Well, I predicted a 2-2 draw on Saturday and so it came to be. A more up for it crowd and a team playing with plenty of energy should have resulted in a victory but lady luck is smiling on Kevin Keegan at the moment and thus the shares were spoiled. As I was away for the game I won't do player rankings but from the TV highlights and talk on the forums, it appears everyone played their part and the boo boys were certainly out-shouted by the real fans. Even LBM got a good reception.
With that in mind (but not LBM presumably) we are now looking toward Hammer of the Year to be presented at the game against Aston Villa on the last day of the season. First of all, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the HOTY's from the past 5 years;
2007 - Carlos Tevez - not much debate on this one really, he came to the party late but boy, did he make an impression.
2006 - Danny Gabbidon - wow, doesn't this seem like a long time ago, solid as a rock during 2006, his career has been blighted by inconsistency and injury since.
2005 - Teddy Sheringham - Teddy's silky skills at the twilight of his career brought him many plaudits.
2004 - Matthew Etherington - full of energy buzzing down the left wing in 2004, like Danny G his career has hit a rocky patch since, alongside off the field problems, hope we can welcome him back next season, I still like the lad.
2003 - Joe Cole - sigh, remember when we had him?!
So, onto this season. It's a slight indictment that my top 3 are all of a defensive persuasion. But no one has played consistently or consistently well enough in the middle or up front to be considered in my view. Had Scott Parker pulled in a dozen or so more games, I reckon he would have been a contender. But one else came close for me. So here are my top three...
1. Robert Green - Hammer of the Year should look at performance over the whole season and if I look back, I can't really recall this man letting us down. Very few faults as a keeper and a bloke with his feet firmly on the ground, in spite of being criminally ignored by the England management. Green is fully deserving of the title Hammer of the Year.
2. Matthew Upson - the 'rock' as he is rapidly becoming known, Upson has at least been fully recognised by the England set up, which is just reward for his reading of the game, timing, tackling and general command of our penalty area.
3. George McCartney - has made the left back spot his own after a shaky last season and came back from our links with Nicky Shorey to show that we got the right man in the spot. Keen to get forward and a decent crosser who has provided some very important assists, Macca deserves some real recognition for his efforts this season.
So there are mine, what do you think?