Mohammed Diame - In his debut season at Upton Park, Diame has been outstanding. His powering runs forward combined with his skillful ability and crisp passes makes him a deadly force in attack, and his strong, tough defensive performances have also been crucial. He may not have scored as many as he'd have hoped, but the chances he has taken have been some of the most important of the season (including the goals to take the lead against both Manchester United and Chelsea) and if he did have a much more improved accuracy, he would definitely be one of our top scorers. He is also most likely to be our signing of the season as he was an absolute steal after signing for the Irons for free after leaving Wigan.
Jussi Jaaskelainen - After a somewhat shaky start, Jaaskelainen has become probably the most important part of our successful season. After leaving Bolton in the summer when they chose not to extend his contract, Big Sam swooped him up in the hope that he could rekindle his old form after being left out of the Bolton team for almost the whole of last year. Jussi hasn't disappointed. He has made more saves in the Premier League than any other keeper, and has kept that feet throughout the whole season. It seems that almost every week, I am talking to someone or describing another brilliant, generally match-saving stop from our main goalie, and he has single-handedly kept us in games that we should have been totally out of.
Winston Reid - The New Zealand international captain has been inspirational in our defence this year. In quite a lot of our matches in the league (especially away from home, and in second half's where we have been in front), our tactics rely heavily upon our defensive performances, and Reid has been the spearhead of our solid defensive work. He has also been made captain several times when others have been injured, and his captaincy is admirable to say the least. Also, he has been West Ham's most consistent performer since the beginning of the season, as well as being one of the most consistent players in terms of number of games (as the only games he has missed were the last couple against Liverpool and Southampton in which he had a slight thigh problem.
Mark Noble - Although he has recently been out for just over a month with an arm injury, when he has been playing, Noble has put in just as consistent performances as Reid. Last years Hammer of the Year has continued his form into this season, and he is certainly one of the most important additions to the team. For the first half of the season, he had made more tackles and completed passes than any other player in the Premier League, and has shown that he is a very calm and confident central midfielder to have if the pace of the game is going against the team and needs to relaxed. He has been integral to some of our best victories this year and has put up a really strong fight for his club and to attempt to retain his Hammer of the Year title.
Although these are the four players who probably deserve the award most, we must not forget some of the other incredibly valuable players that we have at this club and who have performed to high standards this year. Despite giving away 3 goals in 3 games that have all ended up costing us the win or even a draw (Reading, Swansea and Sunderland), James Collins has generally been very strong in defence and has made a great partner for Reid. Joey O'Brien has also put in very consistent performances and is always a big part of both our defensive and attacking movements. And based on the current form that he is in, Andy Carroll would most definitely be on this list if he hadn't been injured for half the season.
In my personal opinion, I wouldn't mind who got the award. I'm pretty sure it will go to either Reid or Diame, but I would really like to see Jaaskelainen get it. Robert Green was a hard act to follow and he has done it incredibly well, and in my view has been the most integral part of our year.
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