Emmanuel Omoyinmi 1995-2000, 2 (11) Apps
Manny is probably one the most remembered names from the late nineties side but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. A product of the youth team, Manny struggled to establish himself in the team despite his promise. He did score twice against Crystal Palace in 1998 but its final game for the club for which he will be remembered.
West Ham were in the midst of quite a successful League Cup run and many of the larger clubs had been beaten in the earlier rounds a home draw against Aston Villa in the quarter final was the toughest draw (typically!) but not beyond a talented West Ham side.
A hard fought game ended in a 2- 2 all draw with the Hammers prevailing after a penalty shoot out which included a miss by Gareth Southgate. West Ham were through to the semi-finals facing a two legged game against either Leicester, Bolton or Tranmere, Wembley beckoned surely? Of course not, this is West Ham after all. Omoyinmi came on as a substitute for Paulo Wanchope in the game but he had already played in the tournament while on loan at Gillingham, so the game had to be replayed and of course, despite leading through a Frank Lampard goal early in the second half West Ham conspired to 3-1 after extra time.
Manny did not play for the club again having eventually leaving in 2000 joining Oxford on a free transfer. His name is forever associated with one of the most embarrassing and costly situations in the clubs history.
Florin Raducioiu 1996-97, 7 (5) apps
A Romanian international striker of some pedigree scoring four goals in what is still Romania’s most successful World Cup finals in 1994, and playing for such clubs as AC Milan it seemed like a dream move for the club when they signed him from Spanish club side Espanyol in 1996.
Of course, this didn’t work very well for the Hammers. The Romanian struggled to cope with both the pace and physicality of the English game and often looked a befuddled figure on the pitch. He did have undoubted quality as was demonstrated by his finish against Manchester United but these moments were too few and far between and manager Harry Redknapp became increasingly frustrated with him. This culminated in Raducioiu refusing to attend a League Cup tie with Stockport choosing instead to go shopping in Harvey Nicholls rather than travelling with the team. The incident gained even more gravitas when West Ham were subsequently knocked out by Stockport. Although Florin did play for the club after the incident, which he vehemently denies, his relationship with Redknapp did not recover and he was subsequently transferred back to Espanyol at the end of the season.
Raducioiu is one of only 2 players to have played in the top five European Leagues.
John Radford 1976-1978 30 Apps
A double winning striker with international experience in his late 20’s, what could possibly go wrong? 30 games without scoring and a string of hugely underwhelming performances is what went wrong in this scenario.
Radford was a mainstay in the Arsenal side that completed the double in 1971 scoring 21 goals in the double winning season, but by the late seventies, Radford was no longer first choice losing his place to Malcolm MacDonald and Frank Stapleton and was moved onto the Hammers for £80.000 in December 1976.
Radford made 30 appearances in a season and a half and barn doors were left unthreatened for the duration of his stay until his move to Blackburn in 1978.
Radford would go on to finish his career with Bishops Stortford, winning both the Isthmian league and the FA Trophy. Radford went on to manage Bishops Stortford and coach the youth team at Queens Park Rangers. He now works as a pundit on Arsenal TV as well as giving guided tours of the Emirates.