The number six shirt has an esteemed place in West Ham history.

The number, most famously worn by Bobby Moore, is now retired to honour the legacy of a man who was taken from us far too soon. The West Ham number six jersey will always be synonymous with the World Cup-winning captain, but many other great players also wore it.

If you were to ask someone who the final player to ever wear such an important number in the Irons’ history was, they would probably assume it was one of those talents.

Martin Allen wore the shirt the year Moore passed away – perhaps it was him; maybe it was someone like Neil “Razor” Ruddock, who wore it at the end of the 1990s; or maybe it was one of the brightest products of the new millennium’s academy, like Michael Carrick.

All wore the number six, but it didn’t retire with them. It retired with Matthew Upson.

Yes, Matthew Upson.

For younger readers, Matthew Upson was essentially the Max Kilman of the late noughties and early 2010s – a centre-back who, despite being in the team every week, wasn’t actually much good.

In fact, at some point, some Hammers fans and neutrals just assumed Scott Parker was the Irons’ skipper. He certainly had better leadership qualities than the centre-back.

Upson recently discussed being part of this piece of Hammers history on IronCast, the club’s official podcast – and it’s safe to say it didn’t go down well with supporters.

The 46-year-old described the opportunity to retire the number as a “major privilege”. Be that as it may, West Ham fans weren’t too quick to praise the former Iron.

In a social media clip promoting the podcast, some fans declared Upson “one of the worst captains” West Ham have had. Many comments, conveniently hidden by Instagram, also criticised Upson’s shortcomings during his time in East London.

More interestingly, however, were the comments from fans who questioned Upson’s love for West Ham. Considering he retired this famous number and also captained the club, some fans were quick to call out Upson’s connection to the Hammers.

One comment remarked that Upson was “one of the first to leave when relegated” and that “on commentary (he) never speaks well of the club”. Additionally, in the comments of the podcast video on YouTube, one supporter claimed that they “don’t get any sense West Ham is in Upson’s heart at all” and that the podcast episode “felt more like an interview about England”.

The reaction is an anomaly for IronCast, whose content generally receives praise from Hammers fans, in no small part due to the abilities of Chris Scull as a presenter and interviewer.

But, if anything, the episode just exposed how Hammers fans really feel about a man who made almost 150 appearances over four years for the Irons.