West Ham United
Curbishley returns to his native east London
West Ham United have experienced a real rollercoaster ride over the last decade.
From the exciting if unpredictable Redknapp era, to relegation meltdown and a heartbreaking yard sale under Glenn Roeder and finally redemption under Alan Pardew, their supporters have seen it all.
Ageing foreign stars on big wages and exciting youngsters, desperate battles at the bottom of the league and European football, following the Hammers is rarely dull.
During the highs and the lows, the Academy of Football has been a production line of young talent. England's Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick and Joe Cole are all recent graduates of the West Ham youth team.
Over the years, as they have gone, faithful supporters have sucked up rising ticket prices despite the fact that many of them come from one of the poorest communities in the country, all the while demanding that their team play entertaining and expansive football.
That commitment has come at the expense of genuine success. It has been almost three decades since West Ham won a major trophy and for a club with such a solid fan base, they have spent too many years outside of the top flight or fighting to stay in it.
Pardew has succeeded in returning the club to the Premiership after a golden generation of players somehow delivered relegation rather than the step up many Boleyn regulars expected.
The challenge now will be building on last season, holding on to a new crop of young players and avoiding becoming another Ipswich Town.
Facts
Formed: 1895 (as Thames Iron Works, renamed West Ham United in 1900)
Home: Upton Park (The Boleyn), capacity: 35,500
Nickname: The Hammers or The Irons
Adult 2006/07 season ticket prices: A band one adult season ticket costs £795
Pedigree
FA Cup winners: 3 - 1980, 1975 and 1964
European Cup Winners' Cup winners: 1 - 1965
People
Chairman: Terrance Brown
Managing director: Paul Aldridge
Head coach: Alan Pardew
Assistant coach: Peter Grant
Team captain: Nigel Reo-Coker
Last season
Premiership: 9th – P 38 W 16 D 7 L 15 GF 52 GA 55 GD -3 PTS 55
FA Cup: Runners-up
League Cup: Third Round
Major summer ins
Tyrone Mears – from Preston North End - £1 million
Carlton Cole – from Chelsea – £2 million
Lee Bowyer - from Newcastle United - Undisclosed
Jonathan Spector - from Manchester United - £500,000
John Pantsil - from Hapoel Tel Aviv - £1 million
George McCartney - from Sunderland - £600,000 plus player exch.
Robert Green - from Norwich - £2 million
Carlos Tevez - from Corinthians – undisclosed
Javier Mascherano - from Corinthians – undisclosed
Marek Stech - from Sparta Prague – undisclosed fee
Major summer outs
Shaka Hislop - to FC Dallas - Undisclosed
Elliott Ward - to Coventry City - £1 million
Yaniv Katan - to Maccabi Haifa - season loan
Carl Fletcher - to Crystal Palace - £400,000
Clive Clarke - to Sunderland - player exch.
Mark Noble - to Ipswich Town - three-month loan
Unheralded stars
Bobby Zamora and Danny Gabbidon
The likes of Anton Ferdinand and Marlon Harewood claimed all the column inches last season but Hammers fans will not forget the parts played by Zamora and Gabbidon.
Despite making more than half of his 42 appearances from the bench, Zamora bagged ten goals and proved to be an outstanding team player.
Running the channels, holding up the ball and helping the team close games down, he was selfless, intelligent and hard working. As a life-long fan, Zamora plays with his heart on his sleeve and regular visitors to the Boleyn will know what a valuable squad player he has become.
Gabbidon, meanwhile, formed an excellent partnership with Anton Ferdinand, providing the defence with electric pace and a cool head under pressure.
He may have been guilty at times of lapses in concentration, but the back four never looked quite as solid without him.
Conceding fewer goals will be important if West Ham are to consolidate next season and a lot of that will depend on how well Gabbidon can marshal his defence.
Starlets
Mark Noble and Kyel Reid
West Ham fans wanted the midfield strengthened over the summer and many remain dubious about whether the signing of Lee Bowyer has done the job.
The answer might though – and not for the first time – come from the youth team. The Hammers have in the past been guilty of over-hyping young players who have never made it, but Noble and Reid, both 19, will be hoping not to add their names to the list.
Noble, the more experienced of the pair, has been impressive in pre-season friendlies and with his pace, tenacity and eye for a pass could offer Pardew an alternative to the more functional Hayden Mullens.
Reid has played regularly in the reserves and recently won a call-up to the England under-19s.
He made an impressive first team debut in the 1-0 win over West Brom at the end of last season and while he will struggle to dislodge Matthew Etherington from the starting line-up, he could certainly become a reliable understudy down the left.
Predictions
League position: 10th.
This season is all about consolidation. A top ten finish and an FA Cup final appearance were more than most fans could have hoped for in their first season back in the Premiership. West Ham now have the distraction of European football and apart from the forward line, lack quality replacements for their key players, all of whom avoided long-term injury last season. Add to that the old adage about the opposition knowing what to expect and the Hammers are unlikely to improve on ninth place.
Top scorer: Dean Ashton.
Pardew raised a few eyebrows when he convinced the board to break the club transfer record last season in order to prise Ashton away from Norwich City. After scoring five goals in his first seven games, the 23-year-old succeeded in taking the pressure off himself and his manager. He provides West Ham with an immense physical presence as well as some clever touches. Even during an eight-game baron spell towards the end of last season Ashton made valuable contributions to the team, winning headers, holding the ball up and helping the likes of Harewood, Reo-Coker and Yossi Benayoun to join the attack. Note also that he was never 100 per cent fit during his three months at Upton Park and £7 million might look like a bargain by Christmas. If he can avoid the niggling injuries and trim down a little, Ashton has the quality not only to hit double figures in the Premiership, but also to give Steve McClaren cause for a visit or two to East London.
Player most likely to rock the boat: Lee Bowyer.
Made the move to Upton Park from Newcastle in June but if his track record is anything to go by, it won't be too long before he's on the road again. A decent midfielder who has all too often allowed his aggressive, troublemaking nature to overshadow his footballing talents. Few will ever forget his astonishing on-pitch brawl with Keiron Dyer but his list of criminal misdemeanours doesn't stop there. If anyone can control his short fuse it could be Pardew but the Hammers boss will have to be on 24-hour alert to prevent any explosions.
Adam Barber.