West Ham fans have had to deal with many players leaving the club in less than ideal ways. Whether it is due to players wanting more money, wanting trophies or simply wanting to play for better teams. But which players have caused the most heartbreak to Hammers fans?
Marko Arnautovic
Marko Arnautovic has signalled that he could potentially be open to a return to West Ham United. The Austrian caused West Ham fans a huge amount of heartbreak when he became a top performer, before leaving the club for the riches of China.
The converted striker became a key member for West Ham during David Moyes’ first stint in charge. Arguably West Ham secured Premier League survival that season due to Arnautovic’s goals. The thirty-year-old scored twenty-two goals and assisted a further twelve in only 66 appearances for the Hammers, this is one of the best returns the Hammers have had from a player in recent times.
Arnautovic left West Ham after a long and difficult few months. This time included him going on strike and refusing to play in the January Transfer Window following interest from Chinese clubs. This was resolved by him signing a huge bumper new deal at the club which people would be the end of the saga. This would not be the end as Arnautovic finally left the club in the summer of 2019 after going on strike again.
The departure left a massive hole up front for West Ham. This hole has not been fixed, despite the arrival of £45 million striker Sebastian Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt. The Hammers have been battling relegation since Arnautovic left and Haller has been in desperate need of a striker partner. To cause more aggrievance many believe that Arnautovic would have been a perfect partner to Haller.
Frank Lampard Jr.
When West Ham United fell out with manager Harry Redknapp no one could have predicted the following events. After a poor season which saw the club finish fifteenth in the Premier League Frank Lampard left the club. Lampard joined London rivals, Chelsea, in a move worth £11 million, despite the club rejecting a £15 million deal with Aston Villa.
Lampard had become a regular in the West Ham starting eleven and scored twenty-four goals in 148 appearances for the club and was looking like a future world-beater. The Englishman’s transfer away from the club left a massive gap in midfield and arguably contributed to the club’s relegation the following season.
Lampard went on to win everything at club level, from the FA Cup to the Premier League to the Champions League with the Blues. This served as a constant reminder to West Ham Fans of what could have been if the club had kept that golden generation of players together. Lampard came through at West Ham at the same time as future England players Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Michael Carrick and Jermaine Defoe.
What made the heartbreak worse is that Lampard seemed to perform brilliantly against West Ham every time he played against his former club. Lampard scored seven and assisted five against his former club in only 20 games.
Scott Parker
Three-time Hammer of the Year, PFA Player of the Year winner during his time at the club. Scott Parker is arguably one of the best midfielder West Ham have had since the turn of the millennium.
Parker led the Hammers during a difficult time in the club’s history but was the shining light from the Boleyn Ground. The Englishman scored twelve goals and assisted eleven in 129 appearances for the Hammers. Parker might have only scored twelve goals, but each strike was as memorable as the last, special mentions to his clever flick against Liverpool in a famous 3-1 win.
The midfielder was also a leader of the pitch, the famous story of him taking charge from Avram Grant during a half-time team talk while 3-0 down away at West Brom. The team came out for the next 45 minutes and put in a top performance and came back to draw the game 3-3.
This form saw him deservedly called up the England Squad and be voted the PFA Player of Year in 2011, the first time someone has won the accolade despite finishing bottom of the Premier League.
Parker’s departure was felt hugely as he left to join bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a transfer worth only £5 million. The fee was less than half of what Parker was valued at during the time according to TransferMarkt.com. The pain of losing Parker was lessened by the arrival of Kevin Nolan for £4 million, Nolan captained the club back to the Premier League and scored plenty of goals along the way.
Dean Ashton
It seems West Ham have always struggled to keep hold of top strikers. Whether they are sold like Craig Bellamy, Demba Ba or Arnautovic, but in Dean Ashton’s case the heartbreak was caused by awful injuries.
Dean Ashton was signed as a record transfer for West Ham from Norwich back in 2006. The big striker only played 56 times scoring 19 goals for the Hammers until he was forced to retire in December 0f 2009. His injuries were caused by a tackle from Sean Wright-Phillips while away on international duty for England.
Ashton sadly never truly recovered from the injury and was constantly fighting the pain in his ankles. He was still able to have his moment of magic though, like the overhead kick away at Old Trafford, or his equalizer against Aston Villa, which was a brilliant finish from outside the box.
West Ham fans truly believed Ashton could have been a West Ham and England great just like Geoff Hurst. Sadly, it was not meant to be. The now thirty-six-year-old even scored a wonderful bicycle kick at Mark Noble’s testimonial reminding the fans of what could have been.
Dimitri Payet
Where to start with Dimitri Payet, a master of the dead ball and able to create chances out of nothing with pure magic. Payet was the last player to truly get West Ham fans off their feet with incredible regularity. He was truly worshipped by the club’s faithful fans.
The Frenchman was signed from Marseille for only £11 million and proved to be one of the bargains of the millennium. In his first season, Payet brought magic to the Boleyn Ground as the club said farewell to its spiritual home before the club moved into the London Stadium. Payet’s form that season saw him called up to Les Blues for the Euros that summer where he shone on the international stage. Payet was also nominated for the Ballon D’or, the only ever West Ham United player to be up for the award.
Payet continued his form the next season scoring some more brilliant goals such as his free-kick against Liverpool and a magnificent solo effort against Middlesbrough. Sadly, the love-affair had to come to an abrupt end. Payet went on strike and refused to play for the club as he forced through a move back to Marseille. West Ham received £25 million for their superstar, a measly fee for a player of his quality.
Payet ended his time at West Ham with fifteen goals and twenty-three assists in 60 appearances for the club. As well as creating 193 scoring chances for the club, which is still the most for the club since the 2015/16 season, what makes it more impressive is that Payet left the club in 2017 and is still leading that statistic above players like Aaron Cresswell and Manuel Lanzini.