HERE we look back at how West Ham United's stars have made an
impact at international level.
Scotland
West Ham United may have been more synonymous with the three lions
of England over the years, but there were a number of north of the
boarder Hammers stars, that have played at the highest level as
well.
Hammers first Scotland cap didn't come until 1959, courtesy of John Dick, and it proved to be the solo international appearance for the Govan born striker. Johnny scored an immense 166 goals from 351 games at West Ham, over a nine-year period, and lays fourth in the overall chart. Despite this phenomenal record, he couldn't force his way into the Scotland team, and they were beaten 1-0 by England in his only match.
Since then, the number of tartan Hammers has increased steadily. Christian Dailly has earned 36 of his 59 caps at Upton Park, and was the first Scottish Hammer to make it into the SFA hall of fame. He is also only one of two, to have played in World Cup finals, although he was at Derby/Blackburn at the time.
Dailly made his debut in May 1997, a 1-0 loss against Wales, and in fact only had nine caps before playing in France 98. The defender appeared in all three matches.
The West Ham club captain has also lead out the national side 11 times, every one whilst at Upton Park, and has scored five international goals. His first came against Malta in only his second game.
Dailly appeared in both Euro 2000 playoff's against England, nearly forcing extra time with a bullet header at Wembley, and also played in Scotland's famous 1-0 win over Holland in the Euro 2004 playoff.
That match at Hampden Park proved to be the final international appearance for another of West Ham's Caledonian collection.
Don Hutchinson won 10 caps during his second spell at Upton Park
and has won
26 in total, scoring six goals. His first came wearing an unusual
Salmon away strip against Germany, and proved to be the only goal
at Dortmund.
His most famous strike however, came in the final clash of the Auld Enemy at Wembley. Don headed home Neil McCann's cross in the first half to earn Scotland a 1-0 win, although the tartan army went out 2-1 on aggregate. Rio Ferdinand, Trevor Sinclair and Teddy Sheringham were all in the England squad.
Hutch made his debut in 1999, during a 2-1 defeat to the Czech Republic, and scored his final goal versus San Marino in 2000.
Two of West Ham's most legendary names from a wonderful period also hail from Scotland, but the amount of international caps the pair received hardly reflects their form or ability shown at Upton Park.
Ray Stewart won 10 caps, making his debut against Wales in May 1981. Tonka struck 84 times for West Ham, but only managed the one for his country. Like Dailly and Hutchinson, Stewart scored on his second appearance - against Northern Ireland in a 2-0 win.
Ray played against England on one occasion, and was also on the winning side at Wembley. John Robertson scored to give the Scots a 1-0 victory.
Frank McAvennie went one better than the previous three, scoring on his debut for the national side, in a 2-0 win over Australia, in the 1986 World Cup playoffs.
The striker was an unknown quantity when he arrived from St Mirren, but after 12 goals in 11 games for the Hammers he was rewarded with a call up by care-taker boss Alex Ferguson. Davie Cooper scored with a free kick in the 58th, and two minutes later Super Mac brilliantly chipped the Aussie keeper to make it 2-0, and virtually secure Scotland's place in Mexico.
The return leg on December, 4 1985, was a dour 0-0 in Melbourne, and caused him to miss Hammers clash with West Brom. He was back however, from his 12,000 mile flight just 24 hours before an away trip to QPR. Insisting to play, McAvennie scored a 77th minute winner, and declared. "Was I tired? Nah I'm used to it. Anyway, I had three hours sleep the day before."
Frank went on to make two sub appearances in the finals, against West Germany and Denmark.
Also in the Scotland squad out in Australia was David Speedie, who made a cameo appearance in West Ham's push for promotion in 1993. Despite a shaky start, he ended up netting four Hammers goals, including one on the final day victory over Cambridge United. He won 10 caps in total, but never scored for his country.
Hammers second in command Peter Grant, has made more Old Firm Derby appearances than any other player, but was rewarded with only two international call-ups. Granty played with Speedie in a 2-0 win over Chile in the Rous Cup in 1989, and made his debut three days earlier in a 2-0 home defeat to England.
Lou Macari may have only had a brief stay as West Ham manager, but he was a regular in the national side during his playing days, earning 24 caps. He made his debut in May, 1972 against Wales and scored five goals.
Malky Mackay was 32 when he made his Scotland debut and only won five caps, playing in only one competitive fixture, against Slovenia. His only match as a Hammer, was abandoned due to extensive rain and a power failure. Scotland were drawing 1-1 with Spain at the time, having lead through James McFadden.
A popular goalkeeper of the early 60's, Lawrie Leslie
already had five caps before joining the Hammers, playing alongside
legends Dennis Law, Jim Baxter, Dave Mackay and Billy McNeill. He
didn't earn anymore while at Upton Park, but had done
remarkably well to reach that level of football having been told he
would never walk again after being run over by a truck as a child.
Republic of Ireland
Clive Clarke accounts for the only current Republic of Ireland
international at West Ham earning his first cap against Jamaica in
2004. They have been however, in plentiful supply at Upton Park
throughout the clubs history.
None more prominent than the legendary Noel Cantwell, who sadly
passed away this year.
Noel was an attacking full back with immense skill who appeared for the Republic on 36 occasions, 17 whilst with the Hammers. He was signed in 1952 from Cork United and featured prominently for West Ham over the next eight years, captaining the 1958 promotion charge.
As well as captaining the Hammers, Noel lead out Eire many times, and once an established first division player, transferred to Manchester United for a record fee. At Old Trafford he captained their 1963 Cup winning team, and was also player manager of Ireland towards the end of his career.
He was not the only Republic of Ireland hero to grace the Boleyn. Surely Eire's greatest ever talent, Liam Brady, moved the West Ham after leaving Arsenal for Italy.
Brady was already an established international when he arrived, and his total of 72 caps puts him 7th in the all time list, of which he lead for many years before being beaten by Pat Bonner in 1994.
He won his final 11 whilst with the Hammers, the last coming in his testimonial against Finland in 1990 - he made his debut versus the USSR 16-years earlier.
Unfortunately for Liam he missed Ireland's European and World Cup campaigns in 1988 and 1990 due to injury, but left the Hammers with a stunning goal against Wolves.
A man who did go to Italia 90 was left back Chris Hughton, who
was already an experienced international when he arrived at West
Ham. He played well for the Hammers, and was an ever present in the
1991 promotion season. Chris won
53 caps in all, only two at West Ham, versus Chile and Turkey. He
also spent time recently with the Republic of Ireland coaching
staff under Brian Kerr.
The Hammers first Ireland international was centre half Charlie
Turner, who was also an experienced international before coming to
Upton Park in 1937.
He went on to earn five caps at West Ham just before the start of
the Second World War.
Just after the war, West Ham had a considerable contingent of
Irishman.
Tommy Moroney was still an amateur when he was signed by Charlie
Paynter, in 1947. He won 12 Ireland caps, making his debut versus
Spain a year later, and his final came against France in 1953.
Moroney was replaced at Cork by Frank O' Farrell, who later followed him to Upton Park. Frank made 210 appearances for the Hammers over six years, and won seven international caps, making his debut in 1953 against Austria.
Frank later went into football management, and was in charge of Manchester United from 1972 to 1973 - Former Hammer Malcolm Musgrove was appointed as his chief scout.
International goalkeeper, Noel Dwyer had a mixed bag of fortunes during his time with West Ham. He was courageous, but incredibly inconsistent, and a subject to a match fixing scandal during his spell in 1960.
West Ham lost 5-3 at home to Newcastle and the majority of the blame was aimed at Dwyer. To ignite the rumours, bookmakers had taken a considerable amount of money on the result, but nothing was ever proven - Dwyer never played for the Hammers again.
Despite this, he won four international caps whilst at West Ham.
Fred Kearns was another post-war Irishman that earned a solitary cap. He was a full back that switched to centre forward before transferring to Norwich.
David Kelly also only won a single Ireland cap at Upton Park, but was a regular international throughout his career. 'Ned' scored a hat-trick on his debut for the Republic against Israel in November 1987, and came on as a substitute versus Norway in the 1994 World Cup.
He had a torrid time at the Boleyn, eventually being replaced by Northern Irishman Jimmy Quinn, but he was capped against Tunisia in 1989.
Gary Breen was another Irish Hammer, whose spell in East London was far from pleasant.
Again established in the Ireland team, Breen arrived in 2002, just after the World Cup in Japan, in which he scored against Saudi Arabia. Hammers were relegated during his only year, and he didn't feature at all towards the more successful back end of the season. Breen is still a regular in a green shirt now at Sunderland with 62 caps and seven goals.
As Breen left, so another Irishman born in England arrived at
West Ham.
David Connolly was rather unknown, but caused a stir immediately
when he was left out of the opening day fixture - he did come on to
score the winner however, and bagged 14 goals in total for the
Hammers. He has 41 caps and has netted nine times for Ireland.
Breen now plays regularly alongside Matt Holland fir the Irish, who was released by West Ham as a young player, but made it in the game with Bournemouth, Ipswich and Charlton.
The final Irishman in the Hammers collection is a rather strange
entrant.
Born in Glasgow, he qualified by family association, and starred
for Ireland in USA 94, scoring a sensational strike against Italy.
He is sixth in the all time Ireland appearances chart with 73 caps,
and made his debut against Wales in 1988, which was also Jack
Charlton's first managerial outing.
Although far better known in the claret and blue of Aston Villa,
Ray Houghton made one appearance as a substitute for West Ham, at
Highbury in May 1982. His half an hour on the pitch stands as a
record for the least amount of playing time ever at West Ham
United.
Wales
THERE is a distinct hint of the valleys around
Upton Park these days. In fact West Ham United can account for four
of the current Welsh senior squad, more than any other club bar
Cardiff City.
The Hammers have amongst their ranks, two ex-Bluebirds in Danny Gabbidon and James Collins, and the pair have clearly impressed in the red, as well as the claret and blue. Danny currently holds the title of Welsh Player of the Year, and his team-mate and compatriot is the Young Player of the Year for the second season running.
The links to the Principality date much further back than that however. West Ham United's first ever international player was in fact Welsh.
Bill Jones was a halfback who played for the Hammers on 15 occasions. He won four caps in total, two whilst at West Ham, against England and Scotland in 1902. It is believed that he was killed in action in 1918.
Other historical figures from the land of our fathers are Dick Richards and Wilf James. Dick played for the Hammers from 1922-24. Along with the six England internationals, the wing forward also played in the famous White Horse Cup Final team, taking the total to seven.
He played on the right for West Ham, to accommodate Jimmy Ruffell, and his natural left side for Wales, such was his versatility. He won all three of the matches he played in whilst at Upton Park, beating England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and winning the Home Nations Championship.
Wilf James earned two caps at West Ham in 1931 and 1932, both against Northern Ireland.
Probably the most famous Welsh Hammer of all, however, was the Welsh Wizard Phil Woosnam. An amazing player for West Ham, he was extremely influential in the 1958 promotion side, and has gone down as a legend due to his fantastic attacking abilities and footballing brain. Phil won 14 caps at Upton Park during four years.
Woosie eventually moved to the United States where he coached in Atlanta before becoming commissioner of the League. It is widely believed that he is more responsibly the any other individual for the rise of Soccer in the USA.
Back in the 21st century - James Collins has won 10 senior caps
for Wales, despite still being eligible for the Under-21s. He only
made his debut in
2004 during a 0-0 draw with Norway, starting alongside
Gabbidon.
Since moving to Upton Park, Collins has made four appearances for Wales, and only three for the Hammers, earning his first in the Premiership as a substitute at Anfield.
Danny Gabbidon has taken the Premiership by storm since his transfer to London, and surprised many, but it will have come as no shock to those who follow the Dragons. He has been a regular stalwart at the back for his country since making his debut in a 0-0 draw with the Czech Republic, in March 2002.
Danny has 24 caps, and was not on the losing side for Wales until August 2003. Since joining the Hammers he has won five, most recently against Cyprus in a friendly with Collins and Carl Fletcher.
Fletch made his Welsh debut in a 4-0 victory over Scotland, in which Christian Dailly was the Scots captain. He has earned 13 caps since, and established himself into the centre of the midfield, in the absence of Robbie Savage.
Fletch joined Danny in the team that faced England at the Millennium Stadium this season. James Collins came on as a sub.
The other current Hammer to have won international recognition is Gavin Williams, who arrived from Yeovil last season. Williams has been included in most of the recent Welsh squads, but only has one cap to his name so far - which came in a friendly draw with Slovenia.
That also proved to be a significant milestone for ex-Hammer John Hartson, who was awarded the national captaincy for the first time that night.
Hartson was a great servant to West Ham, during his three years at the Boleyn, and has been a fantastic player for the Welsh as well. With 51 caps and 14 goals he is eighth in the all time scoring charts.
John has been regularly leading the line for Wales in recent years, but in fact made his debut back in 1995, before even coming West Ham. He scored three goals in the World Cup campaign, nearly notching against England with a bullet header, and bagged four goals in the Dragons Euro 2004 qualification campaign, which helped them all the way to the playoffs. Also playing in the two leg defeat to Russia was Gabbidon, and Andy Melville.
Andy is 10th in the all time Wales appearance tables with 65 international caps and three goals. The centre half has been representing his country since 1989, making his debut against West Germany. Towards the end of his service, he partnered Gabbidon at the back.
Melville joined West Ham from Fulham in 2003, and appeared at the Millennium Stadium against Crystal Palace in the first Playoff Final. He was due to play against England at Old Trafford in 2004, but withdrew just before kick-off with an injury.
Another Welsh defender, Mark Bowen, had a brief spell with the
Hammers in 1995. Mark won 41 caps and played in both Melville and
Hartson's debuts.
Mark also spent many years coach the national side with Mark Hughes
after retirement.
The man who gave Hartson his Welsh debut was none other than
ex-West Ham striker Bobby Gould, who managed the national side from
1995-99.
Northern Ireland
THERE have not been so many Hammers to hail from
Ulster as the other home nations or the Republic. In fact, the
first Northern Irish international to be capped at West Ham was
Bertie Lutton, in 1973 - 71 years since the very first
international.
He was signed from Brighton, but had previously played at Wolves, where he won the first two of his six caps. The other four came at Upton Park against Cyprus, Scotland, Wales and Portugal. Bertie made only 13 appearances for West Ham and scored once against Derby County.
Roy Carroll can hold claim to the current representative of Northern Ireland with 17 caps. He has to share his duties with Birmingham's Maik Taylor, and thus hasn't been capped yet at Upton Park. His last Ulster outing was a 1-0 defeat to Canada in February 2005. Roy made his debut way back in 1997 in a 0-0 draw with Thailand.
The most famous of recent years however, must be Hammers and Northern Irelands long term captain Steve Lomas.
Steve was born in Germany but made his Northern Ireland debut in 1994. He won 45 caps and scored three goals. Steve spent seven years at West Ham, leading the side out on many occasions. He made 227 appearances for the Hammers scoring 13 goals.
The beginning of Lomas' West Ham career proved to be the end of another legend Northern Irish football. Iain Dowie made his national team debut in 1990, and went on to earn 59 caps, and score 12 goals.
He was first capped at Luton before signing for his boyhood team West Ham, and won another two caps at Upton Park, against Yugoslavia and the Faeroes, before moving on to Southampton.
Dowie returned to the Hammers in 1995 an established international after a spell at Crystal Palace, where he now manages. He played for Ulster throughout and finally retired in 2001.
At the Boleyn Dowie scored only four goals in his first spell, although he netted three times in successive games against Swindon, Newcastle and Blackburn. During his second period he did rather better appearing in 83 matches between 1995 and 1998.
Jimmy Quinn played alongside Dowie for Northern Ireland and for the Hammers during his first period in 1991.
Quinn was rather more prolific for the Hammers, scoring 22 goals from 56 appearances in between 1989 and 91, including six in the promotion campaign in his final year. He was a latecomer to the game, only signing professionally with Swindon aged 22. Jimmy made his Northern Ireland debut whilst playing for Blackburn, versus Israel in October 1984. He went on to amass 46 caps and score 12 international goals.
Two left sided players that represented West Ham in the mid 1990's also played for the country at the highest level during that period.
Michael Hughes was initially signed on loan by Harry Redknapp in 1995 in a bid to avoid relegation. West Ham eventually made it to safety with a game to spare, after beating Liverpool 3-0 in the penultimate match. That left just the visit of Manchester United on that memorable afternoon, where they just needed a win to hold on to the Premiership title.
Hughes scored in the first half to give West Ham a shock lead, and after a McClair equaliser, Hammers held on to win the league for Blackburn. He eventually signed permanently and spent three years at the Boleyn.
Hughes won 66 caps and scored five goals for Northern Ireland.
He scored for Northern Ireland in a 1-1 draw with Portugal in 1995, in which Iain Dowie, Steve Lomas and Keith Rowland were all playing.
Keith signed for West Ham in 1993 and has the honour of being one of the first 11 players to have appeared for West Ham in the Premiership, making his debut at home to Wimbledon on August 14th, 1993, on the opening day. He also made his international debut a month later against Latvia.
Keith was in and out of the Hammers side but always put in a 100% performance. He made 91 appearances during his five year spell, scored only one goal against Newcastle at St James Park.
Kevin Horlock spent a season with the Hammers as a trainee, and then came back for a season as an experienced pro in 2003. He made 27 appearances and has 32 international caps.
Grant McCann, now playing in League Two with Cheltenham, has won nine caps for his country, most recently in the 1-1 draw with Portugal on November 15, 2005. Grant only made four sub appearances for the Hammers. His final one coming in a 7-1 defeat at Saturday's opponents Blackburn in which he scored a bizarre own-goal.