Archivist: The West Ham hit factory, 1971
Upton Park, October 1971: (left to right) West Ham United’s Geoff Hurst (what a top top figure of a man he was, exuding the easy confidence you’d expect of a man who banged three past the Germans in a World Cup final), Harry Redknapp, Clyde Best, Trevor Brooking, Bryan Robson, Ronnie Boyce and Johnny Ayris line up on the terraces at the Boleyn.
Notes
Hurst, Redknapp, Best and Brooking we know about. But what of The Other Three At The Back?
Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson, Top Trump staple and a bantamweight striker with a mustard eye for goal, who had two decent spells at West Ham. In 1971 he became the Irons’ record signing at £120,000. He scored on his debut and continued to bang them in during a three-season stint at the club. He re-signed for West Ham in 1976, from Sunderland (his home town), staying for another three years before a second move to Sunderland. In his two spells at West Ham, Robson made 254 appearances and scored 104 goals. His club career is remarkable because he yo-yoed unerringly between his native north-east and London, playing multiple times for four different clubs:
- Newcastle United
- Chelsea
- West Ham United
- Sunderland
- West Ham United
- Sunderland
- Carlisle United
- Chelsea
- Sunderland
- Carlisle United
Ronnie Boyce also had a remarkable career, but it was the polar opposite to Robson’s. Where Pop flitted from club to club, up and down the A1 like a bride’s nightie, East Ham-born Boyce spent all of his 14-year playing career at West Ham, and is still adored by fans old enough to have watched him. Known as ‘Ticker’ (what a lovely nickname) for his exemplary work rate, Boyce never strayed from east London. He coached at West Ham under John Lyall and Billy Bonds. He also caretaker-managed the club for one match, in February 1990, sandwiched between the departure of Lou Macari and the arrival of Bonds.
Johnny Ayris was 18 when this picture was taken. Unlike Robson and Boyce, he failed to crack West Ham’s first team on regular terms. He made 68 appearances in all competitions for the club, before moving to Wimbledon in 1977 (the year that the Dons made it to the Football League).
