Marlon still Marvellous

Former Hammers favourite Marlon Harewood has offered a unique insight into the challenges faced following retirement from the professional game. The 44-year-old Londoner scored 56 goals and registered 17 assists in his 170 total appearances for West Ham over four years from 2003–2007 before leaving for Aston Villa. Spells followed at several other clubs, notably Blackpool and Nottingham Forest (from whence he came to West Ham), Bristol City and Hartlepool, before finishing his career at Nuneaton Town in 2016.

Famous for scoring the winner in an FA Cup semi-final and ending the Millennium Stadium final in 2006 hobbling on one leg, Marlon was a club favourite and now pops up regularly in media spots and at London Stadium. As he explains in his own social media account, since hanging up his boots he’s had to work to focus on the upsides in his life.

‘Since I retired and stopped playing football professionally, and despite it changing my life, I’ve got a lot of great things,’ he explained. In an honest and frank post Marlon lists becoming an ambassador for West Ham and setting up his own company to help people within football understand their finances better for when their career is over. He’s also posted about rediscovering his love for golf and being able to raise money for charity through playing. He has a podcast series ‘Boots to Business’ which again has a refreshingly honest take on helping others benefit from his own experiences.

He then makes this admission on his Facebook account: ‘It would have been easy to let something like this send me on a downward spiral but I’m a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. Remember when one door closes, another opens’.

A wonderful guy on the pitch, and clearly with so much still to offer to the game and those involved in it today. We look forward to seeing his continuing work as an ambassador for the Hammers and hope his business goes from strength to strength. (Image – Marlon Harewood Facebook)