Nothing Lasts Forever

England internationals Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson are just six of the players whose careers Tony Carr nurtured during forty-three extraordinary years with West Ham's academy. A terrific servant to the club and one of the game's most prolific talent spotters and rough diamond polishers, Carr reportedly earned the club over GBP60 million in transfer fees from 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 redundant in 2016 the fans were up in arms. Born in Bow and a boyhood West Ham fan, Carr joined the club as an associate schoolboy and signed on apprentice terms after leaving school a year later. His career was ended early by a broken leg, after which he was tempted back to train youth players at 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 story of Tony Carr's life in football.