Throughout the 2024/25 season, we're taking a look at some of the best players to have worn a range of squad numbers for West Ham United, since they were introduced for the start of the 1993/94 campaign.
Vote for your favourite No19 from the four chosen nominees below!
All West Ham No19s since 1993/94 | ||
|---|---|---|
1993 | 1997-2004 | 2009-2012 |
1994 | 2004 | 2012-2018 |
1995-1996 | 2004 | 2018-2020 |
1996-1997 | 2005-2009 | 2023-present |
Ian Pearce
DOB: 07.05.74 WHU: 1997-2004 Apps: 163 Goals: 10
Football fans remember Ian Pearce as a respectable operator at Premier League level. West Ham fans remember him as a key part of one of the best teams in the last 30 years.
When the versatile defender arrived from Blackburn Rovers in October 1997 after a bidding war between the Irons and Crystal Palace, there were probably quite a few eyebrows raised. But within weeks it was clear that the new arrival was worth every penny of his £2.3m fee.
From 1997 onwards, Harry Redknapp established West Ham United as a top-ten outfit, and whilst some of the more exotic names (Eyal Berkovic, Paolo Di Canio et al) stole the limelight, Pearce’s consistency was at the heart of that transformation.
In 1998/99, he found his natural calling, establishing himself as part of a three-man central defence alongside Rio Ferdinand and Neil Ruddock. Pearce made 33 league appearances as Redknapp’s team finished fifth in the top-flight - their best position since the halcyon days of 1986 - and Pearce’s performances were rewarded with a second-place finish in the Hammer of the Year awards.
However, an unfortunate ankle injury derailed his Upton Park career, as further niggles restricted him to just 22 starts in the next three seasons. He finally returned to the first team for a consistent spell in late 2001/02, his arrival coinciding with a spell of late-season form that took Glenn Roeder’s side to seventh in the table. The following year, we slipped to relegation, but Pearce stayed to help us fight back before moving to Fulham as part of Alan Pardew’s rebuild in 2004.
James Collins
DOB: 23.08.83 WHU: 2005-2009, 2012-2018 Apps: 214 Goals: 9
Long-serving defender James Collins, known lovingly as ‘The Ginger Pele’, made 214 whole-hearted appearances for West Ham United across two spells, scoring nine goals and making countless vital clearances, interceptions, tackles and blocks.
The centre-half, who initially joined the Hammers from Cardiff City alongside close friend Danny Gabbidon in July 2005, found his first-team chances limited at the Boleyn Ground due to the form of Gabbidon and Anton Ferdinand, but, when called upon, the flame-haired defender did not let the Club down.
Collins started the FA Cup semi-final victory over Middlesbrough at Villa Park in April 2006, but was an unused substitute in the final as West Ham went down to an agonising defeat by Liverpool in his native Cardiff.
The following season, he was a rock during West Ham’s sensational escape from Premier League relegation. A Man of the Match display at Manchester United on the final day of the 2006/07 campaign summed up his fighting qualities perfectly. However, both the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons were stop-start affairs for Collins, who was ruled out by a succession of minor and, in one case, major injuries.
The now 41-year-old initially left the Club in September 2009, but he soon returned and spent another six seasons with West Ham, and was an important member of Slaven Bilić’s record-breaking squad during the Farewell Boleyn campaign alongside James Tomkins, Angelo Ogbonna and Winston Reid.
Collins represented his native Wales at every level from U15s to the senior side, for whom he made his debut as a 20-year-old against Norway in 2004, and he is currently co-host of the Club’s official podcast, Iron Cast.
Freddie Sears
DOB: 27.11.89 WHU: 2008-2012 Apps: 58 Goals: 3
Do West Ham United debuts get any better than that of Freddie Sears?
For a lad who grew up idolising Paolo Di Canio, Jermain Defoe and Frédéric Kanouté, the chance to be a striker like his heroes - in the Claret and Blue - was a dream come true.
The boyhood Hammer, born and raised in Hornchurch, on for his first-ever showing in Claret and Blue against Blackburn Rovers in March 2008, would score the winning goal for his Club. A diving header, after his initial shot was saved, wrote Sears’ name into West Ham folklore forever more.
Sears would end the 2007/08 season with seven first-team appearances, followed by a further 22 in all competitions in the 2008/09 campaign. Loans with Crystal Palace, Coventry City and Scunthorpe United followed, before Sears enjoyed arguably his best spell in the first team in 2010/11.
Despite his best efforts, including goals against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley, the Hammers were relegated from the Premier League, and soon followed his departure from his beloved Club by mutual consent.
Sears, however, has forged a commendable career since departing the Hammers, making over 500 professional appearances, and he currently plays part-time for Chatham Town in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
Meanwhile, having completed his UEFA B licence at West Ham United, Sears is now back where it all began, taking his first steps in coaching, attending Chadwell Heath on Monday nights and supporting the Academy U12s coaching team.
Edson Álvarez
DOB: 24.10.97 WHU: 2023-present Apps: 70 Goals: 2
Current No19 Edson Álvarez has become a true favourite among the Claret and Blue Army since arriving from Ajax in August 2023. A whole-hearted and deep-lying midfielder, El Machín covers every blade of grass week in, week out, both offensively and defensively, in pursuit of positive results for his team.
Álvarez, who honed his skills at Club América, is widely considered one of their best academy graduates and lifted two trophies, helping the team to the Liga MX Apertura in 2018 and the Clausura 2019 Copa MX.
During an impressive first season in Claret and Blue, Álvarez entertained the London Stadium faithful with a mix of superb tackles and goals, making 42 appearances in 2023/24.
Known for his tackling, Álvarez also showed his quality in attack to score a stunning third in West Ham’s 3-1 win over Everton in March 2024, following a crucial effort against SC Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League.
The 85-time capped Mexico international recently captained his country to their first CONCACAF Nations League title in March, and he has remained an integral member of the Irons team in this ongoing campaign, making 28 appearances in all competitions so far.
