What a season. We’ve experienced so many different emotions this season and what a rollercoaster it’s been.
I think it’s a season that will live long in the memory and thanks to that famous Wembley win on Saturday, for all the right reasons. We were 4 points clear at the top off the table and yet following a run of draws – five in a row at home – we ended the season 2 points outside the automatic promotion places and 3 off top spot. Despite this we managed to rally the troops and finish the season on a high winning 5 in a row, most importantly all 3 of our play off games culminating in a 2-1 victory over Blackpool at the national stadium.
The fastest growing Hammers website is now on Facebook, click the link to be entered into our up and coming competitions http://www.facebook.com/pages/ForeverWestHamcom/200938616608282
But what have we learned? Here’s a few things I think we can take away from this incredible season:
It seems we’ve had the perfect mix between youth and experience this season with hammer of the year Mark Noble playing alongside the experienced Kevin Nolan proving an impressive central midfield partnership. Abdoulaye Faye has also been a good partner at the back with either Winston Reid or James Tomkins playing a vital role and despite him leaving I’m thankful for his efforts this season.
Players who have been forgotten recently have been unlikely heroes in the latter stages in the season, particularly Gary O’Neil and Jack Collison in my opinion. I’ve never hidden the fact that Gary O’Neil is not exactly my favourite player but he’s definitely proved me wrong! He’s scored vital goals against Blackpool and Peterborough and really asserted himself in the starting 11. It’s a completely different story with Collison though, he was just about proving himself in the first team when he suffered a horrific injury that kept him on the sidelines all last season. He’s come back strong this season but hadn’t really cemented his place on Big Sam’s team sheet until late in the season by scoring a venomous volley, proving to be the winner against Leicester City and at the time, keeping our automatic promotion hopes alive. He then followed that up with a brace in the first quarter of our play off semi-final in Cardiff.
Looking for experience? Just want to be heard outside of the Boleyn? We are currently looking for writers, drop us an email at foreverwestham@snack-media.com for more details
We’ve seen James Tomkins establish himself in the first team, being one of the first names on the team sheet every week and I couldn’t be more confident of his ability to ply his trade in the Premiership. I think he’ll go on to be a club legend if he carries on the way he is because he’s already a fan favourite and he’s only in his early twenties.
Kevin Nolan has really taken the club to his heart too. I wasn’t entirely convinced of his commitment at the start of the season but he’s shown real passion since and really wears his heart on his sleeve and I think he’s a brilliant character for Mark Noble to be working alongside.
Carlton Cole is Mr West Ham. He really loves the club and I’m so happy for him to have got a goal at Wembley because if anyone deserves to prove their critics wrong, it’s him.
They are just a few of the main lessons we can take away from this season, if you can think of any more leave a comment or tweet me!
COME ON YOU IRONS!
What have you learnt this season? Let Gary know at http://whuthroughandthrough.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/season-review.html?m=1
Ever dreamt about getting paid for reading about West Ham? Well now you can make dreams a reality http://bit.ly/ffc-foreverwestham-lp
