West Ham United Player Performance Review

West Ham United’s first year back in the Barclays Premier League ended very successfully after finishing in 10th place.

Captain Kevin Nolan was the top goalscorer in the league with 10 goals, not far in front of fellow Newcastle teammate and loanee Andy Carroll with seven.

The Hammers made some big signings this season with Andy Carroll for a £2m loan and a club record breaking transfer for Wolves winger Matt Jarvis (£10m).

Solid centre back Winston Reid won player of the year with an outstanding defensive performance throughout the season and the Kiwi produced a good partnership with James Collins.

Games, Goals, Assists, saves and clean sheets apply to League Matches only and are available to see at espnfc.com.

Here are the player’s stats reviews and opinions:

Player Reviews

	Jussi Jaaskelainen
	You would expect a lot less for a player of 38, however the Finish international has made the most saves out of all the Premier League goalkeepers and kept a respectable eleven clean sheets. He has made very few errors and is a reliable keeper.
	League Games: 38 Saves: 166 Clean Sheets: 11 My Rating: 7.5/10

	James Collins
	The tall centre half made a return to the Hammers starting line-up after spending four years at the club from 2005-09. Linked up with Reid, Collins has been solid at the back and his finest moment of the season was scoring a heading brace against Premier League champions Manchester United in the F.A Cup. He is another addition to Allardyce’s aerial team.
	League Games: 29 Goals: 0 Assists: 1 My Rating: 7.5/10

	Guy Demel
	After having a disappointing first season in the Championship with West Ham, the strong Ivorian right-back had a decent season in the Hammers’ return to the Premier League. His main attributes are his strength, tackling and pace.
	League Games: 31 Goals: 0 Assists: 2 My Rating: 6.5/10

	George McCartney
	The left-back missed most of the season through injury and made his return towards the end of the season against West Brom. However, after two minutes of coming on as a sub, he injured his knee and had to come off. Joey O’Brien and Matt Taylor occupied his position for most of the season.
	League Games: 12 Goals: 0 Assists: 2 My Rating: 5/10

	Joey O’Brien
	The Irish full-back spent most of the season playing at either end of the defence due to his versatile style. He combined well with left winger Matt Jarvis. The 27 year-old isn’t very experienced due to his slow career at Bolton and he spent most of his time at the Reebok as a backup. However, the player had a good second season with the Hammers with a couple of games under his belt.
	League Games: 33 Goals: 2 Assists: 4 My Rating: 6.5/10

	Winston Reid
	The powerful centre-back might have just had the best season of his career after his terrific defensive display. His third season at West Ham was successful after he picked up Hammer of The Year in May. Reid has also recently been selected for the New Zealand captaincy after impressive performances in the Premier League.
	League Games: 36 Goals: 1 Assists: 0 My Rating: 9/10

	James Tomkins
	After playing in the Great Britain squad at the Olympics, the 24 year-old has high potential after having many decent seasons in Claret and Blue. A product of the highly-rated West Ham academy and has been constantly wanted by Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle for many of the past transfer windows. Tomkins has been pressured a little more this season after the arrival of James Collins who has impressed many and linked a good partnership with Winston Reid.
	League Games: 26 Goals: 1 Assists: 1 My Rating: 6/10

	Joe Cole
	Another player who has made a return to West Ham this season is creative midfielder Joe Cole. Starting at the Hammers’ academy, the former Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder has impressed many this season scoring three goals since his arrival in January. He provided two assists in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United in the F.A Cup, with James Collins getting on the other end of Cole’s cross.
	League Games: 17 Goals: 3 Assists: 1 My Rating: 6.5/10

	Jack Collison
	Due to injury, the young Welsh midfielder has started few games this season and has had little time to make a big impact. After looking promising last season in the Championship he started brightly at the start of the season before his injury. The academy youth product still has potential and is enjoying his life at West Ham.Collison is known well for his powerful long shots.
	League Games: 17 Goals: 2 Assists: 0 My Rating: 6/10

	Mohammed Diame
	The Senegalese midfielder arrived to the Hammers from Wigan for free in August last year and his had a big impact on West Ham’s decent season. The 25 year-old has a £3.5m release clause in his contract and keeping him away from attention to big clubs wasn’t easy. Arsenal have been tracking him all season and could make a bid in the summer when the window opens again. Diame scored three goals this season against Arsenal, Chelsea and a curling long shot goal against Manchester United that won him West Ham’s Goal of The Season award. The player’s powerful dribbling and strength fitted well in Sam Allardyce’s squad this year.
	League Games: 33 Goals: 3 Assists: 2 My Rating: 9/10

	Matt Jarvis
	For £10m and a club record-breaking transfer you might expect a little more. However his crossing and pace worked well with Allardyce’s strong aerial side and Andy Carroll took advantage of his accurate crosses. Jarvis sometimes seemed quiet and a little weak at times but he had a decent first season with the Hammers. I felt Jarvis was a lot better than West Ham’s other left midfielder Matt Taylor.
	League Games: 32 Goals: 2 Assists: 4 My Rating: 6.5/10

	Jussi Jaaskelainen
	You would expect a lot less for a player of 38, however the Finish international has made the most saves out of all the Premier League goalkeepers and kept a respectable eleven clean sheets. He has made very few errors and is a reliable keeper.
	League Games: 38 Saves: 166 Clean Sheets: 11 My Rating: 7.5/10

	Mark Noble
	Longest Serving West Ham midfielder Mark Noble formed a good partnership with Scott Parker two years ago due to their similar unique style and this year he has worked well Allardyce’s squad, with Nolan often helping him out in the middle of the park. The young academy product is known well for his consistent penalties scoring 21 out of 23 taken. His best attributes are his passing and dribbling. He provides a lot of assists and always works hard for the team. He also missed a part of the season through injury.
	League Games: 28 Goals: 4 Assists: 4 My Rating: 7/10

	Kevin Nolan
	Captain Kevin Nolan is a similar type of player to Frank Lampard because of his size and his goal-scoring ability. He has been quiet in many games and isn’t very fast or creative but he is often found in the right place at the right time and has that ‘goal poaching’ trademark. He has worked an amazing partnership with Andy Carroll this season and the two of them provided seventeen goals between them. He main attributes are his passing, finishing and volleying. However, next season could be his last because of his age and his ability. Nolan rounded off a decent season with a hat-trick against already relegated Reading on the last day of the season.
	League Games: 35 Goals: 10 Assists: 2 My Rating: 7/10

	Gary O’Neil
	Beckenham born Gary O’Neil had a decent season with great strike against West Brom and a couple of assists. At the start of the campaign he looked poor, weak and slow, but managed to pick himself up and put in some hard working performances. Like Nolan, the 30 year old may only have one or two more seasons in the Premier League because of his age and ability.
	League Games: 24 Goals: 1 Assists: 3 My Rating: 6.5/10

	Matt Taylor
	The former Portsmouth and Bolton midfielder didn’t have the best of seasons this year after only picking up one goal and one assist. He was a bit weak and slow throughout the season and was played in the wrong position as left-back on many occasions and struggled with fast approaching opposition wingers. He also suffered some injuries throughout the course of the season. His best season was in the Championship last year and maybe he should have remained there.
	League Games: 28 Goals: 1 Assists: 1 My Rating: 5.5/10

	Andy Carroll
	The tall aerial Geordie had a good season loan at the club after his nightmare seasons at Liverpool. He linked very well with captain and former Newcastle teammate Kevin Nolan. Even though most of his goals were headers, he admitted that his favourite one was the volley against West Brom. He has also provided some assists this year, often using his head to set up a teammate. He suffered an injury at the start of the season and this delayed his start in Claret and Blue, however he soon returned and bagged in a total of seven goals from twenty four league games. West Ham and Liverpool have agreed to a £15m fee, which would bring Carroll back to West Ham after the season-long loan. Carroll told whufc.com (before the agreed fee after the loan) that he enjoyed his spell at West Ham and thanked the fans for his support.
	League Games: 24 Goals: 7 Assists: 4 My Rating: 8/10

	Carlton Cole
	Cole, who was released at the end of the season, had one of his poorest seasons of his career.The 29 year-old’s performance was dull, boring and he seemed to lose his pace. However, he has always been good at holding onto the ball and using his strength to get past players. He is also known to do well with one-on-ones. This season he has struggled to find the back of the net and I think the Championship would be best for him after he scored twelve goals for the Hammers last season.
	League Games: 27 Goals: 2 Assists: 1 My Rating: 5/10

Source : http://www.football.co.uk/west_ham_united/west_ham_united_player_performance_review_rss4229365.shtml