West Ham United fan Danny Dyer shares verdict on Arsenal’s Declan Rice. West Ham United have had some truly incredible players over the years, leaving Danny Dyer in a real predicament when asked to rank them.
The famous claret and blue shirt has been donned by big names for a long, long time now. Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters and Bobby Moore represented the Hammers in the World Cup-winning England squad back in 1966.
Just look through the top appearance makers and there are some real West Ham legends in there; Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard Sr, Trevor Brooking, Alvin Martin and even the more-recent Mark Noble.
Fans will have their own personal favourites and Danny Dyer has shared his – although the TV star wasn’t exactly happy with his own blind picks. Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen of England celebrate after the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Serbia and England at Arena AufSchalke on June…
Dyer – one of the most prominent West Ham fans around – has spoken to Sky Sports and was asked to blind rank five Hammers favourites from over the years.
Paolo Di Caino was first up and Dyer placed the Italian at number three with Jarrod Bowen – his son-in-law – next on the list.
Dyer placed Bowen at number two, admitting that it was a combination of family ties and Bowen’s West Ham brilliance which landed him in that spot.
“I’m gonna put Jarrod… because I love him, and I’m close to him and he’s the father of my grandchildren and also he got the winning goal in Prague, so I’m gonna go two,” said Dyer.
Dyer put Mark Noble at number four and Tony Cottee at number five, admitting that he was saving the number one spot for Bobby Moore – the legend of all West Ham legends.
Instead, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was the man to appear last, forcing Dyer to put him at number one just a year since he quit the Hammers for a move to the Emirates Stadium.
Dyer was disappointed that Moore wasn’t the name to appear but it’s clear that he still has love for Rice despite his decision to move on for £105million last summer.
Dyer praised Rice as a ‘very good West Ham servant’ and admitted his love for the midfielder – even if he’d rather have Bowen ahead of him.
“Oh no,” said Dyer upon realising that he had to put Rice at number one. “I was going to say Bobby Moore, I was waiting for Bobby Moore! So I’ve got to put Declan Rice at one, above Jarrod Bowen? This hasn’t panned out the way I wanted it to!”
“I love Declan Rice, don’t get me wrong, and he was a very good West Ham servant, but I’ve got it wrong, haven’t I? So he’s got to go one,” he added. Rice enjoyed a superb debut season at Arsenal and certainly justified their decision to land him from the Hammers.
Euro 2024 was a little more mixed for Rice though and his performances for England have been dividing opinion. The Spanish media were far from convinced by Rice’s display in the final and Graeme Souness has blasted his displays.
Souness feels that Rice is a centre back rather than a midfielder, slamming him for his performance against Spain last weekend. Paul Merson moved to defend Rice though and believes that he is far from a centre back and actually does his best work as a box-to-box midfielder.
Rice won’t pay too much attention to pundits but will be looking to shine in the Premier League once again – even it’s against Dyer’s West Ham.
