WE are sad to report that ex-Hammers playmaker Phil Woosnam has died near Atlanta, Georgia, aged 80, following complications arising from prostate cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

Welsh international Phil was signed from East London neighbours Leyton Orient in November 1958 for a then club record fee of £30,000 and immediately became one of Ron Greenwood's most creative, intelligent thinkers on and off the field.

Phil left Upton Park to join Aston Villa in 1962 and no-one was surprised that, when his playing career ended in England, he moved to the USA, where he became the driving force behind the development of soccer.

A full tribute will appear in the next issue of EX.