Sorry, couldn't quite bring myself to do a full report on Everton. It was too heartbreaking, watching us in complete contention and then have it taken away from us by a referee who certainly appeared to have it in for us. That and the (non) finishing skills of Di Michele and Tristan just summed up a very frustrating afternoon.
Anyway, onwards and upwards and this weekend will see the Hammer of the Year award. I've got to say, this is the toughest yet. There have been some great performances but injuries have meant that we have not really seen enough consistency to always justify an award. We also have also been playing well, and with the exception of DDM and Tristan, most players are in with a shout, though I'd suggest that LBM, Noble, Sears, Kovac and Stanislas are not quite at the races either.
Looking back at my Hammer of the Half year post, it was interesting to see Behrami, Green and Upson as my shouts. Behrami had his purple patch for sure, but he took a little while to settle in and now we've not seen him for a couple of months he is unfortunate to be just out for me. Anyway, here are my top 3 Hammers...
3rd Carlton Cole - if this was school and there was a reward for effort, Carlton would be running away with this. Turning around being one of our boo boys to International duty and becoming a player we have sorely missed is credit to both him and the management team. We could even see the change in the team when he came on against Everton last week. A top boy and deserves recognition for continued efforts, will be a key player for us next season
2nd Lucas Neill - certainly not an obvious choice, but Neill has skippered the side superbly this season and has even at his ripe old age, added more to his game. His advancing forward and assists with his long balls forward have helped change the balance of the team. He's been a real lion for us and I'd hope he sees his career out with the Hammers
1st Matthew Upson - in a strange way, it has not been an exceptional season for Matt, but what we have seen here is consistency. Lately I must admit I've not even noticed him, but that's a good sign. There are few errors and little complaining, just timely challenges and superb marshalling of the defence. Trust me, if he wasn't there, we'd notice....
Honourable mentions - these boys were very close;
Robert Green - another good season from Greeno, frankly I wouldn't want any other keeper in the Premier League
Herita Illunga - effortlessly slotted into left back, was close between him and Lucas Neill to be honest, delighted he is staying with the Hammers
Scott Parker - had a period of a couple of months where he was untouchable, if he had avoided injury, he would have been in the top three, but I've got to think about the whole season
Collison - am sure the fella will be in the roll call next season, bags of skill and confidence, a really good player
Tomkins - been great in the absence of Collins and would be likely to keep him out of the side now anyhow, a future England player mark my words.
Well, football is all about opinions and I'm sure you have yours, so let me know in the comments who your top 3 are....
"That and the (non) finishing skills of Di Michele and Tristan just summed up a very frustrating afternoon."
...and Boa Morte and Stanislas.
Posted by: LeonRivers | 19/05/2009 at 22:06
I have been saying for months greeno deserves it cos he has been solid and people don't even mention when he has had a good game cos it's too often!
Yes he has made 3 mistakes but the guy is awesome!! Sorry if you think I'm going over the top but for 2 seasons now he has been world class! & I play up front so I hate goalies ha ha
Posted by: Ginge | 19/05/2009 at 23:34
The two I'm going for are Ilunga and Upson. Yes Green deserves a shout but because he won it last season I think that the other two deserve it just as much.
Both players have played virtualy every game and have been solid in almost all of them and I certainly don't believe that the likes of Neill (frustratingly mediocre at the start of the season), Cole (not good enough at the start and injured for a while, Parker (injured for a chunk and only came good after a couple of months in), Collison and Tomkins are good and have had decent seasons, especially Tomka but not to the same high standard as Upson or Ilunga.
So, my player of the year is Ilunga, mainly because he has come to the premier league and settled in so quickly and easily and very very rarely makes a mistake. His ability to get up and down the wing has mde him one of the surprises of the season.
Well done Herita.
Posted by: Col | 20/05/2009 at 08:12
this is such a toughy, how about we break with tradition and give it to Zola, he has had an effect on all players beyond belief, we actually look like we can play football. If we had 2 quality forwards this would of been such a differnt season. I no longer hold a season ticket as I recently moved to Australia but get to watch every match live albeit at 2 in the morning
Posted by: aussi hammer | 20/05/2009 at 12:16