I interviewed a great friend of mine and a dedicated West Ham Utd fan Steve about supporting the club and also about his memories of club Legend Luděk Mikloško, who sadly lost his courageous battle with cancer on 14th September 2026.
Dawud: OK. Alright Steve, thank you so much for meeting up with me.
Steve: It’s a pleasure mate.
Dawud: So what I wanted to do first of all is ask you about your earliest memories of supporting West Ham. What was the…
Steve: Well, my earliest memories were the Johnny Lyall days, when we played fantastic football. Brooking, Devonshire, Alvin Marin, Geoff Pike. That team was a privilege to watch back in the 70s.
Even though we didn’t win much, we always gave the teams .. we used to go toe to toe with them. You know, not like what it’s been for the last couple of years, that defensive. The way we played the last couple of years, defend, defensive, kicking the ball sideways, backwards and all that and everything.
But yeah, they were brilliant days over at Upton Park.
Dawud: Can you remember your first match or the earliest matches that you saw?
Steve: Yeah, I think it was when my stepfather took me. It was a night game mid-week.
I’m not quite sure, I can’t remember now who we played. But as a young kid walking into that ground, seeing all my heroes on match of the day and then seeing them for the first time behind the north bank at Upton Park, it was a surreal moment. Seeing all my heroes in the flesh for the first time, it blew me away.
Dawud: Is there something like unique from those early days that you remember in terms of supporting West Ham?
Steve: Yeah, getting off at Upton Park, walking down Green Street, that was an experience in itself. The programme sellers, the badge sellers, the hamburgers, the smell of the hamburgers, the hot dogs. You just can’t walk on the pavement, the walk down to Upton Park, that’s a memory which has always stuck in my mind.
Dawud: Excellent, thank you so much. And what does supporting West Ham mean for you?
Steve: It’s my life. Through my darkest times in my life, West Ham have kept me going.
That excitement on match day, whether I go to the game or I don’t, I get this excitement inside me which has never ever left me. And it’s a lovely feeling. West Ham means everything to me, everything.
I’m a Cockney, born in the East End of London, born and raised in Bow and West Ham is my life. I love them to pieces.
Dawud: I just wanted you to tell us a little bit about what you miss most about being at Upton Park now that we’re based at the London Stadium.
Steve: Well, the atmosphere. Even though back in my days, it was like, when I was a teenager going over there, it held about 27,000.
But I’ll tell you something, it’s sounded like 50, 60,000 inside that stadium. When the West Ham fans started singing, North Bank, South Bank, Chicken Run, it was nothing like it. We intimidated the teams that came to play at Upton Park, especially the night games.
The night games were electric. They were electric and it was intimidating. Well, it was well known.
A lot of players have said in the past going to Upton Park was very intimidating. Right on top of the pitch, everything. And that’s been all taken away from us now, through the London Stadium.
That’s why most of the West Ham fans just can’t accept we’re here, too far away from the pitch, the atmosphere. It just, it just don’t compare with Upton Park. And that’s the saddest thing about it, you know? We loved our Upton Park.
Part of our history died the day we come here.
Dawud: But can we talk about what you were just saying about the most exciting game at Upton Park?
Steve: Yeah, there was a few. There was a few. The one that really sticks out in my mind, when back in the 80s, the night game, when we put eight, yeah I’m sure it was eight goals against Newcastle and Alvin Martin got a hat-trick.
And it was very special, his hat-trick, because he scored against three different goalkeepers. First goalkeeper got injured. Then Peter Beardsley went in goal.
Of all people, went in goal for Newcastle. I can’t remember the first goalkeeper. But yeah, he scored a hat-trick against, I don’t think it’s ever been done.
He scored a hat-trick against three different goalkeepers that night, and we bashed Newcastle 8-0. Yeah, that was my most exciting game, I think.
Dawud: Thank you for that. Now, I just wanted to ask you about our legend, Ludo, who sadly passed away recently after he lost his battle with cancer. What are your memories of him?
Steve: Yeah.
First and foremost, I’d just like to say how deeply sorry my heart goes out to his family, and their family will always be welcome at West Ham. I started seeing Ludo in the 90s because I got brought up with Phil Parks. I love Phil Parks.
You know, I thought no-one could ever replace Phil Parks, but he was on an even keel with Phil. They were two brilliant goalkeepers. Ludo, he was a fantastic goalkeeper.
He’d block shots. Six yards out, he would block their shots, flick them past the post, over the bar. But the one, which we all know, what he’d done when he stopped, he stopped Manchester United winning the Premier League.
Dawud: Would you say that was probably the match that sticks out for you?
Steve: Oh yeah, yeah. He was superhuman that day. Ryan Giggs, he’d done a fantastic save there.
When Ryan Giggs was on, he’d go, oh, he should have scored, somehow he just saved it. There was a few other shots.
I can’t remember the player, Manchester United players. But he was just superhuman that day. The saves he’d done were just out of this world.
And Tony Gale was playing for Blackburn that day, and Tony Gow, don’t belong, West Ham fans know this story. When the result came through to Blackburn, Tony Gow got all the Blackburn players singing I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles in the Blackburn dressing room, which I thought was sweet, so sweet. Oh, that was great.
Dawud: Oh, that was great. I’m glad you mentioned that. That’s a really good memory to share. But in terms of Ludo as a player, what was his influence, do you think, on the other players, the club itself, the fans?
Steve: Oh, he gave the back four so much confidence.
The back four knew Ludo was behind us, and he gave the back four so much confidence. His presence in that West Ham team went a long, long way. A long, long way.
Dawud: And when you think about the time that Ludo played for the club, you mentioned the Man United game. Is there anything else that maybe stands out for you in terms of Ludo?
Steve: Ah, the amount of points he won us through the seasons. He’s kept us in games many, many times. I can’t remember off the top of my head right this second, but the amount of games he’s saved us, he’s done that quite a lot throughout his career playing for West Ham United.
Dawud: And what’s the lasting impression that you have of Ludo, as a person, as a player?
Steve: He came to West Ham and he fell in love with West Ham. There’s not many players now who have served West Ham for a long amount of time. They still sing the Ludo Mikloško song to this day.
They still sing it, and that is something very, very special. And he knew that. He was quite aware of that, and that’s something special.
They sing, us West Ham fans, we still sing his song every time West Ham play, especially away fans when we go away.
Dawud: Is there any other things you want to say about Ludo, anything you want to mention to finish off Steve? You’ve said some great stuff.
Steve: He was there nine years, I think, nine years at West Ham. He’s become the goalkeeping coach.
He’ll always be a part of West Ham. We will never forget him. His memory will always be alive in all of us.
We’ll never forget him.
Dawud: Brilliant Steve, thank you so much for your time.
Steve: That’s my pleasure.
Dawud: See, that wasn’t too bad, was it?
Steve: Nah.
