More than a quarter of a century after he stopped playing for West Ham, the chant still regularly sung by fans shows the affection in which former Hammers goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko is held. Miklosko announced late in 2024 that he was withdrawing from further cancer treatment three years after his diagnosis. Days later he returned to West Ham for a Premier League match against Liverpool to a hero's reception. On Monday, it was announced he had died at the age of 64.

Miklosko was a popular player who went on a trailblazing journey and won 42 international caps - the last two for the Czech Republic following Czechoslovakia's dissolution. In a pre-internet era, Miklosko was barely known outside his homeland when he arrived in the English capital from Czech club Banik Ostrava in February 1990 as a long-term replacement for Phil Parkes. He eventually became the first footballer to move from Czechoslovakia to England. Manager Lou Macari travelled to Prague to accompany his £300,000 signing on the flight to Heathrow Airport but missed his debut, resigning a day later.

The goalkeeper went on to become a cult figure with supporters, making 374 appearances for the Hammers over eight years. Miklosko will be particularly remembered for some brilliant displays in front of the old Boleyn Ground crowd. Most memorable of all was on the final day of the 1994-95 season, when he single-handedly kept out the attacking might of Manchester United to deny them a third consecutive Premier League title. Manchester United's manager Alex Ferguson described the performance as a "siege".