On this day: 14 January

Anniversary

Marc Keller
Date of birth: 14 January 1968
Clubs: Mulhouse, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers

Capped six times by France with one goal, Marc Keller was a classy contributor during his time at the Boleyn Ground.

Harry Redknapp snapped the wing-back up on a free transfer from German Bundesliga club Karlsrushe in July 1998.

Comfortable on either flank, Keller was an attacking-minded player with a habit of scoring great goals. Perhaps his big break came when he scored the only goal of the game for his country against England in the Tournoi De France in June 1997, which came in the summer between two successful season with Karlrushe.

His form there was enough to persuade Redknapp to bring Keller in to supplement his existing wide men - Andy Impey and Stan Lazaridis. His attacking play soon caught the eye and he established himself in the United starting XI. He made 22 apearances in the 1998/99 season and scored five goals in the process, including one against Middlesbrough on the last day of the campaign in a 4-0 home win.

Keller played less often the season after, being used mainly in the League and FA Cups, before making his final appearance for the Hammers in a League Cup game at Walsall in September 2000. He was then loaned to Portsmouth the following month, where he made three appearances, before moving to Blackburn on a free transfer in January 2001.

After playing, Keller became director of football at former club RC Strasbourg, leading them into the UEFA Cup in 2005.

Other anniversaries

Clive Clarke (1980)

Classic match

Aston Villa 1-2 West Ham United
Premier League
14 January 2006

A crowd of 36,700 fans were at Aston Villa's Villa Park home as West Ham United ended a run of three straight defeats. The omens were not good to begin with, though, as Lee Hendrie headed Villa in front from Jlloyd Samuel's cross. Alan Pardew's men rallied after the break and drew level when Bobby Zamora headed in Paul Konchesky's free-kick six minutes after the restart.

On the hour mark, referee Phil Dowd ruled that Mark Delaney had blocked Hayden Mullins' shot with his arm in the area and Marlon Harewood stepped up to send Thomas Sorensen the wrong way from the penalty spot. The result completed a fine double for the east Londoners over Villa that season, following the 4-0 win at the Boleyn Ground in September.