Javier Mascherano
At the beginning of the 2006–07 season, West Ham completed the signing of Argentine international Javier Mascherano who, like Mullins, was a defensive midfielder. However, after a brief period on the bench, Mullins re-established himself in the first team and scored the winning goal, in a 2–1 home win over Blackburn Rovers in October 2006, which put an end to the worst run of results for West Ham in 74 years.