West Ham United and Lincoln City meet in the Championship this week. Therefore, we delved into the archives to look at players who represented both clubs.
5 players who represented both West Ham and Lincoln City
Ian Pearce
Pearce played for Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers before joining West Ham in 1997. Expectations were high of the defender, as he had won the Premier League with Blackburn. He played 163 times for the Hammers, scoring 10 goals with four assists.
He also helped West Ham win the Intertoto Cup, playing in both semi-final legs against Heerenveen. However, Pearce did struggle with injuries during his time at Upton Park. The club suffered relegation from the Premier League in 2003, and he played just half a season in the First Division before moving to Fulham.
The centre-back would go on to play for Southampton, Oxted & District, and Lincoln, sandwiched by two spells with Kingstonian. Pearce played just 14 times for Lincoln in League Two, and he was also Chris Sutton's assistant. Pearce now works as a sporting director at West Bromwich Albion.
Conor Coventry
Coventry came through West Ham's academy but would make just 10 first-team appearances. Three of these came in the group stage of the Europa Conference League, which the Hammers would go on to win. Despite being on loan at Rotherham United for the second half of the 2022/23 season, he still got a Conference League winners' medal.
His first loan spell away from West Ham was at Lincoln. Coventry played for the Imps seven times and also had loans at Peterborough United and Milton Keynes Dons. The midfielder has been with Charlton since 2024 and is now also a Republic of Ireland international.
Peter Grotier
Grotier also came through the ranks at West Ham and would play for them 52 times, keeping 13 clean sheets. He had a loan spell at Cardiff City before joining Lincoln. He became a legend with the Imps, playing 263 times in total. The goalkeeper would have another spell with Cardiff before playing and coaching Grimsby Town. He recently appeared on The Repair Shop, where he got his programme from the West Ham vs. Santos game fixed, which was signed by Pelé.
Gary Strodder
Lincoln was Strodder's first club, which he represented 132 times and won their player of the season award. He then joined West Ham and played for them 67 times before moving to West Brom. He would also play for Notts County, Rotherham, Hartlepool United and Guiseley.
Ade Coker
Coker was born in Nigeria, but moved to England as a child and West Ham was his first club. He was sent on loan to the Boston Minutemen and Lincoln by West Ham. He must have enjoyed his time in America, as he then joined the Minutemen permanently.
The forward would then have a good career in the North American Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League. He would also represent Minnesota Kicks, San Diego Sockers, and the Rochester Lancers.
His indoor teams were the New York Arrows, Baltimore Blast, the San Diego Sockers, and the St. Louis Steamers. Coker also represented the United States on five occasions, scoring three goals.
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