Ranking West Ham’s Goalkeepers Since Premier League Return
David Martin
As mentioned earlier, Martin was signed as a training ground goalkeeper on a free transfer from Millwall. It was not expected that the son of West Ham legend Alvin Martin would actually play for the club.
Due to the horrific form of Roberto, Martin was given a chance as he could not be much worse than the Spaniard. Martin, on his debut, provided a memorable performance in a victory over London rivals Chelsea.
The goalkeeper kept a clean sheet and made a few key saves to keep the Blues out. The performance will be remembered for the scenes after the final whistle. Martin was celebrated by his teammates and shared a touching moment with his father in the stands.
While Martin was not spectacularly good, he provided the team with more confidence that not every shot would go in the goal. Overall the 35-year-old kept two clean sheets and conceded six goals in his five appearances for the Hammers.
Darren Randolph
The current West Ham number two, Darren Randolph, has proven himself to be a very reliable back-up to both Adrian and Lukasz Fabianski. There was a time when Randolph was on the cups of becoming the teams first-choice, but consistency let him down.
Randolph was signed ahead of the final season at the Boleyn Ground. Randolph was the back up to Adrian, who had cemented himself as the club’s number one the previous season. After a nervy start in the Europa League, the Irishman put in some quality performances in the cup competitions.
The two keepers would battle it out for the number one spot for the next two seasons until Randolph left for Middlesborough to become first-choice. Moyes then brought Randolph back to the club last January to replace David Martin and to become number two to Fabianski when he returned from injury.
Randolph has become a cult figure amongst fans for some of his performances at the club, as well as his chirpy personality. Across his two spells at the club, Randolph has played 50 games, conceding 72 goals and keeping 15 clean sheets.