What happened to the last West Ham XI embarrassed in Carabao Cup first round
· Tom Victor · 2026-08-08 · nguồn gốc
What happened to the last West Ham starting XI that were embarrassed in Carabao Cup round one
West Ham are set to play a League Cup first round match for the first time in more than a decade
West Ham's relegation from the Premier League has brought plenty of upheaval and not just in terms of squad ins and outs. It also means the Hammers will play in the opening round of the Carabao Cup for the first time in more than a decade.
Nuno Espirito Santo's team face Portsmouth this weekend before beginning their Championship campaign eight days later. It is their first time entering the League Cup at this stage since they were last in the second tier, back in 2011.
In fact, so much time has passed since then that it was called the Carling Cup rather than the Carabao Cup when West Ham hosted Aldershot in August 2011. The match was played at Upton Park, the ground the London side left in 2016.
Sam Allardyce was in the dugout for the Aldershot match, with his team falling to a shock 2-1 defeat against the League Two side. Here, we've taken a look at the players who turned out for the Hammers that night.
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Ruud Boffin
Belgian goalkeeper Boffin played just three times for West Ham. The first came in the Premier League, on a snowy day against Blackburn and the last came against Sheffield Wednesday in the 2011/12 FA Cup, a few months after his Aldershot start.
He left West Ham in the summer of 2012 and spent the following decade in Turkey, racking up a century of appearances for both Eskisehirspor and Antalyaspor before retiring in 2022. He scored his only career goal for the former when a free-kick from deep inside his own half flew into the opposition net without bouncing.
Julien Faubert
Faubert was known among fans of other clubs for his unexpected loan stint at Real Madrid but the France international's best West Ham form came after he returned from that stint. Having played as a winger early in his career, he was used as a full-back under Allardyce and predecessor Avram Grant.
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The 2012 play-off final would be his last Hammers game, after which he travelled the world. He had spells in Turkey, France, Scotland, Finland and Borneo - also playing international football for Martinique after switching his FIFA nationality - before retiring in 2020.
Winston Reid
Reid was one of the relegated stars who stayed and helped West Ham return to the Premier League. The New Zealander went on to captain the team and became a fan favourite, even scoring the last ever league goal at Upton Park.
He was blighted by injuries in the latter part of his Hammers career and had loan spells with Sporting Kansas City and Brentford, playing his final club match in 2021. The centre-back was also handed an international farewell the following year, captaining the All Whites against Australia before hanging up his boots.
Callum McNaughton
Homegrown centre-back McNaughton was making his debut against Aldershot but it ended up in a nightmare. After being caught in possession inside his own half, he committed a last-man foul on Danny Hylton and was shown a straight red card.
McNaughton was loaned to AFC Wimbledon the following month and joined the League Two side permanently in January 2012. He spent most of his career in non-league football before heading to the United States for a career in teaching and football coaching,
George McCartney
Northern Ireland international McCartney was in his second Hammers spell, rejoining on loan from Sunderland as one of Allardyce's first signings. He would go on to sign permanently after promotion and finished his career at Upton Park.
Now 45 years old, he has dipped his toe into coaching. He has spent the last few years with Linfield in his home country, working as an assistant to former international team-mate David Healy.
Pablo Barrera
Barrera joined West Ham after impressing for Mexico at the 2010 World Cup but underwhelmed during the relegation campaign. He would end up leaving on loan just days after the Aldershot game, spending the season in Spain with Real Zaragoza.
He would return to Mexico after that year in La Liga, playing more than 300 Liga MX games before retiring in 2025. The 39-year-old finished his career at Queretaro, with whom he racked up a century of league appearances.
Junior Stanislas
Academy graduate Stanislas scored West Ham's goal against Aldershot after good pressure from Barrera forced a mistake. However, both men would be gone within a week of the defeat, with the England Under-21 international completing a permanent move to Burnley.
Eddie Howe, the manager who brought him to Turf Moor, would later engineer another reunion at Bournemouth. Stanislas spent the best part of a decade on the south coast before retiring in 2023 and has since moved into coaching, most recently working under Kieran McKenna at Ipswich.
Kevin Nolan
Nolan arrived as a marquee signing, taking the captain's armband after Matt Upson's departure. The former Newcastle and Bolton man linked up well with Allardyce again, helping clinch promotion before top scoring for the Hammers in the 2012/13 Premier League.
He moved into management after leaving East London in 2015, with spells at Leyton Orient (as player-manager) and Notts County. After returning to West Ham as part of David Moyes' coaching staff, he spent time in the England youth set-up before a spell in charge of Northampton Town which ended in March this year.
Freddie Sears
Academy graduate Sears burst onto the scene as a teenage striker but was used more as a wide forward as his career progressed. He played 10 Championship games under Allardyce but joined Colchester on loan before the end of the season and later moved there permanently.
It was at Ipswich where the Essex-born talent established himself, playing more than 200 league games for the Tractor Boys. Now 36, he has returned to his roots as a goal-getter after dropping down to non-league, with his 29 league goals for Maldon & Tiptree last term making him the top scorer in the Isthmian League North.
Frederic Piquionne
Piquionne followed former manager Grant from Portsmouth to West Ham and ultimately suffered a second successive Premier League relegation. The striker, who won international caps for both France and Martinique, scored twice in the first half of the Championship season before making a loan switch to Doncaster Rovers.
The 47-year-old rounded off his career with spells in the United States, France and India before moving into coaching. He had a brief stint as assistant manager at Everton women when compatriot Jean-Luc Vasseur was in the dugout.
John Carew
Norwegian striker Carew was making his first Hammers start against Aldershot and would end the season with two league goals. He left at the end of the season and retired a little over a year later after failing to find a new club.
Since quitting football, the former Valencia star has embarked on a career change. He is now a professional actor, featuring in a number of Norwegian and English-language productions including Netflix series Home for Christmas.
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