Pumping Life into West Ham United

Claret and Blue Blood

...sparkling quotes and candid conversations

A must for any Hammers fans with even a passing interest in the history and evolution of West Ham United

Kirk Blows is a successful journalist and the author of Fortune's Always Hiding, Terminator and The Essential History of West Ham United. He is the former editor of Hammers News, West Ham's official monthly magazine. 
 
Ben Sharratt is a freelance journalist who writes for numerous magazines and websites, and was formerly the assistant editor of Hammers News.

From the World Cup-winning days of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters to highly acclaimed modern-day heroes such as Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe, West Ham United supporters have always had the greatest affection for homegrown Hammers. Since the 1960s, talents such as Trevor Brooking, Tony Cottee, Paul Ince and Rio Ferdinand (who has twice hit the headlines as the world's most expensive defender following his move to Leeds and Manchester United) have been nurtured and brought through the club's ranks, ensuring the Hammers can rightly lay claim to having one of the country's most fruitful youth policies. 
 
In this revised and fully updated paperback edition, Claret and Blue Blood brings together all these characters and others for the very first time, including new chapters on Anton Ferdinand, Stephen Bywater and Kevin Horlock. Using exclusive new interviews, the authors present biographical pieces that collectively tell the story of West Ham United's evolution over the last half-century. Focusing on each player's roots, development and personal achievements, Claret and Blue Blood is a unique book that features key characters, candid conversations, successes, failures and controversies as it explores the very essence of West Ham United.

Three Decades of East End Soap Opera at West Ham United

Bring Me the Head of Trevor Brooking

A thrill-a-minute ride through a turbulent 30 years of triumph, tragedy and trauma since West Ham United last won a major trophy, in 1980

Cataloguing 30 years of hurt since West Ham last won silverware, these great tales are full of wit and only occasional bitterness (*****)

Kirk Blows is a freelance journalist, columnist and author who has been writing about West Ham United for more than 15 years. 
 
 Ben Sharratt was formerly the assistant editor of Hammers News Magazine and has contributed to a wide range of newspapers, magazines and websites as a freelance journalist.

West Ham United last won a major trophy in 1980, but the roller-coaster ride of the past three decades has produced enough twists and turns, heroes and villains and contrasting emotions to grace the script of the most thrilling TV soap opera. 
 
Since Trevor Brooking headed home the FA Cup final winner against Arsenal, the Hammers have experienced delight and despair in not so equal measure, with a cast of controversial characters - either adored or abhorred - playing the key roles in a tale of fact rather than fiction. 
 
The saving of the club by David Sullivan and David Gold, as West Ham stared into the financial abyss following the ill-fated Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson reign, is the latest chapter in a saga that includes numerous promotions and relegations, great escapes, contentious changes of ownership and management, internal feuds, bust-ups and power struggles, the Carlos Tevez affair and the passing of legends Ron Greenwood, John Lyall and Bobby Moore, as well as several false dawns in the endless quest for success. 
 
Including exclusive interviews with key protoganists, Bring Me the Head of Trevor Brooking tells - for the very first time - the inside story behind 60 of the most significant developments at Upton Park in the modern era. Whether examining the contributions of Paolo Di Canio, Harry Redknapp and Frank McAvennie or Gianfranco Zola, Marco Boogers and Iain Dowie, the book celebrates the good, the bad and the ugly of West Ham United.

Kirk Blows

From Take-Off to Tévez - Two Seasons of Triumph and Trauma at West Ham United

Little did anybody anticipate that West Ham's play-off final victory against Preston in 2005 would provide the launch pad for one of their most successful seasons ever, with the club securing a top-half Premiership finish and qualifying for Europe thanks to its first FA Cup final appearance in 26 years. Indeed, the thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool will be remembered as one of the most dramatic finals of all time. 
 
With a keenly anticipated UEFA Cup campaign and the shock arrival of Argentina World Cup stars Carlos Tévez and Javier Mascherano, the future could hardly have seemed brighter. But storm clouds were gathering on the horizon as the Hammers embarked on what would prove to be the most turbulent and traumatic period in the club's entire history. 
 
A protracted takeover saga, the sacking of manager Alan Pardew, a Premier League inquiry that would result in a record £5.5 million fine and a season-long battle against relegation were the main issues that dominated the headlines, while an unseen presence - fuelled by ego and avarice - threatened to erode the fabric of the club from within. Yet salvation would eventually be achieved in the most sensational and controversial of fashions. 
 
Full of exclusive interview material, anecdotes and analytical comment, Hammers Heaven and Hell investigates the true reasons for two campaigns of contrast and conflict as West Ham experienced both ecstasy and agony in equal measures.

Kirk Blows

Books by Kirk Blows

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