Sir Geoff Hurst has reacted with bemusement to the comments
attributed to Paul Ince where he is quoted as saying he was
'probably the best player to come out of the club...since Bobby
Moore.'
Sir Geoff, currently on a nationwide tour to promote his book '1966 And All That', when told of the story, said:
"Paul Ince has said he was?"
After taking in the somewhat far fetched notion, he adds:
"I guess you can imagine that is the sort of thing Paul Ince would say about himself; if that is what he feels, then fine.
"I think Paul Ince is also calling himself the Guv'nor but that is terminology he has put on himself.
"I would find it very hard to compare anyone in the 35 years I have been playing for and watching West Ham with one of the greats of all time."
Turning his attention to matters on the field, he adds that he shares Glenn Roeder's concern about the lack of goals so far this season:
"I think towards the back end of last year you could see a little trend that we were finding it a bit difficult to score goals, so that trend does need to be reversed - but that is stating the obvious.
"Part of the problem is that one of the main strikers, Kanoute, has not really played.
"A hamstring is never a good injury to have; as we know from young Michael Owen, it takes a long time for a player's confidence to come back from that type of injury.
"So we hope he gets fit as soon as possible and gets us on the goal trail.
"Up in Middlesbrough we played two strikers who are not used to playing up front; Don Hutchison comes from the midfield and plays off the front two.
"Particularly in such an important area of the field, to have two main people not playing is going to make it difficult to get results."
But he will be at Upton Park for only the second home game of the season on Saturday with renewed optimism, and he adds:
"I shall be there as usual and looking forward to what is a big fixture - we need to get back on track.
"But, as Middlesbrough have shown, one win soon turns the tide and I would expect us to get back on course very shortly."
Sir Geoff is under no illusions about the task ahead and adds:
"I think it was always going to be a tough season and I said so in the summer.
"We have got players injured such as Kanoute and David James, who I thought was a good buy.
"And Frank Lampard has gone, who got the goals from midfield, so it is a tricky time for the club - but I am sure things will turn around."
* Sir Geoff is signing copies of his book on Tuesday at Waterstones in Leadenhall market, EC1 between 12:30 and 1:30, and at Hammicks in Walthamstow between 5:00 and 6:30.
Sir Geoff, currently on a nationwide tour to promote his book '1966 And All That', when told of the story, said:
"Paul Ince has said he was?"
After taking in the somewhat far fetched notion, he adds:
"I guess you can imagine that is the sort of thing Paul Ince would say about himself; if that is what he feels, then fine.
"I think Paul Ince is also calling himself the Guv'nor but that is terminology he has put on himself.
"I would find it very hard to compare anyone in the 35 years I have been playing for and watching West Ham with one of the greats of all time."
Turning his attention to matters on the field, he adds that he shares Glenn Roeder's concern about the lack of goals so far this season:
"I think towards the back end of last year you could see a little trend that we were finding it a bit difficult to score goals, so that trend does need to be reversed - but that is stating the obvious.
"Part of the problem is that one of the main strikers, Kanoute, has not really played.
"A hamstring is never a good injury to have; as we know from young Michael Owen, it takes a long time for a player's confidence to come back from that type of injury.
"So we hope he gets fit as soon as possible and gets us on the goal trail.
"Up in Middlesbrough we played two strikers who are not used to playing up front; Don Hutchison comes from the midfield and plays off the front two.
"Particularly in such an important area of the field, to have two main people not playing is going to make it difficult to get results."
But he will be at Upton Park for only the second home game of the season on Saturday with renewed optimism, and he adds:
"I shall be there as usual and looking forward to what is a big fixture - we need to get back on track.
"But, as Middlesbrough have shown, one win soon turns the tide and I would expect us to get back on course very shortly."
Sir Geoff is under no illusions about the task ahead and adds:
"I think it was always going to be a tough season and I said so in the summer.
"We have got players injured such as Kanoute and David James, who I thought was a good buy.
"And Frank Lampard has gone, who got the goals from midfield, so it is a tricky time for the club - but I am sure things will turn around."
* Sir Geoff is signing copies of his book on Tuesday at Waterstones in Leadenhall market, EC1 between 12:30 and 1:30, and at Hammicks in Walthamstow between 5:00 and 6:30.