West Ham legend Alvin Martin has paid tribute to the ‘tremendous’ Martin Peters who has died at the age of 76.
England World Cup winner Peters, who scored the second goal in the 1966 final, passed away in the early hours of Saturday following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Peters was one-third of the famous West Ham trio who helped win England the tournament, along with Bobby Moore and Sir Geoff Hurst.
Martin led the tributes to Peters following the announcement of his death.
He told talkSPORT: “I know he was a fantastic man. I got to know him very well. When I was playing at West Ham and when he finished we both associated in the same circles. He was just a tremendous guy. Understated and it really is sad news.
“Obviously the World Cup is synonymous with Martin Peters’ name and the three West Ham players. All for different reasons were fantastic icons for the club.
“Bobby Moore because he lifted the trophy, Sir Geoff because he scored a hat-trick but Martin, I know I spoke to many, many players who played with all three of them and a lot said the same thing that he was the most naturally gifted of the three. He was a spectacular player.
“There was a certain thing all three used to do in training, Sir Geoff, Bobby Moore and Martin would start on the goal line and would keep the ball up between them and walk to the other end of the pitch and never let it drop.
“They were the ones who Ron Greenwood got to demonstrate any subtlety in training.”
Newcastle manager Steve Bruce also paid a touching tribute to the former West Ham, Tottenham and Norwich midfielder.
“He was a complete gentleman,” Bruce told talkSPORT. “I had the pleasure to play against him when I was young and he was at the end of his career and gave me a lesson in how to be a footballer.
“I think I speak for everybody in the country that our thoughts are with his family and of course he will be sadly missed because they don’t make him anymore.
“He was a great, great player and will be sadly missed by everybody.”
Former England manager, and current Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson also had kind words about Peters after his side were beaten by Newcastle on Saturday.
Hodgson said: “One of our legends of course. One of the people whose names will be in the annals of English football for his World Cup triumph.
“He was a wonderful footballer, Martin Peters, an elegant player. An extremely talented midfield player who had no particular weaknesses in his game from what I remember.
“It’s a sad day to hear he has now left us. All one can do is pass on one’s condolences to his family and close friends and make certain people are mindful of what a great player he was and what a great job he did for English football.”
The tributes have also been flooding in on social media with legends of the game and his former clubs posting their messages about Peters.
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