Voted into 10th-spot in the recent #50GreatestHammers poll, Phil Parkes set West Ham United on the road to FA Cup glory in 1980 with his remarkable Man of the Match performance in the third round at West Bromwich Albion...
Heading to The Hawthorns on Saturday 5 January 1980, the vast majority of those in Claret and Blue could have been forgiven for dreaming of promotion back to the promised land of the top-flight, rather than a day out at Wembley in the merry month of May.
Relegated two seasons earlier, John Lyall’s underdogs sat eighth in the second tier, while West Bromwich Albion were comfortably holding their own up in Division One.
But those league standings counted for absolutely nothing on an afternoon, when defiant Phil Parkes showed exactly why the Hammers boss had broken the Club’s transfer record to make him the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.
Walking off at the final whistle, though, Bonzo said: ‘After that display, our name could be on the Cup this year, Parkesy!’
Phil Parkes
“There was never any pressure on me because I never said that I was worth that fee,” the man who cost £565,000 when he moved down West Ham way from Queens Park Rangers in February 1979 told Steve Blowers. “Instead, I always thought: ‘I just need to play my absolute best in every game’.”
“My wife Lavinia and myself had only just recently endured an awful time, both tragically losing our fathers within just six hours of each other,” reveals Phil, who made 440 appearances for the Hammers, keeping a record 146 clean sheets. “That third round draw had meant it would be our first return home to our native Black Country since they’d both passed away and I knew that there would be family, friends and old school pals at The Hawthorns.
“West Bromwich were hot favourites and we were under pressure right from the kick-off against a very good Albion side containing the likes of Cyrille Regis, Peter Barnes and Gary Owen.
“But I had a great defence in front of me in the shape of Frank Lampard, Billy Bonds, Alvin Martin and the young Ray Stewart. This West Ham United was no longer a soft touch – John had changed all that – and we were not fazed by bigger opponents because we didn’t consider ourselves to be a second-tier side. We knew we were a good team and we possessed belief.
“The more you play together as a unit, the better you become as a team,” contends the 69-year-old. “There was no squad rotation back then. We all wanted to play in every game especially as there were incentives and appearance bonuses to be earned in an era when players’ wages were nothing like they are today.”
Despite seeing Parkesy’s goal peppered from all angles, the Hammers snatched the lead against all odds, on the half-hour mark, thanks to Stuart Pearson’s opener.
“After that, the bombardment just got heavier and I was working overtime but I had one of those days that you can only dream about as a goalkeeper,” smiles Phil. “In the 89th minute, though, Big Cyrille controlled with his hand before finally beating me. I got my fingertips to it but just couldn’t keep the ball out.
“I’d had a lot of work to do on an afternoon when we’d been battered and was disappointed both with their equaliser and the fact that we hadn’t quite held on for the win,” concludes the Hammers Hawthorns hero. “Walking off at the final whistle, though, Bonzo said: ‘After that display, our name could be on the Cup this year, Parkesy!’ Certainly, it was my best-ever performance in a 900-odd game career and, importantly, we were still in the FA Cup with a home replay under the Boleyn Ground floodlights to come…”
Continue down the road to Wembley on Monday, when another of West Ham United’s 1980 FA Cup winners recalls our third-round replay win over the Baggies…