“A beloved husband, dad and grandad, and a kind, gentle and private man, we are devastated by his loss but so very proud of all that he achieved and comforted by the many happy memories we shared.”
Peters is the fifth member of England’s World Cup final team to have died, after captain Bobby Moore, Alan Ball, Ray Wilson and Gordon Banks.
Peters joined West Ham in 1959 as a 15-year-old, made his debut in 1962 and was a key player in the side who won the 1965 Cup Winners Cup final at Wembley.
The midfielder, described by former England manager Alf Ramsey as “10 years ahead of his time” won 70 senior caps for his country. He scored 100 goals in 364 appearances for West Ham before moving across London to join Tottenham Hotspur in 1970 in a deal that saw striker Jimmy Greaves go the other way.
Peters won the UEFA Cup and two League Cups with Tottenham before spells with Norwich City and Sheffield United.
“We extend our sincere condolences to his family and many friends in the game at this sad time. A truly footballing great has left us but his memory will live on,” a tribute on Tottenham’s website said.
Geoff Hurst, England’s hat-trick hero in the World Cup final and a former West Ham team mate of Peters, described him as one of the all-time greats.
“A fellow World Cup final goalscorer and my West Ham partner for years along with Bobby Moore. RIP old friend,” Hurst said.
The Hammers are looking to make it four wins and a draw from our last five Premier League outings, and we can jump as high as sixth in the table with a victory today.
Fulham will not make it easy for us today, that’s for sure. They won 5-0 last time they played at Craven Cottage.
We have the players needed to really hurt them though. If we turn up, we win the game today, it’s as simple as that.
Three points is an absolute must today, and I think the boys are more than capable of getting the win.
Put it this way, if we play like we did in the second-half on Thursday against Tottenham, we will blow Fulham away.
We all know how poor we can be though, and if the boys put in a performance like the first-half one against Spurs, we’ll be in real trouble.
A victory today would put us in a commanding position in the league. Let’s just hope the boys show up. COYI X, I’m aiming for a 3-1 victory.
David Moyes has picked a very strong starting eleven for Fulham’s Premier League match against West Ham this afternoon.
