West Ham United have long been purveyors of top quality English footballers. Their 1966 team was synonymous with Englands only World Cup victory, and players such as Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst are now cherished as national heroes. In more recent years their youth academy has produced players such as Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Jermaine Defoe, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole and Glen Johnson, all of which have went on to have illustrious careers including spells in the English national team. Their purchases, on the other hand, have left a lot to be desired and numerous poor business decisions lead to a crippling debt that still hangs over the club to this day. These players exemplify the latter, and throughout their often short lived careers at West Ham, their uninspired performances earned them more than most of us could ever dream of. From players that spent more time on the injury list than they did on the pitch, to players who simply werent cut out for the premier league, and players that were paid even more to leave the club than they cost to bring in, here are ten players who stole their living from West Ham. Well, for a while.
