As he takes his seat at London Stadium for tonight’s Premier League clash between West Ham and Burnley, Sir Trevor Brooking will no doubt have a brief flashback to 27 August 1967, and a 3-3 draw between the two sides at Turf Moor.
That afternoon, a fresh-faced 18-year-old Brooking made his first-team debut for the Hammers, the first step on what was to become an illustrious 17-year playing career in the Claret and Blue, taking in 643 appearances, 102 goals, two FA Cup winner’s medals, a Second Division title medal, five Hammer of the Year awards and 47 England caps.
“The manager, Ron Greenwood felt it was good to give young players their debuts away from home because there was less pressure,” recalls Sir Trevor.
“I remember the goal scorers in a 3-3 draw that day were Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst which wasn’t bad – just a year after the trio had played in the World Cup final.
“Later that season, I recall, I scored my one and only hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Newcastle. I got everyone to sign the ball afterwards and gave it to my mum and dad, who stuck it on top of their TV.”
The Hammers legend enjoyed another visit to London Stadium earlier this week, when he was joined by Evening Standard reporter Ken Dyer for a walk around the Club’s new home, where the pair viewed some of the references and tributes to Sir Trevor’s glittering career that adorn the walls of our new home.
Ken, who has been covering West Ham United matches as a reporter since the early 1970s, shared a special moment with Sir Trevor and his team-mates when John Lyall invited him into the victorious Wembley dressing-room following our FA Cup final win over Arsenal in May 1980.
More than 36 years on, the two old friends are still gathering memories at London Stadium, and Sir Trevor insists that, while it will understandably take time to feel truly like home, he has no doubt that West Ham supporters will build their own memories to treasure.
“I was at the League Cup tie against Chelsea, it was probably the best performance and result so far and that is what you want to lift everyone,” he said. “The atmosphere was terrific and when everyone is behind the team, it will be fine.
“That is what we have to aim at now, to turn on some good home performances at the London Stadium and create our own history, as we did in the past.
“More than anything, the crowd can help the team in these next two home matches, against Burnley and Hull. Four or six points from these two games would put us in the pack is the middle of the table.
“There’s no reason why, against Burnley, we can’t raise the roof and set the benchmark for the future.
“If you had said to me 18 months ago that the Club would go from playing in front of 35,000 to almost 60,000, I would have said it would have taken two or three seasons to make that progression.
“It’s fantastic though, that because of the loyal support, they’ve managed to sell out.
“The first season, no matter how many people came, was always going to be a hard challenge but now it’s for the players and supporters to work together and get the results that will turn it around.”
*Read more from Ken Dyer's exclusive interview with Sir Trevor Brooking, including his view on West Ham's in-form Michail Antonio, in Wednesday's Evening Standard.