Jobserve, Dr Martens, Dagenham Motors and Di Canio what is the best West Ham kit?

It is no surprise that some of the most memorable moments in West Ham United’s history have coincided with them having a football jersey supporters will forever remain enamoured with.

If you cast your mind back to the Paolo Di Canio era, where he defied gravity to score a scissor-kick volley against Wimbledon — you immediately think of shirt sponsor Dr Martens. The brand was emblazoned on the front of the jersey between 1998-2003 and in keeping with the company specialising in footwear, West Ham made a step in the right direction.

Harry Redknapp was at the helm and the unforgettable summer of 1999 culminated in the club winning the Intertoto Cup. A few months prior they secured a fifth-place finish in the Premier League — and the young players also excelled having won the FA Youth Cup.

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This period highlighted why the club has always been earmarked as “The Academy of Football” following the emergence of Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe — all of whom were sold for a combined total of £52 million.

Losing such calibre of talent prompted Redknapp to tell The Athletic: “If the kids had stayed at West Ham, what a team that would’ve been. That would’ve been six England internationals in one team. That was the difference. Manchester United kept their youngsters and that’s what enabled them to become a great team. If I kept those six players together I’m certain I would’ve won the Premier League.”

Prior to Dr Martens, Dagenham Motors was the sponsor between 1992-98. The shirt brings back memories of Julian Dicks, Steve Potts, John Moncur, Ian Bishop and Tony Cottee. In an interview with The Athletic, Ludek Miklosko offered an insight into some of the events that unfolded in the dressing room. But aside from the camaraderie, it was an era in which the team won promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 1992-93 season with Billy Bonds as manager. Who could forget Cottee’s memorable hat-trick against Manchester City in 1994 and the arrivals of Florin Raducioiu, John Hartson and fan favourite Samassi Abou?

It was one of the most exciting periods in the club’s history, with supporters feeling a close connection to the team.

Arguably the best jersey of all was during the Admiral era when the club won the FA Cup in 1980, their last major trophy. You can picture it now: walking along the streets of east London, with the majority of fans having Sir Trevor Brooking’s No 10 on the back of their claret and blue shirts, although still struggling to adjust to seeing Bobby Moore in a Fulham kit.

It remains one of West Ham’s most iconic football shirts. During this era, the club also reached the European Cup Winners’ Cup Final in 1976 where they lost to Anderlecht.

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Relegation to the second division in the 1991-92 season was a sad moment, but there have been few clubs who have been able to create a jersey as good as the one West Ham wore during that campaign. Unfortunately, that kit, produced by Bukta, will always be remembered for the wrong reasons — West Ham finished bottom, scoring the second-fewest goals in the league.

The 2010-11 campaign, the SBOBET era, was another low moment for the club for a number of reasons: kits went missing, players frequently turned up late for training and Avram Grant struggled to inspire the players. Then there was also Julien Faubert’s surprise move to Real Madrid.

Perhaps the highlight of SBOBET being West Ham’s shirt sponsor is a video the club uploaded on YouTube which features Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble and others celebrating the betting company’s fourth birthday.

When you think of the 2007-08 season with XL as the proud sponsors, you immediately think of a baby-faced Freddie Sears scoring on his debut against Blackburn Rovers. But that’s as good as it gets if you were to cast your mind that far back. The company initially signed a three-year deal with West Ham but the club had to end their sponsorship in September 2008 following the collapse of the travel firm. To compound matters, the club then played without a shirt sponsor for over two months.

The shirt design for Alpari’s sponsorship was rather prosaic and to the chagrin of West Ham, the holiday group also collapsed, forcing the club to find another sponsor. There were other low moments, too, such as the 5-0 third round FA Cup loss at Nottingham Forest in 2014.

For all of the turbulent times, there were also enjoyable moments, such as those during the Jobserve era: the club reached the final of the FA Cup and Marlon Harewood, Teddy Sheringham, George McCartney and Carlos Tevez were some of the key players.

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The 2005 Championship play-off final win over Preston remains a happy moment and there was an element of schadenfreude among supporters when Lasagne-gate cost their north London rivals a place in the Champions League on the final day of the 2005-06 season. Tevez’s free kick against the same opponents the following season was also a great moment, as was his winner at Old Trafford which kept West Ham up on the final day of the season.

The home kit for the forthcoming season was leaked prior to the club announcing it, but it has been greeted with a positive response, and the partnership with Betway has been ongoing since the 2015-16 season. Prior to COVID-19, there was always a strong turnout for the unveilings and while the club will hope to create more exciting memories, one thing they will certainly want to avoid is a repeat of fans asking to return the jersey of former players.

Morning, bring back your Payet shirt to any of the club shops & you will get a new replacement for £25, full details on WHU web site today. https://t.co/i9BPrS6YG1

— Lady Karren Brady (@karren_brady) January 30, 2017

There are those who collect kits, others who like the smell of a new jersey and some who couldn’t care less. But football shirts mean a lot to fans and evokes special memories.

Please vote below to let us know which West Ham kit you think is the best (or comment below if you disagree with the selections).

Kit 1 – Admiral (Home 1976-80)

You can never tire of looking at the home fit under the Admiral era. It’s an iconic football shirt and you would not look out of place wearing it now. The away fit also deserves a special mention.

Kit 2 – Dr Martens (Home 1998-99)

Another kit from an exciting era in West Ham’s history. It was one of the best seasons and more than 20 years on, it still remains a sought-after shirt.

Kit 3 – Jobserve (Home 2005-07)

It was between Dagenham Motors and Jobserve but the latter just edges it. I immediately think of the FA Cup final at the Millennium Stadium when I think of this home jersey. This kit recalls happier times and sometimes that’s all you want in a football shirt.

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(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Sam Richardson)

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