Ward was born in Harrow, Greater London, and came through the youth system of West Ham United, making his debut for the Under-17 side before joining the first team in August 2003.

Ward made an impact on the West Ham first team during the second half of the 2004–05 season, while the club were in the Football League Championship.

Primarily due to injuries to more established defenders such as Christian Dailly and Malky Mackay, he found himself with the opportunity of partnering Anton Ferdinand in the centre of defence.

When Ward was brought into the first team, for the 1–3 loss against Reading on 12 March 2005,[3] the club were lying outside the playoff places and looked unlikely to make it back to the Premiership.

[4] At the beginning of the 2005–06 season, to prepare for the upcoming Premiership campaign, West Ham signed a number of players, including central defenders Danny Gabbidon and James Collins from Cardiff City.

He played two League Cup games, but made only one substitute Premiership appearance (against Bolton Wanderers on 27 August 2005)[5] before being loaned out to Plymouth Argyle in November.

[7] Manager Micky Adams said of him: "In Elliott we have a young, talented and confident defender who I'm sure will bring a real presence to our back line.

"[8] Ward made his debut for Coventry on 6 August 2006 in a 2–1 home win against Sunderland with his first goal coming on 12 September 2006 in a 2–1 away defeat to Ipswich Town.

[12] He made an instant impact at Doncaster, scoring an overhead kick goal on his debut against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

[19] Ward returned to Norwich at the end of his loan spell and was named as a substitute for their FA Cup game away at Peterborough United.