How close did West Ham United really come, under Harry Redknapp, to emulating the fabled Manchester United ‘Class of 92’?
The man in charge at Upton Park around the turn of the century certainly believes that, had the Hammers not lost Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson and co so early in their careers, another of English football’s most prosperous academies would be that little bit more respected.
While Lampard is pulling up trees as Coventry City manager these days – a tally of 27 goals scored is better than any team in Europe’s top five leagues – the Romford-born Chelsea legend would forever taint his legacy in the eyes of some West Ham United fans with that 2001 departure across the city.
Rio Ferdinand left for ambitious, big-spending Leeds just after the Millennium. Johnson would win the Premier League title in 2005 alongside Lampard at Stamford Bridge. Jermain Defoe joined Tottenham with Bobby Zamora moving in the other direction.
Carrick and Cole were FA Youth Cup champions with the Hammers, meanwhile, but went on to claim far more high-profile prizes elsewhere.
While his West Ham might not have gone on to hoover up silverware like Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United ‘Fledglings’ – an iconic group containing David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers – Redknapp is still left with a wistful feeling of ‘what might have been?’
Harry Redknapp thinks West Ham could have emulated Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United
Speaking on The Managers’ podcast, Redknapp feels that, in terms of quality, there is very little to separate Man United’s Class of 92 with West Ham’s own Golden Generation of academy talent.
“We ended up producing all these players. Six of them went on to become top stars, [including] Glen Johnson. Glen was a great right-back,” Redknapp said. “There would be nothing in it [between us and Manchester United’s ‘Class of 92’], would there?
“There wouldn’t be much in it.
“Rio, you know, what a career. Frank went on to get 107 caps for England and [became] Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer. Defoe, what a player. Michael Carrick, what a footballer he was.
“Joe was a genius. We signed Joe at eleven, and he was the best schoolboy player I’d ever seen.”
Sir Alex Ferguson wanted Joe Cole at Old Trafford
In fact, he was so highly rated in East London that West Ham even rebuffed Argentine wonderkid Andres D’Alessandro due to concerns from chairman Terry Brown that this would block Joe Cole’s pathway into the first-team.
Cult hero Ian Bishop still remembers watching a ‘superb’ Cole run rings around the likes of David Unsworth long before he was making his debut as a precocious 17-year-old.
“I’ll never forget, we were playing Norwich at the training ground, ankle deep in mud, raining,” Redknapp adds, while opening up on Ferguson’s determination to lure Cole away to Old Trafford.
“I finished training in the morning and thought, ‘I’m going to watch the kids’ game in the afternoon’ [with] a little group of us, all old West Ham players.
“After ten minutes, we’ve gone, ‘who is this kid?’ It was ridiculous the things he was doing. He was playing two years out of his age group that day.
“But then Alex Ferguson would send Joe a [Man United] shirt, [with the number] ten. He took him on the coach to the [1994 FA] Cup final. Even when we signed him on schoolboy terms, he was still trying to nick him!
“But his dad George was a lovely guy. Never kicked a ball in his life! He was a mini cab driver from Islington. A good man.
“[George said], ‘he’s going up to Old Trafford for a week, Harry, and he’s going up to Liverpool for a week’. I could have said, ‘George, he’s not allowed to mate!’ [But] I said, ‘yeah, no problem George’.
“And [Joe] always came back. He was some talent.”
Cole opens up on Ferguson’s Wembley offer
Speaking on John Obi Mikel’s podcast, Cole admitted that he was not only given a seat on the bus to that 4-0 Wembley thrashing of Chelsea in 1994, he was also offered the chance to walk out onto the pitch before kick-off.
“He found me as a kid, around 14 or 15, then invited me up to Manchester United,” the ex-Chelsea, Liverpool and Lille ace said.
“You go up, they took me out for dinner with my mum and dad. I met Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs and all the players. They really wined and dined me.
“Ferguson] actually offered me the chance to come with the team before the 1994 FA Cup final against Chelsea and walk out on the pitch. As a 13-year-old boy, that’s a dream. But I’d already decided to sign for West Ham.
“My West Ham team as a kid was the best team. I just liked it there. When I went to West Ham, I just fell in love with the people there. The youth development guy and the coach were great.
“Rio was a few years older than me, Frank was a few years older than me, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe were below me. That’s why I joined them, because it seemed like the best academy to join.
“My dad said to me, ‘you’ve made your mind up, you can’t string the man along’. He had to ring Alex and say, ‘no, he’s going to sign for West Ham’.”
