The Academy Of Football

The Academy of West Ham United F.C. is recognised as one of the most successful football academies in modern football, hence its nickname the ''Academy of Football''.

The introduction of the FA's new Academy system in 1998 has placed even more emphasis on the developing of young homegrown players and today the youth system at West Ham is more important than it has ever been. With the influx of many foreign players in the Premier League during modern times, West Ham United has been regarded as one of the few remaining clubs in top flight to continue producing and playing homegrown English players.

The Under-23 team is the most senior of West Ham's youth squads. The Under-23 team is effectively the club's second-string side, but is limited to three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 23 per game following the introduction of new regulations from the 2012–13 season. They play in Premier League 2 and also compete in the Papa John's Trophy.

The Academy of Football

'The Academy of Football' , or just 'The Academy', is a nickname of West Ham United. The title pays homage to the success of the club in coaching talented young players. The title, originally attributed to the club by the press, has since been officially adopted by the club and is displayed in several prominent places around the stadium such as being printed beside the club crest on the artificial surface surrounding the pitch at Upton Park.

The original tribute intended to reference the entire culture of the club, in much the same way as the Liverpool "Boot Room". It was not solely reserved for the education of young players, but also for the development of a modern approach to football from the roots up, as inspired by the success of the Hungarian national team featuring Ferenc Puskás that had humiliated England 6–3, and the great Real Madrid side of the late 1950s that dominated the European Cup.

Academy history

The 'Academy of Football' term was first used in the early years of Ron Greenwood's reign as West Ham manager (1961–1974). Greenwood had inherited a young team of players from Ted Fenton and the club was noted for its reliance on home grown talent with Bobby Moore, Martin Peters, Geoff Hurst, John Lyall, Ronnie Boyce, John Sissons, Alan Sealey and Harry Redknapp all in the first team or periphery. Further foundations had been laid with stalwart Ken Brown at the back, Malcolm Musgrove on the left wing (who was to leave in the second season), and the addition of John "Budgie" Byrne up front.

The true heritage of this side, however, owed its pedigree to the practices put in place by the previous manager.

Fenton was praised as a forward thinking manager. He pushed for the establishment of "The Academy" that brought through a series of young players to augment a side that could not be improved with the limited finances available. Two of the signings he did manage to make were those of John Dick and Malcolm Allison. Other players of the day included John Bond, Dave Sexton, Jimmy Andrews and Frank O'Farrell (later swapped for Eddie Lewis) and Tommy Moroney all part of an original 'Cafe Cassettari' club started by Fenton as a result of the restrictive budget.

Cassettari's Café sat opposite the Boleyn Ground, and Fenton organised a deal that saw meals and a warm welcome for the players of the club at a price the club could manage. It became a place for routine discussion of the team, and ideas and wisdom freely passed back and forth. The tradition of mentorship lasted long into the 1960s even after Fenton had moved on and saw future managers John Lyall and Harry Redknapp pass through. West Ham, with meetings at Cassettari's Café, soon gained a reputation for producing managers via playing for the club including Malcolm Allison, Noel Cantwell, Frank O'Farrell, John Bond, Dave Sexton, Jimmy Andrews and Malcolm Musgrove.

Fenton introduced continental ideas to the team, revamping training methods and taking inspiration from higher ranked teams, and even inspiring some. Fenton had been impressed greatly by the all conquering Hungarians of the 1950s led by Ferenc Puskás and the Cassettari program and development of the academy were at the core. Ernie Gregory said (of the 1950s diet) "We'd usually eaten fish or chicken and toast before then, but Dr. Thomas advised us all to eat steak and rice two hours before kick-off. All the other clubs copied us after that". However, not all the changes were strictly down to Fenton, Musgrove attributed much of the training regime to Allison, going so far as to state that once the players were at the club (signed by Fenton) they were pretty much Allisons property. As well as being a student of the game himself, Fenton encouraged all players to take coaching badges and it's notable that many of his former players went on to coaching and managing roles after they retired. The Academy also involved, beyond the routine training and development of the youth and squad, actual tactical discussions between the players.

At this time, three players who had come through the West Ham youth development system were seeing some success in the England squad; they were Bobby Moore who debuted in 1962, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters.

In 1966, these players played a part in England's victory in the World Cup.

Moore was the most well-known of the three. He captained the England squad and was later named by Pelé as the "greatest" of all the defenders he had played against.

In the World Cup final against West Germany in which England won 4–2, Hurst scored the only hat-trick ever scored at a World Cup final match, and Peters scored the other goal. This gave rise to the West Ham supporters' partly tongue-in-cheek terrace chant:

A bronze statue of these three players (and Everton defender Ray Wilson) holding the Jules Rimet Trophy aloft was erected in 2003 at the junction of Barking Road and Green Street close to Upton Park.

During the next thirty years West Ham's youth academy produced many professional players. Notable Academy "graduates" during this time include Frank Lampard Sr. and (later Sir) Trevor Brooking, who both featured in the club's 1975 FA Cup win with a team composed solely of English players; no club since has repeated this accomplishment.

Since 1973 the Academy has been managed by Tony Carr, himself a "graduate" but whose career was cut short by injury.

Paul Ince played his first game for West Ham in 1986, and went on to win more trophies than any other Academy "graduate", albeit with Manchester United.

Premier League era

In 1996, the reputation of the Academy began a fresh revival with the arrival of Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard Jnr. That year, the West Ham youth team reached the FA Youth Cup Final, losing to a Liverpool side inspired by Michael Owen. However, both Ferdinand and Lampard would see success in subsequent years.

In 1999, the West Ham youth team won the FA Youth Cup, beating Coventry City 9–0 on aggregate. The team featured Joe Cole and Michael Carrick. Ferdinand and Carrick played against Lampard and Cole when Manchester United met Chelsea at the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final.

Recent Academy "graduates" include Glen Johnson, Billy Mehmet, Freddy Eastwood, Anton Ferdinand (younger brother of Rio), Elliott Ward, Mark Noble, Jack Collison and James Tomkins.

Relationship with West Ham United

The Academy is an important part of the club's identity and a regular source of players for the first team. When the club was relegated from the FA Premier League in 2003 the sale of young Academy stars arguably saved the club from financial disaster. It has been argued that if West Ham had kept all of their Academy "graduates" since Rio Ferdinand, they would currently be among the very top English teams.

With their promotion via the Championship Play-Offs in 2005 West Ham have returned to England's top league. Three Academy "graduates" had been key players in this achievement; Anton Ferdinand, Elliott Ward, and Mark Noble. In the 2007–08 season, manager Alan Curbishley handed three graduates, Jack Collison, James Tomkins and Freddie Sears, their debuts.

Gianfranco Zola, who previously worked with the Italy U-21's, stated his desire to continue the club's tradition of using homegrown talent. Noble, Tomkins and Collison all went on to play an important part as West Ham beat relegation to finish 9th in the 2008–09 season. Under him, Zavon Hines and Junior Stanislas have impressed after the August 2009 League Cup match against Millwall where they both scored in a 3–1 win.

West Ham as a 'selling club'

A case may be made that West Ham has been a 'selling club' in recent years, that is, a club that provides quality players to other clubs for profit but does not have the prestige or financial means to keep those players for the benefit of their own team. This reputation probably began with the sale of Rio Ferdinand to Leeds United in 2000. Since then, West Ham have sold six Academy "graduates" for transfer fees totalling over £50 million (including £18 million for Ferdinand, who was later sold on to Manchester United for £30 million). This amount has traditionally been much greater than the club's own spending on players (most of which was financed by the above income), and many of the players found success with financially stronger clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester United who are two of the English clubs capable of competing on a different level to most other teams.

Though not a club, the England national team has included various academy apprentices or graduates in recent years, including Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson, as well as John Terry who spent part of his development with the club.

Quotes

''"The crowds at West Ham have never been rewarded by results but they keep turning up because of the good football they see. Other clubs will suffer from the old bugbear that results count more than anything. This has been the ruination of English soccer."'' – Ron Greenwood, West Ham manager 1961–1974.

''"No way is it all down to me. It's very difficult to say why we've been so successful in youth terms; I suppose it's down to a number of factors but, most importantly, our recruitment area of east London and Essex is really fertile."'' – Tony Carr, director of Youth Development at West Ham 1973–2010, quoted in an interview published by ''The Daily Telegraph'' 14 June 2004.

''"Why should we sell Rio Ferdinand? Are we a Premier League club or are we just a feeder club for bigger clubs? If we start selling players like Rio, where is the club going to go?"'' – Harry Redknapp, West Ham manager 1994–2001.

''"The biggest single contributor to the current England national squad is not Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea, but the West Ham Youth Academy."'' – ''ITV Football'' article, 13 September 2004.

Reserve team history

The West Ham United Reserves Team was founded in 1899 as Thames Ironworks Reserves and they changed their name to West Ham Reserves in 1900. They joined London League Division One in the season 1899–1900. In 2007–08 they were FA Premier Reserve League Southern Division runners-up on goal difference.

'A' team

Between 1948 and 1956 West Ham entered an 'A' team into the Eastern Counties League.Blakeman, M (2010) ''The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935–2010, Volume II'' In 1952 they also began playing in the Metropolitan League