 2011 | Sam Allardyce | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | England U20 | Age 17 v Barnsley, 17 Dec. 2011 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | England U19 | Age 18 v Derby County, 31 Dec. 2011 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | England U18 | Age 18 v Crewe Alexandra, 28 Aug. 2012 | |
![]() | Died 18 Apr. 2014 (20 years) | ![]() | Australia U23 | Age 18 v Wigan Athletic, 25 Sep. 2012 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 19 v Manchester United, 16 Jan. 2013 | ||
![]() | Free Agent | ![]() | England U19 | Age 18 v Cheltenham Town, 27 Aug. 2013 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 20 v Burnley, 29 Oct. 2013 | ||
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | United States U23 | Age 21 v Nottingham Forest, 5 Jan. 2014 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | England U18 | Age 20 v Nottingham Forest, 5 Jan. 2014 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 21 v Nottingham Forest, 5 Jan. 2014 | ||
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Age 19 v Nottingham Forest, 5 Jan. 2014 | ||
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | England U20 | Age 17 v Nottingham Forest, 5 Jan. 2014 | |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | England U20 | Age 16 v ![]() |
Slaven Bilić |
References
- ↑ West Ham, USL develop partnership USL Soccer
- ↑ West Ham United Academy – History West Ham United FC
- ↑ "Carr's kids on biggest stage". whufc.com. 20 May 2008.
- ↑ "Hammers' stars of the future shine". Waltham Forest Guardian. 9 April 2009.
- ↑ Smyth, Rob (21 September 2009). "Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend". London: The Guardian.
- ↑ Official West Ham site http://www.whufc.com/articles/20120611/hendon-gearing-up-for-new-season_2236884_2806196
- ↑ "West Ham United Reserves". FCHD.info. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
- 1 2 Blakeman, M (2010) The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935-2010, Volume II ISBN 978-1-908037-02-2
- ↑ Who's who West Ham United FC