West Ham United and Newcastle United may be at almost opposite ends of the country. However, this has not stopped many top players from representing both sides.
The Hammers and the Magpies play each other tomorrow, so we are taking the opportunity to look at the top five players who have represented both sides.
The top five West Ham and Newcastle players
1. Kevin Nolan
Kevin Nolan had a notable stint at Bolton Wanderers before joining Newcastle United in January 2009. He soon helped them to promotion back to the Premier League. He helped the Magpies establish themselves back in English soccer's top flight before dropping back to the Championship with West Ham.
Nolan was reunited with Sam Allardyce at the Hammers, and he became the club captain. They were promoted back to the Premier League via the playoffs, where they defeated Blackpool in the final. Nolan was then a key player for the Hammers back in the top flight, where he became a goalscoring midfielder often off the end of former Newcastle striker Andy Carroll's knock-downs.
After leaving West Ham, Nolan was player-manager at Leyton Orient before being the boss at Notts County. He returned to the Hammers as David Moyes' assistant, where they won the Europa Conference League. Nolan was most recently the boss at Northampton Town.
2. Scott Parker
After lacking game time at Chelsea, Scott Parker joined Newcastle United in 2005. Parker had highs with the Magpies, finishing seventh in the Premier League, becoming the club captain, and leading them to victory in the Intertoto Cup.
Parker then joined West Ham, where he became a club legend for his efforts in relegation battles. The midfielder was Hammer of the Year on three occasions and won the FWA Player of the Season in the campaign where the Hammers were relegated.
Following the Hammers' relegation in 2011, he joined Tottenham Hotspur and also played for Fulham before retiring. As a manager, he has become an expert in helping clubs to promotion from the Championship; he has done this with Fulham, AFC Bournemouth, and Burnley.
3. Andy Carroll
Carroll burst onto the scene at Newcastle, where he helped win the Championship in the 2009/10 season. However, his move to Liverpool for £35 million did not work out. He joined West Ham initially on loan for the 2012/13 season, where they finished a credible 10th place in their first season back in the Premier League.
The striker then joined West Ham permanently, but his time at the club was marred by injuries. In total, he played 142 times for the Hammers, scoring 34 goals with 16 assists. There were moments of brilliance, such as his bicycle kick against Crystal Palace and a hat-trick against Arsenal at Upton Park.
He returned to Newcastle in 2019 and also played for Reading and West Bromwich Albion. He then had a spell in France with Amiens and Bordeaux before returning to England with Dagenham & Redbridge. He is a co-owner of the Daggers and worked as their caretaker manager last season.
4. Shaka Hislop
Shaka Hislop joined Newcastle from Reading in 1995 and initially competed with Pavel Srníček for a starting spot. Hislop became a regular before Shay Given was brought in. The Magpies got to the final of the FA Cup in 1998, but lost to Arsenal with Hislop on the bench and Given starting.
Hislop then joined West Ham and became Hammer of the Year in his first season at the club. However, he eventually lost his place to David James. The goalkeeper then went to Portsmouth before returning to the Hammers. However, he suffered FA Cup heartbreak in goal for West Ham as they lost to Liverpool on penalties after drawing 3-3 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. There was nothing Hislop could do to stop Steven Gerrard's powerful late equalizer from range.
5. Lee Bowyer
Lee Bowyer grew up supporting West Ham as he was from Canning Town. However, he came through the ranks at Charlton Athletic before playing for Leeds United. He then had a short stint at West Ham, but failed to help the Hammers survive relegation in the 2002/03 campaign.
Bowyer then joined Newcastle, where he is infamously remembered for fighting with his teammate Kieron Dyer. He then had a second stint at the Hammers, where he became a regular in the side. Bowyer went on to play for Birmingham City and Ipswich Town before retiring.
He is now a manager and helped Charlton to promotion from League One in 2019, but was unable to keep them in the Championship. He then had a difficult spell in charge of another one of his former clubs, Birmingham. His most recent job was being the boss of Montserrat.
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