11. WEST HAM UNITED NATIONS - West Ham United - The Harry Redknapp Years - 1995-1996 Part 5 of 6

The foreign legion continues to expand. Croatian Slaven Bilic and Romanian Illie Dumitrescu get their work permits and join the Portuguese Dani in the squad, and adding to Australians Lazaridis and Slater, American John Harkes, Denmark’s Marc Reiper and Czech Ludek Miklosko. There are more overseas player in the squad now that at any other time but it’s not unique to West Ham, it’s a trend among most Premier League clubs. The youth team are looking to supply the next generation of English talent, with Lampard and Ferdinand at the forefront, they are progressing well in league and cup. On the pitch, wins at Tottenham and Chelsea sandwich a disappointing cup exit at Grimsby. But league form is excellent and The Hammers are on course to reach safety in record time.