‘I let my heart rule my head, it was basically like going back home’: West Ham legend on how he turned down Chelsea in favour of dream move to the Hammers

John Moncur has revealed how he snubbed Chelsea’s hard-fought advances to sign from West Ham United in 1994.

The tenacious midfielder spent nine years with the Hammers, making 192 appearances before hanging up his boots back in 2003. Swapping Tottenham for West Ham is something most modern-day players wouldn’t dream of, but in an exclusive interview with FourFourTwo, Moncur admitted he always had a thing for the claret and blue growing up.

“To be honest, I let my heart rule my head on that one,” said the former Spurs midfielder. “I spoke to Chelsea, as Glenn [Hoddle, who’d moved there after Swindon’s promotion] had agreed a contract as well, but all of my family are from the East End and it was basically like going back home.

John Moncur always had a soft spot for West Ham (Image credit: Getty Images)

“At the time, the gulf wasn’t huge between Chelsea and West Ham, plus I’d had a soft spot for the Hammers as a kid despite playing for Spurs.”

Helping solidify the Hammers’ status as a Premier League club for ten seasons before their relegation back to the second tier in 2003, the now 57-year-old knew the responsibility of being a West Ham player.

“They’re not fools,” he added. “Even though they like their technical players, you have to work hard and leave nothing out there.

“Over the years that’s how they took me, as I showed I was West Ham through and through. I became a bit of a hero – but you have to earn that.”

Moncur played with legends like Neil Ruddock (Image credit: Getty Images)

Fond memories of players gone by, the former Cambridge United loanee also added how many of his happier days were spent at Upton Park across his 19-year professional career.

“It was amazing,” Moncur told FourFourTwo. “There were many great lads down the years: Steve Lomas, Paul Kitson, John Hartson, Razor Ruddock, Ian Wright… and Dicksy [Julian Dicks], who was a stalwart at Upton Park.

“You looked around and saw warriors, but they were also top footballers. Harry Redknapp brought together some big characters so we punched above our weight for a period, coming fifth in the league and qualifying for Europe via the Intertoto Cup.”