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.

No. Position Player 25 DF Doneil Henry 32 DF Reece Burke 35 DF Reece Oxford 37 DF Lewis Page 39 MF Josh Cullen 41 DF Sam Westley 42 MF Martin Samuelsen 45 DF Kyle Knoyle 52 MF Marcus Browne 53 MF Matt Carter 55 MF Grady Diangana 56 MF Ross Elsom 57 FW Jahmal Hector-Ingram 58 GK Sam Howes 60 MF Moses Makasi 61 MF Nathan Mavila 62 DF Amos Nasha

No. Position Player 63 DF Vashon Neufville 64 FW Djair Parfitt-Williams 65 DF Josh Pask 66 DF Alex Pike 67 MF Joe Powell 68 MF Declan Rice 69 MF Anthony Scully 70 DF Tunji Akinola DF Jake Eggleton GK Clarke Bogard GK Rihards Matrevics FW Jaanai Gordon DF George Dobson MF Noha Sylvestre FW Sam Ford MF Dan Kemp

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.

No. Position Player GK Sam Howes GK Clarke Bogard GK Tyler Forde GK Rihards Matrevics DF Vashon Neufville DF Tunji Akinola DF Josh Pask DF Abdoulahi Diallo DF Ben Wells DF Mason Barrett DF Jake Eggleton MF Noha Sylvestre

No. Position Player MF Grady Diangana MF Ross Elsom MF Malyk Hamilton MF Marcus Browne MF Matt Carter MF Joe Powell MF Declan Rice MF Anthony Scully FW Korrey Henry FW Idris Kanu FW Yiannis Constantinou FW Jahmal Hector-Ingram

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
Bobby Moore	Died 24 Feb. 1993 (51 years)	Barking	Full England Caps	Age 17 v Manchester United, 8 Sep. 1958	Ted Fenton
John Lyall	Died 18 Apr. 2006 (66 years)	Ilford	Full England Caps	Age 19 v Arsenal, 6 Apr. 1959
Geoff Hurst	Retired	Ashton-under-Lyne	Full England Caps	Age 18 v Nottingham Forest, 27 Feb. 1960
Martin Peters	Retired	Plaistow	Full England Caps	Age 18 v Cardiff City, 20 Apr. 1962	Ron Greenwood
Harry Redknapp	Retired	London	England U19	Age 18 v Manchester City, 23 Aug. 1965
Trevor Brooking	Retired	Barking	Full England Caps	Age 18 v Burnley, 29 Aug. 1967
Frank Lampard Sr.	Retired	East Ham	Full England Caps	Age 19 v Manchester City, 18 Nov. 1967
Mervyn Day	Retired	Chelmsford		Age 18 v Ipswich Town, 27 Aug. 1973
Alan Curbishley	Retired	Forest Gate	England U21	Age 17 v Newcastle United, 11 Oct. 1975	John Lyall
Geoff Pike	Retired	London		Age 19 v Birmingham City, 6 Mar. 1976
Alan Devonshire	Maidenhead United (Manager)	Park Royal	Full England Caps	Age 20 v Queens Park Rangers, 27 Oct. 1976
Paul Brush	Retired	Plaistow		Age 19 v Norwich City, 20 Aug. 1977
Alvin Martin	Retired	Liverpool	Full England Caps	Age 19 v Aston Villa, 18 Mar. 1978
Nicky Morgan	Retired	East Ham		Age 19 v Luton Town, 9 Apr. 1979
Billy Lansdowne	Retired	Epping		Age 20 v Wrexham, 28 Apr. 1979
Phil Brignull	Retired	Stratford		Age 18 v Cardiff City, 11 May 1979
Dale Banton	Retired	London		Age 18 v Chelsea, 20 Aug. 1979
Paul Allen	Retired	Aveley	England U21	Age 17 v Southend United, 25 Sep. 1979
Mark Smith	Retired	West Ham		Age 17 v Southend United, 8 Oct. 1979
Bobby Barnes	Retired	Kingston upon Thames		Age 17 v Castilla, 17 Sep. 1980
Everald La Ronde	Retired	East Ham		Age 19 v Coventry City, 17 Apr. 1982
Ray Houghton	Retired	Glasgow	Full Ireland Caps	Age 20 v Arsenal, 1 May 1982
Alan Dickens	Retired	Plaistow	England U21	Age 18 v Notts County, 18 Dec. 1982
Tony Cottee	Retired	London	Full England Caps	Age 17 v Tottenham Hotspur, 1 Jan. 1983
Greg Campbell	Retired	Portsmouth		Age 19 v Coventry City, 4 Sep. 1984
Steve Potts	West Ham United U21 (Coach)	Hartford		Age 17 v Queens Park Rangers, 1 Jan. 1985
Keith McPherson	Retired	London		Age 21 v Liverpool, 20 May 1985
George Parris	Retired	Barking		Age 20 v Liverpool, 20 May 1985
Kevin Keen	Crystal Palace (Assistant Coach)	Amersham		Age 19 v Liverpool, 6 Sep. 1986
Paul Ince	Retired	London	Full England Caps	Age 19 v Newcastle United, 30 Nov. 1986
Eamonn Dolan	Died 20 Jun. 2016 (48 years)	Galway	Ireland U21	Age 19 v Manchester City, 9 May 1987
Stuart Slater	Retired	Sudbury	England B	Age 18 v Derby County, 3 Oct. 1987
Paul Kelly	Retired	London		Age 19 v Hull City, 20 Jan. 1990	Lou Macari
Simon Livett	Retired	London		Age 21 v Wolverhampton Wanderers, 15 Sep. 1990	Billy Bonds
Matthew Rush	Retired	London		Age 19 v Hull City, 6 Oct. 1990
Simon Clarke	Retired	Chelmsford		Age 19 v Watford, 12 Jan. 1991
Steve Banks	Bradford City (goalkeeping coach)	London		Age 20 v Bristol Rovers, 2 Sep. 1992
Paul Marquis	Retired	London		Age 21 v Manchester City, 12 Feb. 1994
Danny Williamson	Retired	London		Age 20 v Arsenal, 30 Apr. 1994
Frank Lampard	New York City	London	Full England Caps	Age 17 v Coventry City, 31 Jan. 1996	Harry Redknapp
Rio Ferdinand	Retired	London	Full England Caps	Age 17 v Sheffield Wednesday, 5 May 1996
Emmanuel Omoyinmi	Retired			Age 19 v Leeds United, 1 Mar. 1997
Lee Boylan	Retired	Witham	England C	Age 18 v Sheffield Wednesday, 3 May 1997
Lee Hodges	Retired	London		Age 19 v Tottenham Hotspur, 17 Jan. 1998
Joe Cole	Tampa Bay Rowdies	London	Full England Caps	Age 17 v Swansea City, 2 Jan. 1999
Chris Coyne	Bayswater City (Manager)	Brisbane	Full Australia Caps	Age 20 v Leeds United, 1 May 1999
Michael Carrick	Manchester United	Wallsend	Full England Caps	Age 17 v Jokerit, 24 Jul. 1999
Adam Newton	Retired	Grays	Full Saint Kitts and Nevis Caps	Age 18 v Coventry City, 25 Sep. 1999
Shaun Byrne	Retired	Taplow	Ireland U21	Age 18 v Newcastle United, 3 Jan. 2000
Jermain Defoe	Sunderland	London	Full England Caps	Age 17 v Walsall, 19 Sep. 2000
Grant McCann	Peterborough United (Manager)	Belfast	Full Northern Ireland Caps	Age 21 v Middlesbrough, 19 May 2001	Glenn Roeder
Richard Garcia	Perth Glory	Perth	Full Australia Caps	Age 20 v Reading, 11 Sep. 2001
Glen Johnson	Stoke City	London	Full England Caps	Age 18 v Charlton Athletic, 22 Jan. 2003
Anton Ferdinand	Southend United	London	England U21	Age 18 v Preston North End, 9 Aug. 2003
Chris Cohen	Nottingham Forest	Norwich		Age 16 v Sunderland, 13 Dec. 2003	Alan Pardew
Trent McClenahan	Rockdale City Suns	Chipping Norton	Australia U23	Age 19 v Crewe Alexandra, 21 Aug. 2004
Mark Noble	West Ham United	London	England U21	Age 17 v Southend United, 23 Aug. 2004
Elliott Ward	Blackburn Rovers	London		Age 20 v Reading, 12 Mar. 2005
Tony Stokes	Concord Rangers	London		Age 18 v Sheffield Wednesday, 20 Sep. 2005
Hogan Ephraim	Free Agent	London	England U19	Age 17 v Sheffield Wednesday, 20 Sep. 2005
Kyel Reid	Coventry City	London	England U19	Age 18 v West Bromwich Albion, 1 May 2006
Jack Collison	Peterborough United U18 (Manager)	Watford	Full Wales Caps	Age 19 v Arsenal, 1 Jan. 2008	Alan Curbishley
Freddie Sears	Ipswich Town	London	England U21	Age 18 v Blackburn Rovers, 15 Mar. 2008
James Tomkins	Crystal Palace	Basildon	Great Britain Olympic	Age 18 v Everton, 22 Mar. 2008
Zavon Hines	Free Agent	Kingston	England U21	Age 19 v Macclesfield Town, 27 Aug. 2008
Junior Stanislas	Bournemouth	London	England U21	Age 19 v West Bromwich Albion, 16 Mar. 2009	Gianfranco Zola
Josh Payne	Crawley Town	Basingstoke		Age 18 v Blackburn Rovers, 21 Mar. 2009
Anthony Edgar	Woking	London		Age 19 v Arsenal, 3 Jan. 2010
Jordan Spence	Free Agent	London	England U21	Age 19 v Manchester City, 9 May 2010
Callum McNaughton	Hampton & Richmond Borough	Harlow		Age 19 v Aldershot Town, 24 Aug. 2011	Sam Allardyce
Dan Potts	Luton town	London	England U20	Age 17 v Barnsley, 17 Dec. 2011
Robert Hall	Oxford United	Aylesbury	England U19	Age 18 v Derby County, 31 Dec. 2011
Matthias Fanimo	Margate	London	England U18	Age 18 v Crewe Alexandra, 28 Aug. 2012
Dylan Tombides	Died 18 Apr. 2014 (20 years)	Perth	Australia U23	Age 18 v Wigan Athletic, 25 Sep. 2012
Elliot Lee	Barnsley	Durham		Age 19 v Manchester United, 16 Jan. 2013
Leo Chambers	Free Agent	London	England U19	Age 18 v Cheltenham Town, 27 Aug. 2013
Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu	Luton Town	London		Age 20 v Burnley, 29 Oct. 2013
Sebastian Lletget	LA Galaxy	San Francisco	United States U23	Age 21 v Nottingham Forest, 5 Jan. 2014
George Moncur	Peterborough United (on loan from Barnsley)	Swindon	England U18	Age 20 v Nottingham Forest, 5 Jan. 2014
Callum Driver	Maidstone United	London		Age 21 v Nottingham Forest, 5 Jan. 2014
Blair Turgott	Bromley	London		Age 19 v Nottingham Forest, 5 Jan. 2014
Reece Burke	Wigan Athletic (on loan from West Ham United)	London	England U20	Age 17 v Nottingham Forest, 5 Jan. 2014
Reece Oxford	West Ham United	London	England U20	Age 16 v Lusitanos, 2 Jul. 2015	Slaven Bilić

References

1. West Ham, USL develop partnership USL Soccer
2. West Ham United Academy – History West Ham United FC
3. "Carr's kids on biggest stage". whufc.com. 20 May 2008.
4. "Hammers' stars of the future shine". Waltham Forest Guardian. 9 April 2009.
5. Smyth, Rob (21 September 2009). "Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend". London: The Guardian.
6. Official West Ham site http://www.whufc.com/articles/20120611/hendon-gearing-up-for-new-season_2236884_2806196
7. "West Ham United Reserves". FCHD.info. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
8. Blakeman, M (2010) The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935-2010, Volume II ISBN 978-1-908037-02-2
9. Who's who West Ham United FC