West Ham had no money to buy First Division quality players but he did bring in three talented experienced players, Malcolm Allison, Frank O'Farrell and Jimmy Andrews. Ted Fenton admitted: "The only way to build the club was youth. There were lots of good players around, but I had no money to buy the key players we needed." Fenton worked very closely with chief scout Wally St. Pier, and began to attend as many local matches as possible and did everything to ingratiate themselves with schoolmasters and football officials. The main objective was to stop the flow of all the best East End youngsters, talents like Jimmy Greaves and Terry Venables, who were being lured away by "offering illicit temptations to the families of the top teenage stars". (4)

Charles Korr, the author of West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (1986) has pointed out: "They emphasized that things had changed at West Ham and that the club was once again really interested in local players. The men who ran West Ham might have been guilty of taking their fans for granted for years but were even more culpable in not cultivating the community as the natural area from which they could attract young players." (5) One fan, the journalist Peter Lorenzo, pointed out: "It always mattered that the majority of the playing staff was local... It gave you an affinity and you liked to think it wasn't a cheque book club." (6)

Malcolm Allison was asked by Ted Fenton to coach the young players being brought into the club. Allison later recalled: "Fenton used to pay me £3 extra for training the schoolboys at night. It was then that I found I had a bit of a gift for spotting the boys most likely to make it as professionals." (7) It has been argued that Allison and Fenton developed the idea of the "West Ham Academy of Football". If the headmaster was Fenton, the school was being run by Allison, the "head boy". As one historian has pointed out: "Allison got his opportunity because a new generation of players was coming through, who were willing to listen to almost anything that might lead to success. He could convince other players how badly he wanted success for them, as well as for himself. His confidence and enthusiasm were contagious." (8)

It was Allison who first discovered Bobby Moore. Allison later recalled: "One intake of youngsters at Upton Park included Bobby Moore - and a boy called Georgie Fenn. Bobby looked a useful prospect. Fenn was considered a certainty to make a really spectacular name for himself. All the big London clubs had gone for him, but he came from an East End family and he chose West Ham. Georgie had scored nine goals in one match for, England boys, and he was also an English schools sprint champion. After a fortnight of training the boys Fenton called me into his office to ask my opinion of the intake. I said I liked this boy and that, and when I finished he said: 'But what about Georgie Fenn?' I said that I didn't give him much of a chance. I didn't like his attitude, he wasn't interested enough. There didn't seem much of a commitment. Fenton threw up his arms and said: 'But the kid has so much talent.' I said it was a pity but I just couldn't see the Fenn boy making it. At the same time I said that Bobby Moore was going to be a very big player indeed. Everything about his approach was right. He was ready to listen. You could see that already he was seeking perfection." (9)

Moore agreed that Allison was very important figure at the beginning of his career: "I was a boy, training at West Ham on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Malclm was in charge, always the commanding figure. For me it was an adventure. Malcolm was the hero... When Malcolm was coaching schoolboys. He took a liking to me when I don't think anyone else at West Ham saw anything special in me. Just for that, I would have done anything for him. Every house needs a foundation and Malcolm gave me mine. It went beyond that. He was the be-all and end-all for me. I looked up to the man. It's not too strong to say I loved him." (10) Eddie Lewis commented: "Allison... deserves a great deal of credit for bringing on the likes of Bobby Moore. As a kid, Bobby was slow, he couldn't head a ball and he couldn't tackle, but such was Malcolm's dedication he was able to help Bobby to become the player he was." (11)

Martin Peters was another schoolboy who benifitted from Allison's coaching: "During his time at West Ham he devoted two evenings a week, with other senior players including John Bond and Noel Cantwell, to coaching local kids. Can you imagine star Premiership players giving up two evenings a week to coach children. During Ted Fenton's time as manager, Malcolm often took the coaching. Even as a player he was a master tactician and innovator, and has never really been given the credit he deserves for what he did for so many youngsters at West Ham." (12)

The players were also very critical of club trainer, Billy Moore. The young John Bond was shocked by his approach to training: "There was only two or three footballs in the entire club. You got out for training about quarter past ten and ran round the pitch, ran a lap and walk a lap... You'd be doing this for about three-quarters-of-an-hour and then you's shout to Billy Moore to get the balls out. Billy would be standing at the entrance to the ground watching, with a fag in his mouth, that he never ever took out." (13)

Malcolm Allison was considered to be a good captain but West Ham United continued to struggle in the Second Division and despite bringing in players like Frank O'Farrell, Jimmy Andrews, Noel Cantwell, Dave Sexton, Johnny Dick and Billy Dare, the club finished 12th (1951-52) and 14th (1952-53). However, the establishment of the West Ham Academy began bearing fruit and youngsters such as Andy Malcolm, Harry Hooper, John Bond, George Wright, Ken Brown, Andy Nelson and Malcolm Musgrove, managed to get into the first-team and West Ham finished in 8th place in the 1954-55 season. (14)

Allison became interested in coaching while on National Service in Austria in the late 1940s. He managed to see some football games in Austria. He was especially impressed with Ernst Ocwirk, an attacking centre-half, who played for Austrian Wien and the national team. Allison also watched the players in training. "I was deeply impressed (with the Austrian footballers). I liked the way they enslaved the ball. They made it do all the work. They were neat and controlled. There was nothing crude or haphazard about their work and I thought to myself: surely this is the wave of the future. This is what we have to do in England!" Allison was struck by the variety of the routines. In this way every player was kept interested. (15)

Allison and his teammate, Jimmy Andrews, went to see Hungary play England at Wembley on 25th November 1953. "I went down to Wembley with Jimmy Andrews, later manager of Cardiff City. We got to the stadium early and watched the Hungarians working out on a patch of grass where they kept greyhounds. I noticed their light, modern gear and their streamlined boots and that registered with me vaguely. But Jimmy pointed out the `pot' bulging from the red shirt of no. 10, Ferenc Puskas. 'God, we'll murder this lot,' he said. You had to agree, even though there was a neatness and skill about their limbering. Then, out on the pitch just before the kick off, I saw the `fat guy' volleying shots into the arms of goalkeeper Grocis from 40 yards. I said to Jimmy, 'They've got some skill, you know it could be interesting.' It was more than that. There was something so bright, so brilliant, in Hungary's 6-3 win that even the walls of complacency in English football began to crumble. There was no way that the revolution could come overnight." (16)

Jonathan Wilson, the author of Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics (2008), pointed out that Nándor Hidegkuti, played an important role in these new tactics: "Hidegkuti was almost universally referred to as a withdrawn centre-forward, but the term is misleading, derived largely from his shirt number. He was in modern terminology, simply an attacking midfielder... It was Hidegkuti who destroyed England. Their players had, after all, grown up in a culture where the number denoted the position. The right-winger, the No. 7, lined up against the left-back, the No. 3; the centre-half, the No. 5, took care of the centre-forward, the No. 9.... How was a centre-half to do if the centre-forward kept disappearing off towards the halfway line?" (17) Harry Johnson, England's centre-half that day, wrote in his autobiography: "I was in the middle of that first Hungarian Hurricane at Wembley. And to me the tragedy was the utter helplessness... being unable to do anything to alter the grim outlook... Our troubles at Wembley merely threw up in stark relief the palsy which has afflicted English soccer for years." (18)

Also in the crowd that day was Ron Greenwood, the future West Ham United manager. At the time he was captain of Brentford, but wanted to be a football coach when he retired. In his autobiography, Yours Sincerely (1984), Greenwood explained why this was an important experience: "The Hungarians simply played football differently. They used another language in more senses than one. Their game was based on the short pass although they were always ready with a long one when the moment was right; they were never predictable. They kept the ball on the ground and they fizzed it about. Their pace was tremendous but it was the ball that did the hardest work. Their players moved with cunning and intelligence. They understood the value of space, how to make it and how to use it, and they had that special kind of understanding which only comes with familiarity... The one quality of the Hungarians' game which impressed me most of all was their movement. It gave their technique its edge and variety and made the most of their marvelous talent... Their players were free agents. They ran all over the place and it was this above all which confused England."

Greenwood was later to point out: "The point was to be made later that Hungary played in triangles, little clusters of three and sometimes four players giving each other options. So they did, and many tried to copy them, but what most imitators used were static triangles... The Hungarian way was different. They used moving triangles. Much more difficult, of course, but infinitely more effective. Their players were always on the move so the size, angles and direction of their triangles were constantly changing. Their style was all about understanding, rhythm and intuition; and, linked together by the lovely skills of the Hungarian players, the effect was devastating." (19)

Ron Greenwood argued that once their rhythm was established it was almost impossible to break them down. Greenwood told John Lyall that the Hungarian triumph proved to him that football could be a game of beauty and art, as well as a muscular science. He added that he came away from Wembley that day with a little insight into how Paul of Tarsus must have felt on the road to Damascus. (20)

The reason why Allison and Greenwood was so shocked by the Hungarian formation that day was that it had remained unchanged since Herbert Chapman had obtained such great success with winning the First Division titles and FA Cup with Arsenal (1925-1934) after introducing the W-M formation. "The full-backs marked the wingers rather than inside-forwards, the wing-halves sat on the opposing inside-forwards rather than on the wingers, the centre-half, now a centre-back, dealt with the centre-forward, and both inside-forwards dropped deeper: the 2-3-5 had become a 3-2-2-3; the W-M." (21)

Malcolm Allison took over the control of first-team training sessions in 1956. Allison admitted that it was an example of player power: "My relationship with the West Ham manager Ted Fenton was much closer than the one I had had with Jimmy Seed (his manager at Charlton). But it was scarcely satisfactory. I did give him some problems, but they arose chiefly out of my frustration with the way the club was run. And eventually I began to run the team, with his tacit agreement. He could see that I was getting results. Player power is a phrase which has become fashionable in modern football. But it was being practiced in the West Ham dressing room 20 years ago. I began to draw up my own training schedules, and people like Phil Woosnam, Noel Cantwell, John Bond and Frank O'Farrell came in with me." (22)

Allison also changed West Ham's playing kit. "The Hammers were among the first English teams to swap heavy, buttoned shirts for streamlined, tight-fitting, short-sleeved V-necks and to adopt Continental-style short shorts." At first some of the players did not like these changes. John Bond said: "The shorts were so short that we looked like a load of women running around the place." Allison also persuaded Fenton to order 24 lightweight boots used by the Hungarian team from the manufacturer in Hungary. (23)

Malcolm Allison also began picking the team. Mike Grice commented: "Three team sheets would go up for match days. Malcolm would look at them all, take them down and go and see Ted. When they went up again they had invariably changed." Bill Lansdowne recalled: "Fenton would give us a chat and on the way out of the dressing-room Malcolm would say what to do." Allison liked Malcolm Musgrove because of his attitude towards training: "I was a fitness fanatic, I scored goals, I could run. I was quick and worked 110 per cent. Malcolm Allison was a double fitness fanatic. You finished your day and think that you had earned your money." (24)

Allison made other changes: "I brought in weight-training, heavy weight-training. Ted Fenton didn't want to do it. But I found that our jumping became better. We became stronger and quicker." Noel Cantwell recaled the importance of weight training: "We would go in the gym at quarter past two and have a fairly good work-out and come back and then get prepared. The Weight training gave you tremendous confidence. You felt stronger and you felt good. How one looks and how one appears is always very important. I think it helped when we got away from the old baggy shorts and had good gear." (25)

Most of the players were impressed with Allison's coaching ideas. John Cartwright, a member of the youth team, later recalled: "Malcolm Allison generated ideas. He was like a father to me. West Ham would never have got Moore and Hurst without Malcolm Allison. The coaching was originated by Malcolm, he started the Academy. (26) He added: "Malcolm was very interested in people being individual and making up their own mind about things. He liked players who were comfortable with the ball and imaginative. He liked brave kids. I don't mean just physically brave, but in the sense that they would try things." (27) Cartwright argued that the "players really ruled it... it was a form of communism". (28)

Eddie Lewis who joined West Ham in 1956 after spells at Manchester United and Preston, had been used to training that consisted of little more than laps of the pitch followed by 15-a-side free-for-alls. "Under Malcolm everything was so organised. One small group would be playing six versus six, another playing head tennis, another doing weights, another running. The whistle would blow and the groups would change. You didn't see any clubs doing that at that time." (29)

Some of the young players saw him as a father-figure. John Bond commented: "At West Ham, Malcolm Allison took me from being a naive little kid to some sort of manhood, really. He taught me about life. Him and Noel. After the usual morning training we used to go up to the Denmark Arms, buy our lunch, walk back, go on to the billiard hall or pictures. Then, in the afternoon, we'd go back to the ground till about four or five in the afternoon and train. We'd be knackered at the end of it. I got fit... Whateverhe said I did. I went from being a country bumpkin to being a man in no time at all." (30)

Terry McDonald was a youngster at West Ham squad who eventually had a successful career at Leyton Orient. He pointed out that Malcolm Allison got to know your assets and tried to build on them. He would say: "Your job is to get past your full-back, get your crosses in. Change the game, switch positions, dribble with both feet. If you are playing against a one-footed left-back, drop your shoulder and come inside on his right foot. He'll fall over. Most of all you have to got to stay in the game. You can't just stand there at outside-right or outside-left and expect people to give you the ball." (31)

The classroom for the "West Ham Academy" was the Cassettari a cafe round the corner from the ground where the players went each day. They talked mostly about football. Malcolm Musgrove was one of those who attended these sessions.The most important thing for Allison was for the players to consider a new approach to football. "In a café around the corner from Upton Park we used to fill the room with our theories and disputes. But the result was that we were a nicely developing team. We had opened our minds and declared ourselves willing to try new things and be prepared to make some mistakes on the way." (32)

Dave Sexton, also later a successful manager, said: "The sessions at Cassetarri's got really deep and intense. So many ideas came out of them that we took with us after we left the club." (33) The journalist Matt Dickinson, described Allison as "captain, alpha male, chief tactician, spokesman and unofficial coach". At Cassetarri's the "salt and pepper pots and ketchup sauce would be moved around the table in different formations, highlighting how English teams were stuck like concrete to the outmoded WM system." (34)

According to Malcolm Musgrove Allison changed the way the team played and introduced the idea of overlapping full-backs and the one-touch football: "Allison was a good skipper. He wanted to win, wanted to play football, and this was at the time when there weren't many passing sides about. Most teams used to get it, kick it to the other end and chase it, but we, through Malcolm's influence, always wanted to play from the back. We wanted to pass the ball around. He was a cenre-half that didn't just belt it away, he got it down and passed it." (35)

Allison main idea was that the ball should be played out from the back, rather than being hoofed downfield in the tradition of English football. Allison own instinct as a defender was to look to play an intelligent pass. Frank O'Farrell said, "He (Allison) used the ball quite well for a centre-half." However, he was not always successful in this and John Bond pointed out: "He wanted to play sometimes when he shouldn't. He used to try all sorts of silly things and let himself down at times." Eddie Lewis added: "West Ham liked to knock the ball around, keep it to feet. And we worked a lot of set pieces... there would be a lot of practice on players making decoy runs, allowing Noel Cantwell to come in at the back to score." (36)

Allison's new style of playing football was not immediately popular with the West Ham fans. As Brian Belton points out: "For a time the new style was not received with a great deal of enthusiasm. It looked strange. The manner the team played with the ball, especially in defence, made it look like they were attempting to goad the opposition and annoy the supporters. The East End had grown used to solid, hard-working footballers. This group of players looked to play with finesse and attempted something akin to art." (37) Eventually the fans grew to love this kind of football and the football journalist, Bernard Joy, remarked that West Ham's "colourful football was a way of getting away from the drabness of life in the East End." (38)

Even the players in the youth team used to visit Cassettari’s. John Lyle wrote in his autobiography Just Like my Dreams: My Life at West Ham (1990): "We spent a lot of time together, and frequently ended up after training sharing a pot of tea in an Italian cafe just round the corner from the ground. Cassettari’s was a favourite haunt for West Ham players at the time. It was a family run cafe, and they used to let the senior and young players sit upstairs and talk about football. None of us knew it at the time, but a high percentage of the lads who sat talking football in that little cafe went on to become coaches and managers." (39)

Frank O'Farrell commented that it was very unusual to get a group together that wanted to talk about the game. At first the reception that they got for these new tactics from the fans was lukewarm. "Much of what the players had created seemed strange. The way they played with the ball, especially at the back, made it appear as if they were trying to bait both their opponents and their supporters. These were not the solid, hard-working footballers that East Enders had come to expect. It would have been easy for the club and its manage to put a stop to the experimenting that was taking place at training and on the field and go back to basic football, thus avoiding any possibility of having the worst of both worlds - being unsuccessful and different at the same time." (40)

West Ham had been in the Second Division since the end of the 1931-1932 season. At the beginning of the 1957-1958 season, Malcolm Allison believed this would be the year when they would be promoted. The whole team took this view. Malcolm Musgrove explained: "With Allison's coaching, the players we had, and what we had learned in Cassettari's, we felt we were ready." (41)

In the first five games of the season West Ham won two, drew two and lost to Blackburn Rovers 2-1. However, in the next game against Sheffield United on 6th September, 1957, Allison felt ill. "A Sheffield United player showed me the ball and took it past me. I pumped my arms and struck out my legs, but there was no response. He just sailed away. It was an eerie experience. I managed not to panic. Substitutes were not allowed in those days and I eased myself through the game, conserving every possible scrap of energy... My room-mate Noel Cantwell was awakened by my heavy coughing in the small hours. With the coughing which went on until morning, it was clear that something had gone wrong... Within days I was in the London Hospital, listening to a specialist saying, as though to someone else: 'Mr. Allison, I think you have to forget about playing football. You have TB quite severely. We will have to remove one lung.' I didn't feel despair. I simply didn't accept what he was saying." (42)

Bobby Moore saw Malcolm Allison soon after he had been told he had tuberculosis (TB). "I saw him the day he got the news of his illness. I was a groundstaff boy and I'd gone to Upton Park to collect my wages. I saw Malcolm standing on his own on the balcony at the back of the stand. Tears in his eyes. Big Mal actually crying. He'd been coaching me but I still didn't feel I knew him well enough to go up and ask what was wrong. When I came out of the office I looked up again and Noel Cantwell was standing with his arm round Malcolm. He just been told he'd got TB." (43)

Eddie Lewis, who had a strong dislike of Allison, accepted that he was extremely brave in the way he dealt with his illness: "When he had TB he was given the choice of two operations - one where he had a 70 per cent chance of survival, but wouldn't be able to play anymore or one where he had only a 30 per cent chance of survival, but it may have been possible to play again. He chose the chance to play again. He came back with a scar from the back of his neck to his backside." (44)

Malcolm Allison began a nine-month rehabilitation at the King Edward VII Santatorium in Midhurst, West Sussex, that had been built in 1907 to house tuberculosis suffers." His teammates, in particular Noel Cantwell and John Bond, made regular trips to see their friend and they recalled that they spent a lot of time laughing but it was clear that the "high spirits with which Malcolm greeted his colleagues were mwerely a disguise for his deep depression." (45)

Malcolm Musgrove recalled that he was another player who visited Allison in hospital: "When he got TB it was the first time I saw a grown man cry, really cry, when he found out that his career was virtually finished. He went into the London Hospital first and then Midhurst. We'd take a carload of the lads down to see him at Midhurst and he was always laughing and joking, but it killed him when he realised it. He came back. 'I'm gonna play. I'll play again, don't worry about that.' And he did." (46)

Bill Lansdowne took Allison's place in the West Ham team. By mid-October West Ham only had 12 points from 12 matches. Ted Fenton, felt he needed a new striker and decided that he wanted Vic Keeble who was playing at Newcastle United. He had managed him at Colchester United, and considered him a great finisher. He telephoned Keeble and said: "I'm coming up Saturday, I fancy you Vic, I could well put in a bid for you. I'll take a look at you, see how you do." Keeble scored two goals in the first 45 minutes and at half-time Fenton knocked on the window of the dressing-room and said: "Vic, don't play too well in the second-half, they won't let you go." After the game Fenton bought Keeble for £10,000. (47)

Vic Keeble had been a West Ham fan when he was a boy and so he welcomed a move to the club. (48) Eddie Lewis, who was replaced in the side by Keeble was not impressed by the signing. "After I was dropped I scored four goals in a reserve game... Ted Fenton was obsessed with Vic Keeble, so I just didn't get any games. Ted wasn't the sort of bloke you could talk to about anything." Other players also had their doubts. Mike Grice complained: "Feeble Keeble, the legless wonder... But he was great in the air." Ken Brown added: "Vic Keeble couldn't kick a ball ten yards, but he could head a ball." (49)

Keeble was a great success at West Ham United: "I partnered John Dick and we clicked instantly, scoring 40 goals between us. I was really enjoying my football and grabbed a hat-trick in a 5-0 win against Stoke City, two in 6-1 wins over Lincoln and Bristol Rovers, and further braces in a 6-2 victory over Swansea and 8-0 thumping of Rotherham United. The Hammers clinched the title in the final game at Middlesbrough, where we won 3-1. I knocked in the third goal." (50)

Keeble scored 19 goals that season. Johnny Dick was top scorer with 21 goals and Billy Dare contributed 14, John Smith 11, and Musgrove 9. West Ham was a devastating attacking team scoring a record total of 101 goals that enabled them to win the league championship. After 26 seasons in the second division West Ham was promoted to the top tier. (51)

Malcolm Allison found it difficult to hide his disappointment of not being in the team. "West Ham were going through to the championship and when I should have been collecting my first medal in football I was instead in habiting a vast, grey void. Repeatedly I was advised to think in terms of a future which didn't include playing football... I couldn't get rid of the taste of bitterness when I left hospital. I went to West Ham's championship banquet at the Cafe Royal, and walked out when I learned that I was not to receive a championship medal. I had played six League games before my illness and the other players who had played the same number of games received medals." (52)

West Ham United made a very good start to the 1958-1959 season. They were unchanged for their first five games and was the same team that got them promoted to the First Division: Ernie Gregory, John Bond, Noel Cantwell, Andy Malcolm, Ken Brown, Bill Lansdowne, Mike Grice, John Smith, Vic Keeble, John Dick and Malcolm Musgrove. West Ham won their first three games against Portsmouth (2-1), Wolverhampton Wanderers (2-0) and Aston Villa (7-2). This was followed by a draw and a defeat. However, when they played Manchester United on the night of 8th September, 1958, they knew that a victory would take them to the top of the league. (53)

Sam Leitch reported what happened in The Daily Herald the next morning: "What a cheek which was contemptuous West Ham toyed with Manchester United last night and built up a load of three cracker-jack goals in 60 minutes. Then their strolling, lazy genius got them into trouble as United... slammed back. Had the game lasted another ten minutes I think the Busby Babes would have collected a point. Still over confidence or not, the East End boys of London are top of the First Division this morning - after another joy infested night at this tight little London stadium. The permanently demoralised in the first-half of the slick deadlines and inter-changing of the West Ham inside men, Vic Keeble, John Smith and John Dick... Ron Cope and Goodwin tangled repeatedly as they were jolted out of their stride by the crossfield genius of Malcolm, the punch of Musgrove and the gentle, yet deadly, tip-tapping of Keeble and Smith. It was a magic, high-speed move in the 38th minute which scissored that defence again. From Keeble to Dick, for the big Scot to roll it only a yard forward for Smith to blast home from 18 yards." (54)

Some journalists began to talk about the West Ham brand of football being the way forward. Unfortunately, West Ham could not hold its position at the top of the league and they lost five out of their next seven games. Two wins were followed by two draws and then four defeats. West Ham then went on another good run with eleven wins in 14 games. Except for a 5-1 win over Manchester City, the run in was disappointing and West Ham finished in 6th place. (55)

However, the West Ham Academy began to pay dividends when in May 1959 the youth team reached the final of the FA Youth Cup Final. The team included Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Jack Burkett, Eddie Bovington, Andy Smillie, John Cartwright, Harry Cripps, Derek Woodley, Mick Beesley and Tony Scott. As Roger Hillier has pointed out: "This team also won the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup (second in importance only to the FA Youth Cup), included seven youth internationals, helped progress nine players to first XI duty, contributed four players to the 1964 FA Cup winning team and in a friendly convincingly beat an England Youth XI." (56)

On 15th October, 1959, Vic Keeble got injured. West Ham lost five of the next eleven games. Keeble returned for the game against Leeds United but was injured again and it was followed by another poor run of results. Dick's goals also dried up without the presence of Keeble. Ted Fenton decided that he needed to find another centre-forward. His choice was David Dunmore of Spurs. He was in the reserves and could not get a game and Bill Nicholson, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, told Fenton he could have him in exchange for John Smith, who many fans believed was West Ham player. Nicholson wanted Smith as he was a versatile player who could provide cover for Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, John White and Les Allen. (57)

Smith played his last game for West Ham on 12th March, 1960, against Blackpool. It was a memorable one because he had to take over in goal when Brian Rhodes was injured. (58) The transfer deal became public four days later. One journalist pointed out that the deal made more sense for West Ham than Smith: "John Smith the West Ham United and under-23 international, and David Dunmore, the Tottenham forward, changed clubs in a straight transfer. No cash was received. Dunmore will be at centre-forward in the West Ham team to receive Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. West Ham have been without an effective leader of their attack since Keeble was injured earlier in the season. It is not so easy to see where Smith can be fitted into the Spurs team immediately. Smith plays at inside forward and wing half-back positions adequately filled at White Hart Lane at the moment." (59)

Dunmore was not a success and the fans were not pleased about losing their most promising young player. The decision to sell West Ham's captain, Noel Cantwell to Manchester United was also unpopular with supporters. The Ilford Recorder invited Ted Fenton to write an article explaining why West Ham's form had declined so much. Fenton declined the offer and the article was written by a staff reporter and asked if it was possible for West Ham to be successful on a "shoe-string". He argued that it was clear that West Ham needed to recruit new players and asked whether "West Ham is seeking men of established repute, or are they persisting with the 'empty-kitty' policy?" (60)

By January 1961, the club was stuck near the bottom of the First Division. The local newspapers reported that Fenton was resisting the selling of his best players, including John Bond and Phil Woosnam. They did not go but when it became clear that West Ham would not be relegated, Fenton was sacked. Reg Pratt, the chairman of the club issued a statement that West Ham "would be managed by the board... with advice from Albert Walker (one of the trainers) and Phil Woosnam (the captain)." (61)

On 13th April 1961, Ron Greenwood, the assistant manager at Arsenal, replaced Fenton. He was the first important figure in the West Ham hierarchy ever to be brought in without having any ties to the club. The board announced to the press that Greenwood's job would be "concerned solely with coaching and training". All administrative work would be in the hands of Eddie Chapman, the secretary, and his staff. (62) Greenwood was assured that he would be given a "free hand" with preparations for matches as well as the training of players. He was also told he would have money to buy a couple of players. (63)

As soon as he was appointed as manager Greenwood attempted to recruit Malcolm Allison as the club's youth coach. Greenwood recalled in his autobiography, Yours Sincerely (1984): "He was one of several men, who, in a sense, prepared the way for me before I took over at Upton Park... Cassettari's, is a colourful part of the West Ham story. I inherited fertile ground and Allison was one of the men responsible. He is a natural coach, a man with real insight into the game, and he proved his ability with youngsters right from his early days with West Ham. I thought he would be ideal but when I put the proposal to the board their reaction surprised me. They listened attentively, but then said, firmly, that they did not think Allison should come back to the club. They told me one or two things had happened which would not make it a good idea and they were clearly not going to change their minds." (64)

John Cartwright, who benefited from Allison's help as a schoolboy, always expected him to return to become a full-time coach for West Ham: "We all thought that when Malcolm had recovered from his TB he would come back into the club as a coach. He was the instigator in changing the club's footballing beliefs. The business about the West Ham Academy was basically Malcolm. We assumed that he would come back as a coach, but unfortunately the directors were opposed to that and he never returned." (65)

Most of the players welcomed Greenwood's appointment. Ken Brown argued that since Allison had left the club had gradually declined and if Fenton had not been sacked he believed that West Ham would have eventually been relegated. Brown claimed that "Greenwood brought good ideas and a concept of good football to West Ham... and gave us the chance to play with the ball." (66)

In his autobiography Greenwood claims that he quickly came to the conclusion that the older players in the squad had too much power at the club. This included Andy Malcolm, Johnny Dick, Malcolm Musgrove, John Bond and Phil Woosnam. He was told by Bill Jenkins, the club's physiotherapist, that Bond was the leader of the group. In order to deal with this problem he dropped Bond and replaced him with John Lyle. (67)

Greenwood realised he had a small group of young players that had the opportunity to become English internationals. Only one, the 20-year-old Bobby Moore, had established himself in the first team. "Moore was a first-class technician and a quick learner but he was heavy-legged, not a good runner and a poor header… He did not have much pace, or even variety in the pace he had, and there were a lot of people around who would say he couldn't cope with ‘a chasing'…. But what few people knew about was his fanatical dedication." Greenwood knew of Moore when he was coaching the England Youth and Under-23 teams. (68)

Moore had good reason to be pleased that Greenwood had arrived as manager. Phil Woosnam, who had taken temporary charge of West Ham after Ted Fenton had left the club, had dropped Moore from the team. The first person to knock on Greenwood's door was Moore who was anxious to find out if he had a career at West Ham. Greenwood looked at Moore and made a bold promise: "I know you, I like you and I am going to build this club around you." (69)

Geoff Hurst also welcomed the arrival of Greenwood: "Within days of his arrival, the changes were quite dramatic. What the players noticed first were the new training programmes. Ted had been one of the old school. Under him, most of the work we did was physical - running, stretching, exercises to strengthen legs, arms and shoulders. Every day was much the same as every other day. He made us do a lot of sprinting and we had to wear running spikes for this... But when Ron turned up at our Grange Farm training ground the spikes went into the dustbin... Ron said that we couldn't wear spikes and kick a ball around and, in future, all training would involve the use of a ball." (70)

Martin Peters was only 18 when Greenwood arrived and he admitted that it had an enormous influence on his development as a footballer: "Ron told us that in future everything we did would be in football boots. All training, he said, would involve the use of the ball. This suited me perfectly. I was naturally fit and, if not particularly fast, I had great endurance. I didn't really need fitness work. I wanted to devote more time to my ball skillls. Under the previous regime, training had been more about running and fitness than technique and ball control... It was soon apparent that Ron was a brilliant, innovative coach, and that he could improve any player who wanted to improve. I was one of them. It was an exciting, stimulating time and I couldn't wait to get on the training pitch each day." (71)

Greenwood also decided to get rid of Andy Malcolm. He was in and out of the West Ham team in the first-half of the 1961-1962 season. Initially he gave the number 4 shirt to Geoff Hurst, a very different type of player. Greenwood made it clear that he did not approve of Andy's "demolition instincts". Andy Malcolm later recalled that Greenwood told him that he had no future with the club and that he wanted him to go to Chelsea. (72)

However, Greenwood wanted to get the best price for Malcolm and on 1st November, 1961, The Daily Mirror reported that West Ham had turned down Chelsea's offer of £10,000 and reserve centre forward Ron Tindall in exchange for Malcolm. Ron Greenwood said: "Chelsea came to us for Malcolm. We stated our terms and as far as we are concerned the ball is in their court." By this stage Malcolm clearly wished to leave the club and complained: "I have served the Hammers for twelve years and knowing how I feel, I should have thought they would have allowed the deal to go through." (73)

The sale eventually went through and Malcolm commented: "I moved to Chelsea because it was quite obvious to me I wasn't to become part of Ron Greenwood's plans at Upton Park. I missed out on West Ham's Cup success in the Sixties, but even had I been at West Ham I might not have been in the side with Ron Greenwood in charge." It has been argued by Brian Belton, the author of Days of Iron (1999) that with Malcolm that they would have won more: "West Ham never really developed the consistency to make an impact on the League... Greenwood had no Hunter, Giles, Bremner or Stiles... The potential that lay in Andy Malcolm... was not honed, simply because it was not in Greenwood's personality to do this." (74)

Greenwood wrote in his autobiography: "I had attempted to open up a place at right-half for Hurst by letting Andy Malcolm, a hard and reliable club man, go to Chelsea." However, Greenwood soon lost faith in Hurst and he was demoted to the reserves. Greenwood wrote in his autobiography: "He (Hurst) had played eight League games in two seasons and, at best, he was a strong, honest wing-half… He was useless at accepting responsibility. I told him early on, ‘You're a horrible defender.'" Everything changed when at the start of the 1962-63 season, because of injuries, Greenwood played Hurst in attack. In his first game West Ham beat Liverpool 1-0 at Upton Park: "Hurst had a lot to learn but he was a coach's dream. Nobody could have worked harder. He listened and practiced, and kept on practicing, and the improvement in his game was remarkable." (75)   

Hurst argued in 1966 and All That (2001), that Greenwood told him about how he had been influenced by the Hungarian football team of the 1950s: "They werethe first foreign team to win at Wembley and Ron had been in the crowd. For years afterwards he spoke about their vision, their exquisite control and movement to anyone who would listen. What he took specifically from the Hungarians was the near-post cross, a tactic that was to become one of West Ham's trademarks during my time with the club... Ron made sure we were all capable of crossing to the near post... Martin Peters, Bobby Moore, everyone, practised until Ron was satisfied that his near-post ploy would work regardless of which of his players were involved." (76)

Gradually, Greenwood got rid of his senior players. Andy Malcolm was followed by Johnny Dick, Malcolm Musgrove and Phil Woosnam (replaced as captain by Bobby Moore). This gave room from players from the West Ham Academy to experience first-team football such as John Lyle, Ronnie Boyce, Eddie Bovington, Jack Burkett, Brian Dear, Joe Kirkup, Tony Scott and John Sissons. (77)

John Bond who had been dropped from the first team still admired Greenwood's approach to coaching: "Ron was everything in the world to me; he was a terrific man manager. Ron is still a million miles better than anyone else I have seen in football in terms of coaching. Ron was in a different world. He was quiet, unassuming and so simplistic in everything he did. His whole concept of playing the game was simple, using space on the football pitch... Ron never did the same thing two days running; he would stimulate your brain. He also gave great team talks to motivate us. You could not wait to get out and play." (78)

Greenwood's first signing was Ian Crawford, the goalscoring winger with Heart of Midlothian, who cost £10,000 in July 1961. However, his most important recruit came the following year when he managed to persuade Crystal Palace to sell Johnny Byrne. The fee being made up of £58,000 plus Ron Brett who was valued at £7,000. At the time it was a British record fee. Greenwood later said: "Johnny Byrne was with Crystal Palace, who had just won promotion from the Fourth Division, and I set my heart on him the night he helped destroy West Germany in an Under-23 international at Tottenham... We won 4-1 before a crowd of nearly sixteen thousand and everything went like a dream. Bobby Moore was excellent... Byrne's performance was almost unbelievable." (79) Bobby Moore pointed out "Johnny Byrne must have had 100 touches of the ball, 75 of them from my passes, most of that one-touch, all down to Ron's organisation." (80)

Greenwood added: "Johnny was smallish, not quite five feet eight inches tall, but solidly built. He had a boyish face and a tongue that worked overtime - hence his nickname, 'Budgie'... He was beautifully balanced, a short-strider and a master of the ball. He seemed to need no space in which to turn... He could change his mind or his direction in a blink and was almost impossible to anticipate... The bigger the centre-half against him the better he seemed to play... But although he was an individualist he led his line well and was always looking to bring his team-mates into the game. He made us tick, and when Budgie played well we played well." (81)

Greenwood now played Geoff Hurst up-front with Byrne. In the 1961-1962 season Byrne only scored one goal in eleven games. The following season the partnership was much more productive with Hurst scoring 13 in 27 games and Byrne 9 in 30 games. Two players from the West Ham Academy also contributed to the goal tally: Tony Scott (10 in 27) and Martin Peters (8 in 36). However, West Ham disappointly finished in 12th place, compared to 8th place in 1961-1962. (82)

Hurst was pleased with his season: "Considering I started the season as a half-back of dodgy quality, I was naturally thrilled with my goal tally. A goal every other game for a novice like me was quite sensational and in the modern game, would guarantee overnight stardom and all that goes with it... It was Ron who taught me how to drag my opponents out of position, creating space for others to exploit. Johnny Byrne... was often the player who capitalised on my running... Slowly a partnership developed with Budgie. Initially, he was the star and I was the straight man, the guy who did the donkey work. Playing alongside him was one of the best things that could have happened to me... Needle sharp and an incessant talker, he'd drive you mad in the dressing-room but, once on the pitch, you just stood back and admired a rare talent." (83)

Ron Greenwood was slowly building a good team round Bobby Moore. This included Jim Standen, John Bond, Jack Burkett, Ken Brown, Eddie Bovington, Ronnie Boyce, Peter Brabrook, Johnny Byrne, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters and John Sissons. Greenwood explained: "When I first went to West Ham they employed inside-forwards and wing-halves, but eventually we changed our system to a flat back four to encourage Bobby to play - he was the lynchpin. We set standards because we had players capable of it.... Our full-backs would push up and get forward. In fact, they were more attacking than some present-day wingers... At the back, Bobby could read along the line and cover the whole area. Everyone was tight going forward and Bobby played loose, free, behind everyone else, and the team could go forward with the confidence Bobby was always behind them, reading anything coming through, mopping up. It was a joy to watch him play." (84)

John Bond was excited by the team that Greenwood was developing: "Jim Standen was an experienced goalkeeper... Jackie Burkett was a good left back, a physical player and dangerous on the overlap... Eddie Bovington was a workhouse, a good tackler, honest, won the ball and moved it on. He did not have a great range of passes, but Eddie could stop an opponent playing... Kenny Brown was a solid centre half, a fine header, strong and a good distributor of the ball. Bobby Moore was skipper and an inspiration to us all... Peter Brabrook was quick as lightning... He was a danger against any team he played... Ronnie Boyce was an unsung hero in the team... Ronnie never stopped and we appreciated his efforts. The players rated Ronnie; he was a player's player. Johnny Byrne was nicknamed 'Budgie' because he was always talking on and off the pitch. He fitted in well to our pattern of play. Johnny was an instinctive player. Teams would try to wrap him up, but he would do something different to get to the byline and deliver a cross... Geoff Hurst was a magnificent player to have playing up front for you. He came into his own when he converted to striker. It was fantastic to witness and he did became something special. Johnny Sissons was terrific for such a young lad. He was only 18, but had a magnificent left foot, and could strike a ball with power and accuracy." (85)

Greenwood was also very pleased with the development of the West Ham Academy and the club won the FA Youth Cup in 1963 beating Liverpool in the final. The team included Colin Mackleworth, Dennis Burnett, Bill Kitchener, Trevor Dawkins, John Charles, Bobby Howe, Harry Redknapp, Peter Bennett, Martin Britt, John Sissons and John Dryden. (only Dryden failed to play in the first-team). John Charles was the captain was the first black player to lead a first-class side to a major trophy. He was also the first black player to represent England at Under-18 and any level within the National team. (86)

The West Ham Youth team coach was Jimmy Barrett Jr. who was the son of Jimmy Barrett, the former West Ham centre-half. Harry Redknapp wrote in his autobiography that "Ron Greenwood was at every game we played and would encourage us by fixing up matches against the first team in training." (87) Bobby Moore once told Greenwood that: "You're more interested in the youngsters than you are in the first team." Greenwood admitted: "Ours was one of the most exciting youth teams I have ever seen, a side of talent, good habits and style. They were West Ham's future." (88)

Johnny Byrne was a great success in the 1963-1964 season scoring 24 goals in 33 games. Geoff Hurst also did well with 14 in 37, however, West Ham finished in 14th place in the First Division. Their 69 goal tally would have been good enough for a top half place but the 74 goals conceded was one of the worst in the First Division. West Ham did do well in the League Cup where they reached the semi-final stage before being knocked out by Leicester City. (89)

West Ham did even better in the FA Cup and beat Charlton Athletic (3-0), Leyton Orient (3-0), Swindon Town (3-1), Burnley (3-2) and Manchester United (3-1) to get to the final at Wembley Stadium against Preston North End. Moore later recalled: "We were playing against Preston North End, a Second Division side. We'd been magic in the semi-final against Manchester United. Wembley should have belonged to West Ham... We played badly. We spluttered. We didn't fulfill anything we had promised ourselves." (90)

West Ham was losing 2-1 at half-time. Ron Greenwood made tactical changes pushing Eddie Bovington forward in midfield, using Bobby Moore to mark man-to-man rather than sweeping. The more adventurous approach paid off when Hurst equalised with a header in the 52nd minute. John Bond pointed out that both sides were extremely tired: "Tiredness and cramp was creeping in for some of the players on the lush Wembley turf. Extra time looked on when Geoff Hurst took the Preston defence on again, stumbled and recovered before sweeping the ball to Peter Brabrook on the right wing. Peter floated a great ball over the Preston defence; and then it all went into slow motion. As the ball floated across, everyone seemed to stop and watch it. Everyone except Ronnie Boyce that is, who came racing in unmarked to head past Kelly." (91)

West Ham United was the last all-English side to win the FA Cup. The same 11 men played throughout the seven-game campaign. Eight of these players came out of the West Ham Academy and had been recruited by the club as teenagers: Bobby Moore. John Bond, Jack Burkett, Ken Brown, Eddie Bovington, Ronnie Boyce, Geoff Hurst and John Sissons. Only the goalkeeper, Jim Standen, was born outside London. (92)

After the game Ron Greenwood admitted that West Ham did not play well but deserved their victory and fully enjoyed the celebrations that took place in East London: "Then came the journey back to Upton Park, a trip which started quietly and ended with a real old knees-up. We travelled in an open-top bus and central London was its usual Sunday-morning self when we started... The roads were clear all the way to Aldgate and Petticoat Lane but then, suddenly, the whole of East London seemed to be there - thousands and more thousands. Six miles of smiling faces, deafening cheers and waving banners. The lads and the Cup were on top. I sat inside relishing every second. All these lovely people were proof that our achievement mattered." (93)

John Simkin (24th December, 2020)

(1) Sam Leitch, The Daily Herald (9th September, 1958)

(2) Kirk Blows and Tony Hogg, The Essential History of West Ham United (2000) pages 284-287

(3) Tony Hogg, West Ham United Who's Who (2005) page 78

(4) Matt Dickinson, Bobby Moore: The Man in Full (2014) page 16

(5) Charles Korr, West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (1986) page 102

(6) Peter Lorenzo, interviewed by Brian Belton, for his book Days of Iron (1999) page 54

(7) Malcolm Allison, Colours of my Life (1975) page 33

(8) Charles Korr, West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (1986) page 105

(9) Malcolm Allison, Colours of my Life (1975) page 33

(10) Bobby Moore, interviewed by Jeff Powell, for his book, Bobby Moore: The Life and Times of a Sporting Hero (1993) page 22

(11) Eddie Lewis, interviewed by Brian Belton, for his book Days of Iron (1999) page 118

(12) Martin Peters, The Ghost of 1966: The Autobiography (2006) page 56

(13) John Bond, interviewed by Brian Belton, for his book Days of Iron (1999) page 71

(14) Kirk Blows and Tony Hogg, The Essential History of West Ham United (2000) pages 269-272

(15) David Tossell, Big Mal: The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison (2006) page 19

(16) Malcolm Allison, Colours of my Life (1975) page 23

(17) Jonathan Wilson, Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics (2008) pages 89-90

(18) Harry Johnson, The Rocky Road to Wembley (1954) page 49

(19) Ron Greenwood,Yours Sincerely (1984) pages 142-143

(20) John Lyall, Just Like My Dreams (1989) page 68

(21) Jonathan Wilson, Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics (2008) pages 50-51

(22) Malcolm Allison, Colours of my Life (1975) page 30

(23) David Tossell, Big Mal: The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend (2008) pages 37-38

(24) Malcolm Musgrove, interviewed by Brian Belton, for his book Days of Iron (1999) page 101

(25) David Tossell, Big Mal: The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend (2008) page 39

(26) Brian Belton, Days of Iron (1999) page 113

(27) David Tossell, Big Mal: The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend (2008) page 40

(28) Charles Korr, West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (1986) page 105

(29) David Tossell, Big Mal: The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend (2008) page 39

(30) John Bond, interviewed by Brian Belton, for his book Days of Iron (1999) page 111

(31) David Tossell, Big Mal: The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend (2008) page 51

(32) Malcolm Allison, Colours of my Life (1975) page 32

(33) Dave Sexton, interviewed by Brian Belton, for his book Days of Iron (1999) page 224

(34) Matt Dickinson, Bobby Moore: The Man in Full (2014) pages 15-16

(35) Brian Belton, Days of Iron (1999) page 119

(36) David Tossell, Big Mal: The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend (2008) page 39

(37) Brian Belton, Days of Iron (1999) page 112

(38) Charles Korr, West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (1986) page 100

(39) John Lyle, Just Like my Dreams: My Life at West Ham (1990) page 29

(40) Charles Korr, West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (1986) page 108

(41) David Tossell, Big Mal: The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend (2008) page 45

(42) Malcolm Allison, Colours of my Life (1975) pages 34-35

(43) Bobby Moore, interviewed by Jeff Powell, for his book, Bobby Moore: The Life and Times of a Sporting Hero (1993) page 20

(44) Eddie Lewis, interviewed by Brian Belton, for his book Days of Iron (1999) page 119

(45) David Tossell, Big Mal: The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend (2008) page 46

(46) Malcolm Musgrove, interviewed by Brian Belton, for his book Days of Iron (1999) pages 120-121

(47) Brian Belton, Days of Iron (1999) page 141

(48) Vic Keeble, Match of My Life (2007) page 30

(49) Brian Belton, Days of Iron (1999) page 141

(50) Vic Keeble, Match of My Life (2007) page 41

(51) Kirk Blows and Tony Hogg, The Essential History of West Ham United (2000) page 275

(52) Malcolm Allison, Colours of my Life (1975) page 36

(53) John Northcutt, The Definitive West Ham United F. C. (2003) page 74

(54) Sam Leitch, The Daily Herald (9th September, 1958)

(55) John Northcutt, The Definitive West Ham United F. C. (2003) page 74

(56) Roger Hillier, 1959 FA Youth Cup Final (2020)

(57) Kirk Blows and Tony Hogg, The Essential History of West Ham United (2000) page 95

(58) John Northcutt & Steve Marsh, West Ham United: The Complete Record (2015) page 251

(59) Birmingham Daily Post (16th March, 1960)

(60) Ilford Recorder (21st January, 1961)

(61) Ilford Recorder (23rd March, 1961)

(62) Ilford Recorder (13th April, 1961)

(63) Charles Korr, West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (1986) page 120

(64) Ron Greenwood, Yours Sincerely (1984) pages 224-225

(65) David Tossell, Big Mal: The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend (2008) page 54

(66) Charles Korr, West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (1986) page 120

(67) Ron Greenwood, Yours Sincerely (1984) page 171

(68) Brian Belton, Days of Iron (1999) page 98

(69) Matt Dickinson, Bobby Moore: The Man in Full (2014) page 16

(70) Geoff Hurst, 1966 and All That (2001) page 28

(71) Martin Peters, The Ghost of 1966: The Autobiography (2006) pages 26-27

(72) Brian Belton, Days of Iron (1999) page 98

(73) The Daily Mirror (Ist November, 1961)

(74) Brian Belton, Days of Iron (1999) page 98

(75) Ron Greenwood, Yours Sincerely (1984) page 188

(76) Geoff Hurst, 1966 and All That (2001) page 35

(77) John Northcutt, The Definitive West Ham United F. C. (2003) pages 78-79

(78) John Bond, Match of My Life: FA Cup Finals 1953-1969 (2007) page 159

(79) Ron Greenwood, Yours Sincerely (1984) pages 177-178

(80) Bobby Moore, interviewed by Jeff Powell, for his book, Bobby Moore: The Life and Times of a Sporting Hero (1993) page 35

(81) Ron Greenwood, Yours Sincerely (1984) pages 179

(82) John Northcutt & Steve Marsh, West Ham United: The Complete Record (2015) pages 279-280

(83) Geoff Hurst, 1966 and All That (2001) pages 32-33

(84) Ron Greenwood, Yours Sincerely (1984) pages 187

(85) John Bond, Match of My Life: FA Cup Finals 1953-1969 (2007) page 155-156

(86) Brian Belton, The Black Hammers (2006) page 5

(87) Harry Redknapp, Always Managing: My Autobiography (2013) page 93

(88) Ron Greenwood, Yours Sincerely (1984) pages 181

(89) Kirk Blows and Tony Hogg, The Essential History of West Ham United (2000) page 281

(90) Bobby Moore, interviewed by Jeff Powell, for his book, Bobby Moore: The Life and Times of a Sporting Hero (1993) page 66

(91) John Bond, Match of My Life: FA Cup Finals 1953-1969 (2007) page 158

(92) Brian Belton, The First and Last Englishmen: West Ham United in the 1960s (2013) page 10

(93) Ron Greenwood, Yours Sincerely (1984) page 199

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Ben Bradlee and the Death of Mary Pinchot Meyer (29th October, 2014)

Yuri Nosenko and the Warren Report (15th October, 2014)

The KGB and Martin Luther King (2nd October, 2014)

The Death of Tomás Harris (24th September, 2014)

Simulations in the Classroom (1st September, 2014)

The KGB and the JFK Assassination (21st August, 2014)

West Ham United and the First World War (4th August, 2014)

The First World War and the War Propaganda Bureau (28th July, 2014)

Interpretations in History (8th July, 2014)

Alger Hiss was not framed by the FBI (17th June, 2014)

Google, Bing and Operation Mockingbird: Part 2 (14th June, 2014)

Google, Bing and Operation Mockingbird: The CIA and Search-Engine Results (10th June, 2014)

The Student as Teacher (7th June, 2014)

Is Wikipedia under the control of political extremists? (23rd May, 2014)

Why MI5 did not want you to know about Ernest Holloway Oldham (6th May, 2014)

The Strange Death of Lev Sedov (16th April, 2014)

Why we will never discover who killed John F. Kennedy (27th March, 2014)

The KGB planned to groom Michael Straight to become President of the United States (20th March, 2014)

The Allied Plot to Kill Lenin (7th March, 2014)

Was Rasputin murdered by MI6? (24th February 2014)

Winston Churchill and Chemical Weapons (11th February, 2014)

Pete Seeger and the Media (1st February 2014)

Should history teachers use Blackadder in the classroom? (15th January 2014)

Why did the intelligence services murder Dr. Stephen Ward? (8th January 2014)

Solomon Northup and 12 Years a Slave (4th January 2014)

The Angel of Auschwitz (6th December 2013)

The Death of John F. Kennedy (23rd November 2013)

Adolf Hitler and Women (22nd November 2013)

New Evidence in the Geli Raubal Case (10th November 2013)

Murder Cases in the Classroom (6th November 2013)

Major Truman Smith and the Funding of Adolf Hitler (4th November 2013)

Unity Mitford and Adolf Hitler (30th October 2013)

Claud Cockburn and his fight against Appeasement (26th October 2013)

The Strange Case of William Wiseman (21st October 2013)

Robert Vansittart's Spy Network (17th October 2013)

British Newspaper Reporting of Appeasement and Nazi Germany (14th October 2013)

Paul Dacre, The Daily Mail and Fascism (12th October 2013)

Wallis Simpson and Nazi Germany (11th October 2013)

The Activities of MI5 (9th October 2013)

The Right Club and the Second World War (6th October 2013)

What did Paul Dacre's father do in the war? (4th October 2013)

Ralph Miliband and Lord Rothermere (2nd October 2013)