In simpler times stands never had proper names. The East and West Stand, North and South Bank was as far as it went. Some adventurous clubs would favour more descriptive terms like the ‘Kop’, the ‘Clock End’ or the ‘Shelf’.
But now all parts of the stadium are up for grabs. Occasionally, a corporate sponsor will secure naming rights, but a stand is often used to honour a former player or manager. This pleasing phenomenon has now filtered down to most clubs.
West Ham are no slouches having named three sides of the London Stadium after former players. Bobby Moore, Trevor Brooking and Billy Bonds are perfect recipients of such an honour.
But what about the West Stand where the players emerge and team benches are located? A bit like the vacant plinth in Trafalgar Square, it’s a void that needs to be permanently filled.
What have other clubs done, but more importantly what West Ham luminary should take the final slot at the London Stadium? One of the first clubs to personalise a stand was Preston North End. They were founder members of the Football League and pioneers of the professional game.
The original Invincibles also secured the first league and cup double in 1889. With such a rich history they were spoilt for choice. However, the Invincibles rightly settled on the legendary Sir Tom Finney. A one club man, Finney still holds the club’s goalscoring record, and played in every forward position for England.
Not only is Deepdale adorned by a beautiful statue of Finney in action; but the club also named the new West Stand named after him. An excellent mosaic of Sir Tom has been incorporated in the seating area which improves the overall aesthetic.
Less obvious is the Bill Shankly Kop, the name given to the North Stand. Shankly is famous as manager of Liverpool in the 60s and 70s, but few would be aware of his pre-war playing career at Preston.
Whatever the configuration there are essentially four stands which can be named.
Wolves have gone the whole hog and assigned names to all four parts of the Molineux. They took the rare step of naming the South Bank after former owner Jack Haywood. Their remaining stands are named after Stan Cullis, Billy Wright and Steve Bull. All genuine legends who served the club with distinction.
Surprisingly Arsenal, Brentford, Brighton, Everton, Leicester, Spurs and Southampton have no such dedication at their respective stadiums. They have instead fallen back on topographical or street names.
Newly promoted Ipswich have dedicated stands to two former managers. Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson who both led club and country with unforgettable passion. The Cobbold Stand is also named in honour of the club’s original owners.
Clubs in the North West have embraced the concept with zeal. Sir Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool) and Colin Bell (Manchester City) have got the nod. Whilst Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) have also been conferred at Old Trafford.
Crystal Palace have the Arthur Wait Stand, named after the chairman who guided them to the top flight in 1969. Similarly, Chelsea renamed the North Stand in memory of Matthew Harding, former vice-chairman who died in a helicopter crash in 1996.
Aston Villa continued the trend when the Witton Lane Stand was rebuilt and named after long-serving chairman Doug Ellis. Bournemouth unusually bestowed the honour on Steve Fletcher whilst he was still playing for the club. The North Stand at Deans Court was renamed when Fletcher signed a one year extension to his contract in 2010.
Fulham and Newcastle favoured the post war era of English football when they named stands after Johnny Haynes and Jackie Milburn.
For some clubs the task is relatively straightforward as there are obvious choices to make. Nottingham Forest have inevitably named their main stands after Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, the redoubtable management team that led Forest to the league championship and victory in the European Cup.
Watford have named two of their stands at Vicarage Road after Sir Elton John and Graham Taylor, without doubt the two outstanding figures in the club’s history.
Despite the social value of naming stands in this manner, there is sometimes no choice but to sell naming rights. Particularly for clubs lower down the football pyramid who cannot rely on lucrative TV deals.
Huddersfield’s John Smith Stadium has all four stands named after corporate sponsors. QPR gifted naming rights for Loftus Road to the Kiyan Prince Foundation, a charity established in memory of the former academy player.
The commercial imperative soon made itself known as the club later signed a three year commercial naming agreement. At least there is one part of Loftus Road reserved for a club hero. Stan Bowles, the iconic 1970s playmaker has one stand dedicated to him.
So what should the West Stand at the London Stadium be called? It’s doubtful that a corporate sponsor would be interested. In terms of brand recognition the bigger prize would be naming rights for the stadium.
A corporate sponsor would be mentioned on TV, radio, news reports and social media thousands of times every year. Unlike a stand that would be rarely mentioned outside of the club. It would therefore seem more appropriate and likely that a manager or player should be chosen.
There are many worthy recipients of the honour which makes them doubly difficult to separate.
Ron Greenwood and John Lyall were managers during the greatest period in the club’s history. However, players resonate more deeply than managers, which might put them out of the running.
Geoff Hurst would be a standout choice. The last survivor of England’s World Cup winning side of 1966, and scorer of 249 league and cup goals. But it could be argued there are other tributes to Hurst in the stadium. The same could be said of Martin Peters especially with the statue commemorating our win in the European Cup Winners Cup Final.
Frank Lampard Snr could also stake a strong claim. He played in two FA Cup finals and made 670 appearances, which puts him second only to Billy Bonds. Even with Lampard’s pedigree he represents the same era as Brooking and Bonds and could be looked upon as a form of duplication.
Phil Parkes is the greatest goalkeeper the Hammers have ever had. He made more appearances than any other goalkeeper (440) and achieved the most clean sheets (114). Parkes played in the FA Cup winning side of 1980 and League Cup Final side the following year. Though goalkeepers are not as visible as outfield players so he may fall down the pecking order.
Players from the pre-war period also have a strong shout for inclusion. Vic Watson became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer with 326 goals. A feat that will in all likelihood never be surpassed.
Watson also set the individual goalscoring record for one season. In 1929/30 he scored 42 goals in 40 league appearances which included three hattricks. The free scoring centre forward also won five caps for England and scored four goals.
Jimmy Ruffell was another England international who scored 166 goals from outside left. He also held the league appearance record until it was broken by Bobby Moore. Both Watson and Ruffell appeared in the first Wembley FA Cup Final of 1923. They scored nearly 500 goals between them and are equal to those already mentioned.
However, their achievements are more than 90 years old and too distant to be truly meaningful especially for younger fans. After a fair amount of soul searching there is one candidate that looms largest.
The final slot at the London Stadium should be awarded to Alvin Martin; a Scouser born and bred but anointed as an honourary Cockney. He made his debut in March 1978 and went onto make 596 appearances. Another member of the 1980 FA Cup-winning side, Martin eventually replaced Billy Bonds as club captain.
A formidable defensive partnership was formed with Tony Gale in the 1985/86 season which was key to success. The Hammers went within a whisker of winning the league championship, which was in no small part due to a defence that conceded only 40 goals that season.
Martin also had the unique distinction of scoring a hattrick against three different goalkeepers when the Hammers defeated Newcastle 8-1. He won 16 England caps and played in the group stage of the 1986 World Cup Finals. He would have won more caps had it not been for the dominance of Terry Butcher at the centre of defence.
There should perhaps be one last tweak before any such change is made. The dedication for Bobby Moore should be transferred to the West Stand while Alvin Martin is assigned to the South Stand.
It somehow seems more appropriate for Moore to have greatest prominence at the club he helped to put on the map. But then again fans might have other ideas
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