Blonde on blonde – from Mooro to Chicharito

 

By Allen Cummings

Interesting to read the news update on C&H this morning that Javier Hernandez had bleached his hair blonde prior to the game against Brazil.

It’s not the first time it’s been done in the World Cup of course, as Sean pointed out. The whole Romanian team did it back in 1998 halfway through the tournament but if Chicharito maintains his newly chosen hair colour through to the start of next season, we could have two blonde bombshells taking the field in claret and blue.

Sadly of course, what would have been a third in Manuel Lanzini, will be missing. Marko Arnautovic opted for a change in hair colouring partway through last season, and if that had anything to do with his incredible upturn in form and amazing new lease of life, I’ll be off down to the hairdresser’s first thing tomorrow morning!

The hope amongst the West Ham faithful of course is that both Chicharito and Arnie will have big parts to play in the new season under Manuel Pellegrini. New heroes for a new era at the club.

But those amongst us of a certain age will know that there is, and will only ever be one ‘true’ blonde hero and legend at this club -the great man himself, ‘sir’ Bobby Moore.

That baby-faced young lad with his full head of flowing blonde locks, pictured all those years ago collecting the Crisp Shield, was destined to become the most famous face and best loved blonde haired footballer this club has ever had.

It’s almost 60 years since he made his Football League debut against Man Utd on 8th September 1958, and set about carving out that special, never to be forgotten place in the hearts of all West Ham fans everywhere.

Bobby was the ‘golden boy’ of English football through the 60’s and early 70’s with the immaculately styled golden locks to enhance his film star image.

The club, of course, had enjoyed an even earlier association with a distinctive blonde – bubbly-haired blonde youngster back in 1923 who had nothing at all to do with football at the time.

He was the blonde-haired boy who featured on the Pears Soap adverts of the era, and was said to have been the inspiration for the club’s famous anthem “I’m forever blowing bubbles”.

There have of course been other blonde favourites at West Ham. A certain Frank McAvennie springs to mind from the 80’s. A little further back a boyish-looking Johnny Sissons was a big favourite with the Upton Park crowd.

So too was centre-half Tommy Taylor. Plus Kevin Lock, the player once described as the ‘new’ Bobby Moore -an unforgiving tag of course. No doubt there are others I have failed to mention.

Maybe, therefore, Chicharito and Arnie have got it right. Blonde really is best if you’re a Hammer.

 

About Hugh5outhon1895

Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!" Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon