West Ham's lost XI

Currently, West Ham are languishing dangerously near the wrong end of the Premier League. Their dire financial situation is second only to Portsmouth. Whilst I do not believe that they will go down, I do think that they should be challenging Tottenham, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City for 4th spot in the league. This may sound absurd given their squad, but when you look at the players they have had, you will agree. In this slide show, I will show you what West Ham's team could have been had it not been so mercilessley dismatnled by richer clubs.

Goalkeeper: ROBERT GREEN

Ok, so maybe a slightly anit-climatic start, as Robert Green already playes for West Ham, however, he is definately one of the best shot-stoppers around. Green was brought in from Norwich in 2006 for £2,000,000. Since then, he has gone on to be an established Premiership 'keeper and is favourite to be England's no.1 in South Africa. There is no doubting Green's class, and as an Arsenal fan, I would love him to make the trip a few miles north to the Emirates.

Righ Back: GLEN JOHNSON

Johnson came through the West Ham academy and played 15 league games before leaving in 2003, upon relegation. Despite unproductive spells at Milwall and Chelsea, he eventually found his feet at Portsmouth where he was named in the team of the season for 2008-09. That earned him a £17,000,000 move to Liverpool, where he made a fantastic start by scoring a bicycle kick against Stoke and providing Liverpool with some much needed width and pace down the right. Although an own-goal against Arsenal and later a long-term injury has taken its toll on the player, Johnson is still in line to wear the no.2 shirt for the Three Lions in Africa.

Centre Back: RIO FERDINAND

Ferdinand was brough to the West Ham academy in 1993, aged 15. After opting for a career in football rather than ballet, he made 127 league apperances for the hammers befre joining Leeds for £18,000,000 in 2000, making him the world's most epensive defender. After losing this title to Lilian Thuram, he saw fit to regain in by joining Manchester United for a massive £30,000,000 in 2002. Since then, he has become England captain, won four titles, an FA Cup, two Carling Cups, three community sheilds, a Club World Cup and, of course, a Champions League. He has also been in the team of the season 5 times.

Centre Back: JOHN TERRY

Terry came through the Chelsea academy, but few people know that before 1995, he was a hammer. It would have been difficult for West Ham to keep him, especially since Manchester United, as well as Chelsea, were interested. However, had they managed to do so, they would have had a player who ended up captaining two Premiership winning sides, captained England, and been considered one of the best defenders of his generation.

Left Back: VALON BEHRAMI

Like Green, Behrami already plays for West Ham. However, he is one of the most reliable LBs around: solid in defence and dynamic in attack. At Lazio, he was being tracked by various top clubs including Juventus, but eventually chose the Premiership in search of first-team football. He has become a favourite at Upton Park, and has also picked up 25 caps for Switzerland, where he is automatic choice at either full-back or winger.

Defensive Midfield: JAVIER MASCHERANO

Mascherano joined West Ham in 2006 in a hugely complicated transfer deal, the reprocussions of wich are only just beginning to die down. He left after six miserable months, which included no goals, only five games, and being bitten by Jermaine Defoe. He joined Liverpool, initially on loan before agreeing to an £18,600,000 move. Since then he has become one of the most tenacious midfielders in the league, consistently covering every blade of grass. He is an automatic starter at Liverpool and played in a Champions League final despite starting that same season as a West Ham utility player. Add to that that he captains an Argentina team containing Messi, Tevez and Aguero, and yu've got yourself a player.

Centre Midfield: MICHAEL CARRICK

This is becoming a recurring theme, as Carrick was also brough through the academy. After making 140 league apperances for West Ham, he joined rivals Tottenham Hotspur in search of Premier League football. After two productive years at White Hart Lane, he moved to Manchester United for £18,000,000 in 2006, where he has won three leagues and the Champions League.

Centre Midfield: FRANK LAMPARD

Following in his father's footsteps, Lampard grew up a West Ham fa and dutifully joined their academy in 1994. After graduating, he played 149 league games before joining arch rivals Chelsea in 2001 for £11,000,000- forever subjecting himself to the wrath of the Boelyn Ground. Since then, he has become one of the best midfielder's in Premiership history, scoring over 20 goals every year since 2005, as well as finding the net at every stage of the Champions League en route to the final in 2007/08. He has also been capped 76 times internationally, enjoying a stellar tournament at Euro 2004.

Attacking Midfield: JOE COLE

Like Lampard, Joe Cole joined West Ham as a boy before joining Chelsea as a man. He was West Ham's star player in 2002/03, and captained them at the tender age of 21. Despite his best efforts, West Ham were relegated and Cole joined Chelsea in 2003 - Abramovich's first transfer window. Although chances have been harder to come by under Ancelotti, there is no doubting Cole's imprtance in Chelsea's dominance from 2004-2006, where he played on the left for club and country. He has 53 England caps to his name.

Striker: CARLOS TEVEZ

'Carlito' joined West Ham in the same infamous deal as Javier Mascherano's - though his time there could not have been more different. After a stop-start first half of the 2006/07 season, he eventually found his feet and kept West Ham up on his own. He then joined Manchester United on loan, where he won two titles, a Carling Cup and a Champions League. Although he is now hated at Old Trafford, he is still worshiped at West Ham, against whom he refuses to celebrate upon scoring. Tevez has been capped 50 times for Argentina.

Striker: JERMAIN DEFOE

Defoe came through the West Ham youth ranks before playing 93 league games for West Ham between 1999-2004. After West Ham's first season in the old Division One, he joined Tottenham Hotspur for £7,000,000 plus Bobby Zamora (aka £6,000,000). Defoe had a great season in 2004-05, bagging 22 goals in 44 games. After the partneship of Keane-Berbatov developed, he left for Portsmouth, for whom he scored 17 in 35. He then returned to Tottenham and has already scored 22 in 32 this season - including 5 against Wigan. Defoe has played 38 matches for England.

Bench:

GK: David James, 2001-2004, former England stopper, team of the season 2008

LB: Paul Konchesky, 2005-2005, solid Fulham defender, capable of wonder-goals

ST: Craig Bellamy, 2007-2009, energetic player enjoying form of his life at Man City

CB: Matthew Upson, 2007-present, 3rd best English CB, current club Captain

ST: Carlton Cole, 2006-present, powerful striker, may be in England squad, tracked by Arsenal

MF: Freddie Ljungberg, 2007-2008, injury plagued time at Upton Park, currently superstar in MLS

MF: Scott Parker 2007-present, box-to-box midfielder, highly under-rated

Manager: HARRY REDKNAPP

The wheeler-dealer cockney managed West Ham from 1994-2001. Immediately after his exit, they were relegated. Redknapp was hugely successful at Portsmouth, where he not only won the FA cup and got them t Europe, but also got Southampton relegated in-between spells. He then took over Tottenham, where he transformed them from a team of pre-madonnas that only looked good on paper to realistic top 4 hopefuls.

So there you have it...

I believe that this team would easily get in the top four. It would also be refreshing to see so many good english players in the team. I think that the team would also work well together: attacking full-backs providing width, Tevez working hard to provide service to defore, Mascherano acting as a foil for Lampard, Carrick and Cole to play-make, as well as a World-class central midfield pairing.

But, alas, we will never find out what could have been for hammer fans.

So there you have it...

I believe that this team would easily get in the top four. It would also be refreshing to see so many good english players in the team. I think that the team would also work well together: attacking full-backs providing width, Tevez working hard to provide service to defore, Mascherano acting as a foil for Lampard, Carrick and Cole to play-make, as well as a World-class central midfield pairing.

But, alas, we will never find out what could have been for hammer fans.