Declan Rice has been crowned 2021/22 Betway Hammer of the Year.
The Irons skipper has made an incredible 48 appearances, scoring five goals and captaining the team on over 40 occasions.
The England international has played more minutes and made more tackles, interceptions and passes than any other Hammer, illustrating his consistency and commitment to the Claret and Blue cause.
Jarrod Bowen – having equalled Paolo Di Canio’s 16 goals in a single season – was runner up with the heroic Craig Dawson was third after a season which has seen the central defender battling on through a succession of knocks.
The fans also deserve congratulations for getting it all absolutely right with the three Hammers chosen and bearing in mind that Dec is home grown and the other two noys cost less than £25 million together there may just be a lesson to be learned.
The common view that millions and millions need to be paid for top players just doesn’t hold true and it’s encouraging for the English game that all are home grown.
A delighted Declan said: “It’s too hard to sum up the season in one word, but one word is probably ‘proud’ because we’ve done so well as a team this year and that’s the standard and the bar that we’ve set and it has to be that every season.
“We’ve proved that we can play in big European games and our fans and our stadium have shown we can handle those big European nights, and that’s what we want more of.
“I’m proud of the lads because we’re not the biggest of squads, so to go week in week out again and again and again, training and playing Thursdays and Sundays, away from home and away from families has been tough, but in the end we’ve had a great year and we’re ready to go again.”
The No41 paid tribute to the support he has received from his teammates, most notably retiring Club captain and his mentor Mark Noble.
“To be honest, when Nobes was up on stage earlier, I was getting emotional myself and I had to put my head away from the lads because I was starting to cry and getting upset myself,” he revealed.
“I can’t describe what he has done for me, from when I walked in at 16 to when I was in the first team, training and games, I can honestly if he wasn’t here I wouldn’t have done as well as I have done, on an off the pitch.
“It’s going to be tough next year without him, but I know he’s only one call away and he’s not big time! It’s been an absolute honour to play with him.”
Runner-up Bowen has beyond those 16 goals has assisted 13 more in 49 appearances, including tallies of ten and 12 respectively in 34 Premier League games.
And Dawson has also been recognised for a stellar campaign that has seen the 32-year-old centre-back make 48 appearances, including ten starts on West Ham’s run to the Europa League semi-finals.
All 3 have been superb.
Exceptional, we are lucky to have tis being retahem.
That goes for Noble too.
I’ve been a bit critical of him last season in having to much game time. But this season he’s actually performed better in fact.
Does anyone know if he is being retained in any capacity. ?