When Gary O’Neil was first signed to aid our ailing relegation battle last January I think it’s fair to say the vast majority of West Ham fans were underwhelmed as he was languishing in the Championship with a mid-table Middlesbrough side.
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His season was ended early in a game against Aston Villa before the season’s end and the injury was so severe there were doubts that he would ever play again.
Fast forward to this season and since recovering from the horror tackle inflicted by former Hammers skipper Nigel Reo-Coker last April, O’Neil has proved himself a key player in our fight to get back into the Premier League.
In the Play-offs so far O’Neil has started both games of the semi against Cardiff and was very impressive in both of them, his tirelessrunning not allowing anyone in the Cardiff side time to settle; particularlythe man who pulls all the strings for the Bluebirds; Peter Whitttingham, who was rendered anonymous in both ties largely because of the work done by O’Neil; snuffing him out at every turn.
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A lot of O’Neil’s work does go unnoticed as the likes of Mark Noble, Jack Collison and Carlton Cole have stolen the headlines so far in these play-off fixtures, but the role of O’Neil cannot be underestimated in fact Big Sam even decreed: ‘They’ve all played a big part but for me, the unsung hero over the two legs was Gary O’Neil, I thoughthe was fantastic.’ High praise indeed for a man who only in the last few weeks has made himself a permanent fixture of the first team; keeping out Julien Faubert and Henri Lansbury in the process.
O’Neil’s tireless efforts to unsettle the opposition will make him a dead cert to the start thef inal against Blackpool, his work rate will be key to stopping them getting into their usual flow. But O’Neil isn’t just a stopper or a blocker; he is also a neat and tidy player who rarely wastes possession; he’s also liable to pop up with the odd goal as he did at Peterborough and against our Play-off final foes Blackpool.
A must on the team sheet these days, the resurrection of Gary O’Neil career is an inspirationto those around him and hopefully he has another big performance in him the 19th.
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