England internationals FrankLampard, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe and GlenJohnson are just six of the players whose careers Tony Carr nurtured duringforty-three extraordinary years with West Ham's academy.

A terrific servant to the cluband one of the game's most prolific talent spotters and rough diamondpolishers, Carr reportedly earned the club over 60 million in transfer feesfrom 1973 until he left the academy in 2014, to take on an ambassadorial role.He was so much a part of the fabric of West Ham that when he was made redundantin 2016 the fans were up in arms.

Born in Bow and a boyhood WestHam fan, Carr joined the club as an associate schoolboy and signed onapprentice terms after leaving school a year later. His career was endedearly by a broken leg, after which he was tempted back to train youth playersat the academy. There he remained, specialising in producing local players who,more often than not, would go on to do great things elsewhere. This is the storyof Tony Carr's life in football.