Developing and blooding homegrown talent, from Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole to Freddie Potts and George Earthy, is a major part of what makes West Ham United so special.
It is their identity. Their history, even.
So, as Nuno Espirito Santo spelled out his plans to give youth a go in the London Stadium dugout, before bringing both Freddie Potts and Callum Marshall off the bench at Arsenal last weekend, that would have been music to Hammers’ ears.
After all, the West Ham fans had frequently lambasted Graham Potter for his apparent ignoring of the brightest up-and-coming talent at Rush Green.
Whether it be the bizarre omitting of Potts in favour of James Ward-Prowse and Guido Rodriguez – Nuno ‘brilliantly’ reversed that contentious Potter call immediately after taking over – or his reluctance to call upon Marshall despite an impressive pre-season.
FA Youth Cup winners in 2023, Marshall, Potts and the aforementioned Earthy are now hoping to follow in the footsteps of that famous 1999 vintage.
Ian Bishop remembers the sepia-toned days when a baby-faced Joe Cole and Michael Carrick were making their way in the game. Given that Cole and Carrick went from Youth Cup champions in East London to Premier League and European champions later down the line, they remain a fantastic example of what can be achieved with enough patience and faith.
Ian Bishop recalls how Julian Dicks dealt with Joe Cole in West Ham United training
Bishop, the club legend who joined in the First Division and departed deep into the Premier League era nine years later, remembers seeing a mini Joe Cole terrorise David Unsworth on the training pitch long before he was making his debut in a claret and blue jersey.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, though, Hammers hardman Julian Dicks was never going to let a kid of barely secondary school age leave him in a heap.
“One time Harry brought Joe Cole [to train with the first-team],” Bishop remembers. “He had been talking about this little kid and how good he was. He was 12 or 13.
“[Redknapp] brought him into training, and Julian smashed him up in the air! Well, if he’s training with us Harry, it’s your fault!
“[Even at that age, Cole was] superb. He tore David Unsworth left, right and centre. ‘Unsy’ couldn’t stay with him. [Cole] left him on his backside a few times.”
Bishop still keeps in touch with Premier League legend Michael Carrick
One of the most naturally talented Englishmen of his generation, if Cole carved out a career which falls at the top end of the ‘good’ category and the bottom end of ‘great’, Michael Carrick accumulated a staggering 19 trophies as the lynchpin of Manchester United’s midfield.
“I bumped into Michael in Barbados,” adds Bishop, never short of an alcohol-fuelled anecdote. “He was there with his wife and another friend and his wife. One of my mates has gone, ‘there’s Michael Carrick over there’.
“I went, ‘well I don’t really know him, to be honest. I’m not just going to go over there!’ A little bit later, he come over to me. I knew I’d win! What I didn’t realise is my mate had gone over and told him I was here!”
While Carrick would make his senior debut for West Ham one year after Bishop’s departure, two midfielders at very different ends of their careers would meet during a one-sided Division One clash between Manchester City and Swindon Town in 1999.
“[Carrick is a] good lad. He’d had a few beers. We all had!” Bishop adds, looking back on that nostalgia-tinged Barbados booze-up.
“He went on loan to Swindon and I was playing for Man City. I was about 34, 35. We beat them [3-0].
He said, ‘I just remember looking down at these Mizuno boots. They were there and then they were gone’.
“He said, ‘I had nightmares over them!’ I found a picture of the boots and sent a picture to him over text!
“But we have stayed in touch since then. When he gets a new job, I text him good luck. He’s a lovely fella, yeah. The talent [at West Ham] then was amazing.”
Freddie Potts and Callum Marshall benefit from EFL loans
While Carrick would hone his talents during that Swindon spell, Cole established himself among West Ham’s senior stars straight out of the academy.
Bishop can see the benefits of young players dropping down to the Football League in order to kick-start their careers, having done so himself when he was just starting out at Everton.
The aforementioned Potts, Earthy and Marshall certainly seem to have benefitted from a similar career path. Potts excelled at Portsmouth on loan last season, while Earthy and Marshall picked up the Young Player of the Year awards at Bristol City and Huddersfield Town respectively.
“I was 18 at Everton but I didn’t think I was quite ready. I ended up stepping down a division and going to Carlisle, playing two seasons in the Second Division,” Bishop explains.
“Really, I think that was a grounding for me, for the game itself. It was tough. I’d go back to Everton seeing my mates two years later.
“I’d had 60 games under my belt and they were still in the reserves, which probably would have happened to me [had I stayed].”
