With the high turnover of players it’s very easy to lose track of those players who wore the claret and blue in the past. Here are 3 examples of our heroes who moved on from West Ham and perhaps out of our consciousness:
Nigel Reo-Coker 2004-2007
Signed from Wimbledon in January 2004, Reo-Coker was one of the most promising English midfielders of his generation.
Widely recognised for his leadership qualities Reo-Coker established himself in the side that lost out to Crystal Palace in the 2004 Play-off final. Despite the side being full of more experienced players Alan Pardew named the industrious midfielder as his captain and Reo-Coker was outstanding as he led the club back to Premier League through the play-offs in 2005.
On the clubs return to the Premier League Reo-Coker was outstanding leading the club to creditable 9th place andthe 2006 FA Cup final against Liverpool. Reo-Coker was actually placed on stand by for the national team for the 2006 World Cup, but was forced to withdraw due to a back injury.
The 2005-06 season was the pinnacle of the Reo-Coker’s time with the lack of form both personally and the club as whole meant that the 2006-07 season became a struggle and Reo-Coker found himself facing the ire of the fans.
Although Reo-Coker did play a significant part in West Ham’s amazing survival in 2006-07, relationships with both the club and the fans were damaged irreparably and he was transferred to Aston Villa for 8.5 Million in July 2007. Reo-Coker left the club under a cloud and stated that he felt he was hung out to dry in his final season with the club; a reaction which won him few friends at West Ham.
His career at Aston Villa started promisingly but he was involved in a reported training ground bust up with Martin O’Neill, shortly before the Irishman left the club, Reo-Coker also fell out with the new boss Gerard Houllier after the Frenchman replaced O’Neill. He was finally moved to Bolton Wanderers on free transfer in 2011.
Bolton were relegated in the 20011-12 season and Reo-Coker moved briefly to Ipswich before finally moving to play in MLS with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Chivas USA and Montreal Impact.
Having been released by the Impact in January 2016 Reo-Coker was most recently seen on trial at La Liga club Grenada he was not offered a contract and is now on the playing staff at Norwegian side IK Start.
Hayden Mullins 2003-2009
Alan Pardew’s first signing as West Ham Manager Mullins was a versatile hardworking player who was a steadying influence in some of the most turbulent times in West Ham’s history. Signed for his energy and industry Mullins although primarily a defensive midfielder Mullins did also play at full back and centre back for the club.
The signing of Javier Mascherano looked to have brought his time at the club to an end, but Mullins stayed and quickly re- established himself in front of the Argentine during the clubs fight for the survival in the 2006-07 season.
Mullins left West Ham having played over 200 games for the club and joined Portsmouth in 2009 playing in the FA Cup Final of 2010 and winning the clubs player of the year award for the 2010-11 season. Moves to Reading, Birmingham and finally Notts Country, where he ended his career in 2015, followed.
Mullins is currently Assistant Manager of Watford’s Under 21 team having previously worked on the coaching staff at Reading.
Matthew Etherington 2003-2009
Signed as part of the deal that saw Freddy Kanoute move to Spurs following relegation in 2003, Etherington quickly established himself as a fan favourite with his trade mark direct and pacy run along the left wing. Etherington was outstanding in his first season with the club winning Hammer of the Year and scoring the equalising goal in the Play-Off semi-final against Ipswich in a famous night at Upton Park.
The following season Etherington was once more pivotal in the clubs run to the Play Off final which culminated in the diminutive winger creating the decisive goal for Bobby Zamora in the Final against Preston. Having been denied games in the Premier League at Spurs, Etherington was keen to establish himself at the top level and was a consistent performer in the club’s first season back and played a key role in the clubs run to the FA Cup Final in 2006.
However despite being at the peak of his powers on the pitch Etherington was facing financial struggles of it and this began to impact his form for the club and slowly he slipped out of favour and was eventually sold to Stoke City in 2009.
While at Stoke the full extent of Etherington’s gambling addiction came to light and, with the help of the Sporting Chance clinic and the support of Tony Pulis the Stoke manager, Etherington managed to deal with this issues and have a successful career. The highlights of his later career include being made Stoke’s Player of the Season in 2010 and helping the club reach the FA Cup final in 2011.
Etherington retired in 2014 and is a regular contributor on TALKSPORT.
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