West Ham have had seven goalkeepers turn out between the sticks since their return to the Premier League. All the keepers have had varying success for the Hammers, some have established themselves as cult-heroes, and some have failed miserably.
Robert Green was the keeper to get West Ham back into the Premier League but decided not to stay with the club at the end of his contract. The keeper moved to QPR before the start of the 2012/13 Premier League season and won’t be counted in this list.
The goalkeeper is one of, if not the hardest, position in football. Very often do they receive praise and can be blamed for a single mistake. The difficulty of being the last line of defence is there is rarely anyone able to bail you out of mistakes.
West Ham fans have always loved their good goalkeepers, from Phil Parkes to Luděk Mikloško. The safety a solid keeper provides puts minds at rest.
Bottom Of The Pile – Roberto Jimenez
There was only ever going to be one person that fell at the bottom of the Hammers keeper list. Roberto was signed as a free transfer to help replace Adrian. The Spaniard looked like a fish out of the water every time he took to the pitch.
Roberto conceded an abysmal 21 goals in only ten appearances for West Ham. The goalkeeper was the reason behind the Hammers downfall last season. Before Lukasz Fabianski’s injury, the club was doing relatively well. Roberto was not able to fill the void left by the Polish stopper.
You can see all the goals Roberto conceded in his video here.
Every goal Roberto has conceded for West Ham but rather than background music it’s Carl Jenkinson saying ‘that’s banter’ on repeat pic.twitter.com/GcCILMcZLr
— West Ham Clips (@WestHamClips) November 23, 2019
The 35-year-old was at fault during defeats to Newcastle, Everton, Tottenham and the humiliation that was a League humbling to Oxford United. Due to his diabolical form, he was eventually dropped in place of David Martin, who had been signed as a training ground goalkeeper.
The scary fact about Roberto is that he was originally the club’s first choice instead of Fabianski before the Pole joined from Swansea City. The Spaniard is now playing his trade back in his home country, far away from the London Stadium.
Fall From Grace – Joe Hart
When Joe Hart signed for West Ham on a season-long loan, many fans thought he would become the base of the team for years to come. What actually happened as pretty much the opposite, and honestly, it rivals the awfulness of Roberto.
Hart was the England number one at the time, but never really showed that quality in goal for West Ham. The English stopper conceded a remarkable 39 goals in 19 Premier League appearances for the club.
This record meant he was in and out of the team as manager Slaven Bilic and David Moyes were forced to rotate him with Adrian. The keeper was not signed permanently, and after an unsuccessful spell at Burnley, he is now playing as a back-up to Hugo Lloris at Tottenham Hotspur.