West Ham United wins at the cost of London rivals Tottenham Hotspur have been relatively few and far between in recent times.
In fact, ahead of Sunday’s derby clash at the London Stadium, a victory for Graham Potter’s embattled outfit would represent only their second in eight meet-ups.
Their first on home soil, meanwhile, since Michail Antonio stabbed a 72nd minute strike into Hugo Lloris’ net to defeat a Tottenham team containing Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn and Tanguy Ndombele nearly four years ago.
Yet, despite a rather underwhelming derby record of late, the West Ham United faithful can still look back, misty-eyed, on some pretty happy memories. Those rockets from Pedro Obiang and Manuel Lanzini, for instance. The comeback win in December 2023 in front of a stunned Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
And, of course, the goal which really should have laid the foundations for the glorious Premier League story of Ravel Morrison. A story which, in the end, would become more of a cautionary tale more than anything else.
Twelve years since the former Manchester United wonderkid left Jan Vertonghen and Michael Dawson for dead on route to one of the finest solo goals in the club’s modern history, Hammers News takes a look back and discovers what became of the West Ham team who put three unanswered goals past Spurs on their own soil.
Where are they now? The West Ham United team who beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-0
Jussi Jaaskelainen
One of the more underrated goalkeepers of the Premier League era, 57 of the Bolton legend’s 436 Premier League appearances came between the sticks of West Ham.
Now 50 years of age, Jaaskelainen is working back in his homeland of Finland these days. He is the assistant coach of second-tier outfit PK-35.
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Jussi’s Bolton-born son Will, by the way, is playing National League football with Woking.
Guy Demel
The dependable and well-travelled Demel actually spent a year with Arsenal upon the turn of the Century, heading back to London over a decade later following spells in the Bundesliga with Hamburg and Borussia Dortmund.
Like Jaaskelainen, Demel has also entered coaching after hanging up his boots. The former right-back works alongside ex-Reading midfielder Emerse Fae for the Ivory Coast national team.
Winston Reid
A one-time Hammers captain, Reid got the party started in that famous 3-0 win over Tottenham as his opener midway through the second half sparked a devastating 13-minute flurry.
Despite the fact Winston Reid became dogged by injury as the seasons went by, the 36-year-old New Zealander still made more than 200 appearances for The Hammers.
As of last summer, meanwhile, Reid is a part-owner of Auckland FC in his homeland.
“Getting involved as an investor with Auckland FC feels like the perfect opportunity for me,” Reid said. I love what the club has to offer, what it represents to Auckland as well as coaching and development pathways available to help players achieve their very best.”
James Tomkins
Another who played over 200 games in the claret and blue, the Basildon-born West Ham academy graduate announced his retirement in March after nearly a decade down the road at Crystal Palace.
“Thank you to my amazing family for making my career even possible and their continued support over the years,” Tomkins wrote in a statement posted on social media.
“I was lucky to play for three clubs [West Ham, Palace and Derby County], all with amazing fans who make football what it is. I will miss the game, but it’s time to announce my retirement.”
Razvan Rat
A Centurion with the Romanian national team, the 133-cap Razvan Rat is unlikely to be remembered too vividly even by the West Ham fans who witnessed his 20 appearances in club colours.
Rat is best remembered for his time with Shakhtar Donetsk – he won seven Ukrainian Premier League titles – and now works as a board member at Serie A outfit Genoa following their takeover by Romanian businessman Dan Sucu.
Mark Noble
‘Mr West Ham’; Captain marvel Noble lived the dream of every Hammers supporter and continues to represent his beloved club to this day.
The West Ham legend was immediately offered a behind-the-scenes role when he announced his retirement. Now a vocal presence off the field and a conduit between the board and the players, Graham Potter highlighted Mark Noble’s influence when explaining his decision to take over from Julen Lopetegui.
“It was a combination of lots of factors,” Potter said. “It was the board’s ambition, the board’s trust and belief in me, it was looking at the playing squad, the Academy, the work that Mark Noble does behind the scenes.”
Ravel Morrison
As tended to be the case throughout his career, Ravel Morrison burned bright but far too brief in claret and blue. Though, scorer of one of the club’s most iconic goals, Sam Allardyce came closer than anyone else to unleashing Morrison’s fearsome potential to it’s fullest.
Over a decade later, at a time when he really should be at the peak of his formidable powers, a 32-year-old Morrison is enjoying a slight resurgence away from the spotlight in the UAE’s second-tier.
Mo Diame
A la Morrison, former Wigan Athletic, Newcastle and Hull City powerhouse Diame looked to wind down his career amongst the sun and the sand of the Middle East. Now 37, the former Senegal international has been a free-agent since leaving Qatari outfit Al-Sailiya SC.
Kevin Nolan
In an era where Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and more are all trying their hands at management – with very mixed results – former West Ham favourite Kevin Nolan is hoping to make a name for himself in the dugout too.
After spending four years as an assistant coach at his old stomping ground – Nolan worked alongside David Moyes during that Conference League-winning campaign – the straight-talking Scouser went solo with Northampton Town.
With 50 points to their name, Nolan has ensured The Cobblers will be a League One outfit again in 2025/26.
Stuart Downing
After an unhappy spell at Liverpool, Downing enjoyed quite the resurgence under Allardyce, famously evolving from his usual left-wing role to become more of a roving number ten at Upton Park.
With 59, Downing sits 26th in the Premier League’s all-time assist charts, ahead of Eric Cantona, Theo Walcott, Paul Scholes and Mesut Ozil. The former England squad regular is now an assistant coach for Leeds United’s Under-21 side.
Ricardo Vaz Te
The mercurial Vaz Te netted the second of three goals at Tottenham back in October 2013. A scorer of great goals rather than a ‘great goalscorer’, Vaz Te became a West Ham cult hero thanks to his penchant for the spectacular.
Upon leaving the Hammers in 2015, the nomadic Iberian would embark upon spells in Portugal, Turkey, China and, erm, Charlton.
Speaking to the club’s official website last year, the now-retired Vaz Te spoke glowingly about the impact West Ham imprinted upon him both on the pitch and in his private life too.
“How could I not love my time with this Club?” Vaz Te smiled. “I met my wife – the love of my life – while I was with this Club. We now have our beautiful kids, and all of that comes from being at West Ham United.
“I also got stability and good friends, and a Club that has always shown me love, respect and consideration. There is nothing that compares for me.”