Welcome to the fifth annual KUMB awards, for the 2001/02 season. We asked you to vote in nine categories once again; this was your verdict ...
PLAYER OF THE SEASON1. SEBASTIEN SCHEMMEL (66%)
2. DAVID JAMES (16%)
3. CHRISTIAN DAILLY (5%)
No surprises in our main category as Seb romped home with two in every three votes - just as he has in every other Player of the Season poll. A fantastic achievement for a player who cost the equivalent of a months wages for David Beckham ... special mention also to our runner-up David James whose excellent form since returning from injury in November must have been worth several points.
Previous Winners:
1997:John Hartson 1998: Steve Lomas 1999: Paolo Di Canio 2000: Stuart Pearce
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON
1. JERMAIN DEFOE (85%)
2. JOE COLE (10%)
3. MICHAEL CARRICK (1%)
The most comprehensive winner in any of our nine categories, 19-year-old Defoe made the whole Premiership sit up and take notice during his first season in the top flight, whilst finishing the club's top scorer with 12 goals. Runner-up Joe Cole finished the season in some style by making the England squad for the 2002 World Cup. With our winner of the last two seasons, Michael Carrick, making up the numbers, the future is once again looking very bright at Upton Park.
Previous Winners:
1997:Rio Ferdinand 1998:Rio Ferdinand/Frank Lampard 1999: Michael Carrick 2000:Michael Carrick
BEST SIGNING
1. SEBASTIEN SCHEMMEL (50%)
2. DAVID JAMES (40%)
3. TOMAS REPKA (7%)
Not surprisingly our one and two in this category mirror our Player of the Year category - both players, as they were, being signed by Glenn Roeder during the last 12 months. England's number one narrowed the gap somewhat but the French flier deservedly held off the challenge to take his second award. Tomas Repka - who in another season may well have won this category - comes in third.
Previous Winners:
1997:Eyal Berkovic 1998:Trevor Sinclair 1999: Igor Stimac 2000: Frederic Kanoute
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
1. CHRISTIAN DAILLY (51%)
2. SEBASTIEN SCHEMMEL (28%)
3. JOE COLE (8%)
The big Scot took over half the votes in this category - and deservedly so. The only ever-present in the squad this season, Dailly silenced the boo-boys with a string of superb displays at the heart of the Hammers defence; once again looking like a £5m+ defender. Seb Schemmel just fails to make it a hat-trick of awards, whilst Joe Cole continued to impress many of you.
Previous Winners:
1997:Frank Lampard 1998:Frank Lampard 1999: Marc-Vivien Foe 2000: Michael Carrick
MOST MEMORABLE MATCH
1. MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 (a) 8/12/01 (39%)
2. SUNDERLAND 3-0 (h) 20/4/02 (21%)
3. MANCHESTER UNITED 3-5 (h) 16/3/02 (10%)
For the second season in a row a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford tops our poll for Most Memorable Match. The shockwaves from this one weren't perhaps as great but Jermain Defoe's winner went a long way to losing the Reds the title - not the first time that has happened in recent years. Perhaps the most complete performance witnessed at the Boleyn for many seasons - the 3-0 win over Sunderland in March - came in second, whilst the eight goal thriller against Man Utd just about stole third place.
Previous Winners:
1997:Tottenham 4-3 (h) 1998: Palace 4-1 (h)/Barnsley 6-0 (h)
1999: Arsenal 2-1 (h) 3/10/99 2000: Man Utd 1-0 (a) 28/1/01
GOAL OF THE SEASON
1. TREVOR SINCLAIR vs DERBY (62%)
2. IAN PEARCE vs TOTTENHAM (15%)
3. JERMAIN DEFOE vs MANCHESTER UTD (13%)
Trevor Sinclair has a habit of scoring the odd spectacular goal (who can forget the overhead kick for QPR?) - and this was up there with the best of them. Joe Cole's corner was lobbed in to the box by Paolo Di Canio, and Sinclair volleyed the ball home whilst in mid-air - the ball never even touched the ground. Pearcey's 25 yard volley which stole a point at White Hart Lane scored well, whilst Jermain's header at Old Trafford was narrowly beaten into third place.
Previous Winners:
1997:Hartson v A.Villa 1998:Lazaridis v Newcastle 1999: Di Canio v Wimbledon 2000:Di Canio v Manchester United
WORST PLAYER OF THE SEASON
1. TITI CAMARA (31%)
2. GARY CHARLES (27%)
3. DON HUTCHISON (13%)
Big fat Titi follows in the footsteps of the great Iain Dowie by winning the dubious honour of retaining his title as KUMB's Worst Player of the Season. Bought from Liverpool in December 2000 he promised 'goals, goals, goals' ... and here we are eighteen months later still waiting for the first. The problematic Gary Charles narrowly avoided jail to come in as runner-up, whilst Don Hutchison - rather unfairly - came in third with 13% of the vote.
Previous Winners:
1997:Iain Dowie 1998:Iain Dowie/Andy Impey 1999: Neil Ruddock 2000: Titi Camara
WORST SIGNING
1. RAGNVALD SOMA (28%)
2. HAYDEN FOXE (21%)
3. DON HUTCHISON (20%)
Wingeing Scandinavian Ragnvald Soma romped home in our poll for biggest waste of money. Another one of Harry Redknapp's mistakes, Soma made just a handful of appearances for the first team - all spectacularly indifferent. Hayden Foxe's most notable contribution to the campaign was to take the meaning of 'a Christmas piss-up' rather too literally, whilst Don Hutchison came in third - purely because of the large fee.
Previous Winners:
1997:Ian Pearce 1998:Andy Impey 1999: Sasa Ilic 2000: Titi Camara
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
1. FA CUP DEFEAT AGAINST CHELSEA (46%)
2. OUR AWAY FORM (24%)
3. 7-1 DEFEAT AT BLACKBURN (13%)
Having salvaged a draw at Stamford Bridge it looked good for the replay at Upton Park. But despite taking an early lead our boys threw it away - for the second year in succession - letting John Terry steal the tie in the very last minute. Our shocking away form got the votes of one quarter of our entrants, whilst that dark day in Lancashire also gets an (un)worthy mention.
Previous Winners:
1999: Mannygate 2000:FA Cup quarter-final defeat
So that's that for another season; let's hope 2002/03 brings us a little more to cheer! A big thankyou to everyone who took the trouble to enter their votes in this years awards.
