A West Ham TV panel have named the left-back as their Hammer of the Year so far
An illustrious three-man panel comprising manager Sam Allardyce, West Ham United great Tony Cottee and broadcaster Ian ‘Moose’ Abrahams has tipped Aaron Cresswell for Hammer of the Year honours.
Speaking on the first-ever Hammer Time panel discussion show – to be broadcast on the all-new whufc.com ahead of Wednesday’s Barclays Premier League visit of Chelsea – Big Sam, Cottee and Abrahams were asked who they would pick as West Ham’s standout performer of 2014/15 so far.
The maiden episode of Hammer Time also saw the panel discuss Wednesday’s visit of Chelsea, Jose Mourinho, the development of young home-grown players and the benefits of warm-weather training.
Eleven-goal Diafra Sakho, the striker’s fellow countryman Cheikhou Kouyate and England midfielder Stewart Downing all gained a mention from Cottee, but all three guests were unanimous in their nomination of left-back Cresswell – who has played every minute of the Club’s 27 league matches since his summer switch from Ipswich Town.
“My Hammer of the Year would have to be, because it’s his first season and he’s played every single minute of every single game so far, Aaron Cresswell. I think he has done amazingly well,” said talkSPORT presenter Abrahams, a lifelong Hammer who is a regular visitor to the Boleyn Ground.
“I know left-back is a position where England have a lot of competition for places, but I would love to see Aaron over the next year get into the England squad for Euro 2016.”
Speaking on the first-ever Hammer Time panel discussion show – to be broadcast on the all-new whufc.com ahead of Wednesday’s Barclays Premier League visit of Chelsea – Big Sam, Cottee and Abrahams were asked who they would pick as West Ham’s standout performer of 2014/15 so far.
The maiden episode of Hammer Time also saw the panel discuss Wednesday’s visit of Chelsea, Jose Mourinho, the development of young home-grown players and the benefits of warm-weather training.
Eleven-goal Diafra Sakho, the striker’s fellow countryman Cheikhou Kouyate and England midfielder Stewart Downing all gained a mention from Cottee, but all three guests were unanimous in their nomination of left-back Cresswell – who has played every minute of the Club’s 27 league matches since his summer switch from Ipswich Town.
“My Hammer of the Year would have to be, because it’s his first season and he’s played every single minute of every single game so far, Aaron Cresswell. I think he has done amazingly well,” said talkSPORT presenter Abrahams, a lifelong Hammer who is a regular visitor to the Boleyn Ground.
“I know left-back is a position where England have a lot of competition for places, but I would love to see Aaron over the next year get into the England squad for Euro 2016.”
I would say Aaron because of the consistent level that he has performed to
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The broadcaster’s choice was met with a nod of approval from the manager, who pointed to Cresswell’s outstanding consistency and appearance record with former clubs Tranmere Rovers and Ipswich Town as one of the main reasons for bringing the 25-year-old to east London.
“In the same context as Moose, I would say Aaron because of the consistent level that he has performed to, that his CV told us he would if he could cope with the Premier League,” said Big Sam.
“He played 40-odd games in his first full season for Tranmere, then 40-odd games, 40-odd games, 40-odd games for Ipswich and he’s likely to play 40-odd games for us because he played in the FA Cup too, as long as, touch wood, he doesn’t get injured.
“He’s been able to cope after coming from the Championship in his first season, which is rare these days because the only way you get to the Premier League is if your team is promoted, because not many people buy you to take you there.
“Because of his level of consistency and performance, the graph is very, very stable over a long period of time.”
West Ham legend Cottee, who won Hammer of the Year honours himself in 1986, says Cresswell is among a number of players who have excelled this term.
Like his panel colleagues, the former striker pointed to the No3’s consistency as the major reason for picking the Liverpool-born defender as his Hammer of the Year to date.
“I think it’s been a good season for Hammer of the Year candidates,” said Cottee. “Whereas in the last two seasons you had Mark Noble or Winston Reid and you were struggling to find others who had consistently done well, this year you have Cresswell, Diafra Sakho deserves a mention, Cheikhou Kouyate, Stewart Downing, Adrian and Carl Jenkinson have done well, and all those players deserve a mention.
“However, there is one player who, week-in, week-out has been consistently been at the top of his form and that’s Aaron Cresswell for me.”
“In the same context as Moose, I would say Aaron because of the consistent level that he has performed to, that his CV told us he would if he could cope with the Premier League,” said Big Sam.
“He played 40-odd games in his first full season for Tranmere, then 40-odd games, 40-odd games, 40-odd games for Ipswich and he’s likely to play 40-odd games for us because he played in the FA Cup too, as long as, touch wood, he doesn’t get injured.
“He’s been able to cope after coming from the Championship in his first season, which is rare these days because the only way you get to the Premier League is if your team is promoted, because not many people buy you to take you there.
“Because of his level of consistency and performance, the graph is very, very stable over a long period of time.”
West Ham legend Cottee, who won Hammer of the Year honours himself in 1986, says Cresswell is among a number of players who have excelled this term.
Like his panel colleagues, the former striker pointed to the No3’s consistency as the major reason for picking the Liverpool-born defender as his Hammer of the Year to date.
“I think it’s been a good season for Hammer of the Year candidates,” said Cottee. “Whereas in the last two seasons you had Mark Noble or Winston Reid and you were struggling to find others who had consistently done well, this year you have Cresswell, Diafra Sakho deserves a mention, Cheikhou Kouyate, Stewart Downing, Adrian and Carl Jenkinson have done well, and all those players deserve a mention.
“However, there is one player who, week-in, week-out has been consistently been at the top of his form and that’s Aaron Cresswell for me.”