On Wednesday, Michail Antonio received the EA Sports Premier League Player of the Month award for July, and became just the fifth West Ham United player to win the award.The Hammers’ striker saw off competition from the likes of Olivier Giroud, Harry Kane and Anthony Martial to become the first July recipient of the award.
Antonio was below par for much of the season, scoring just two goals in the 29 matches before the break. However, he returned from lockdown in scintillating form.
The 30-year old scored eight goals in seven July matches, including four against Norwich City at Carrow Road, to record a ten goal season for the first time since 2014/15. Largely thanks to his goals, West Ham picked up 12 valuable points in July to dodge relegation with one week to spare.
Antonio is just the fifth Hammer to collect the individual accolade (and the first in nearly six years) which has been awarded every month since August 1994. But who are the other four recipients?
Who Are West Ham United’s Previous Premier League Player of the Month Winners?
Diafra Sakho (October 2014)
Before Antonio, Senegal international Diafra Sakho was West Ham’s most recent Player of the Month. Signed from Metz in August 2014, Sakho hit the ground running in claret and blue. Already with three goals in his first five league starts, the then 24-year-old scored three times in October to help West Ham climb from ninth to fourth and kickstart an unbeaten run that would last until Boxing Day,
Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for both West Ham and Sakho that season. Entering the Christmas period in the Champions League places, West Ham won just three further matches to finish the season in 12th place. Meanwhile, after scoring in six successive matches in September and October, Sakho was troubled by injury and added only five more to his total.
Sakho failed to replicate his debut season’s form, scoring just eight more league goals for West Ham. He signed for Rennes in January 2018 and now plies his trade at Swiss side NE Xamax.
Scott Parker (February 2011)
Exactly ten years after a West Ham player first won Player of the Month, club legend Scott Parker collected the award.
Marshalling the midfield, Parker steered the Hammers to seven points from a possible 12 in February – including scoring the opener in a 3-1 win over Liverpool – as the club battled relegation. However, his finest moment came in a 3-3 draw against West Bromwich Albion. Finding his side three goals down at half time, Parker delivered a rousing team talk (according to Carlton Cole) and an influential second-half performance to earn his side a much-needed point.
Unfortunately, his efforts during the season were in vain as West Ham finished the season at the bottom of the table. However, despite the disappointing season, Parker was a shining light throughout and remains the only player from a relegated side to collect the FWA Footballer of the Year award in the Premier League era.
Anton Ferdinand (January 2006)
Anton Ferdinand is perhaps the most surprising West Ham player on this list. However, in claiming the award he and brother Rio (October 2001) wrote their names in the history books as the first siblings to win Player of the Month.
The then 20-year-old produced a string of decisive defensive performances to help the Hammers earn six points from three January fixtures, but is perhaps best remembered for his rare appearance on the scoresheet against Fulham.
After the Fulham defence failed to clear their lines from a corner, Marlon Harewood nodded the ball back to Ferdinand on the edge of the box and the youngster smashed his volley on the turn into the top corner to give his side the lead.
Unfortunately, like Parker, the season would end in heartbreak for Ferdinand who missed the decisive penalty to hand Liverpool the FA Cup. Since leaving West Ham in 2008, Ferdinand has played in England, Turkey and Scotland, most recently appearing for St Mirren in 2019.
Stuart Pearce (February 2001)
Stuart “Psycho” Pearce was West Ham’s inaugural Player of the Month recipient. Signed from Newcastle in January 1999, Pearce made 42 league appearances in two seasons at Upton Park and added a Hammer of the Year award to his Player of the Month gong in 2001.
The hard as nails defender was West Ham’s defensive rock and was vital in the club’s 2-1 victory over Bradford in late February – their first win since Boxing Day. West Ham finished the season in 15th place whilst England international Pearce transferred to First Division side Manchester City.
Prior to winning Player of the Month in 2001, Pearce had received the Premier League Manager of the Month award in January 1997 when he was appointed caretaker player-manager of Nottingham Forest. He has since collected two further Manager of the Month awards with Man City (March and April 2005).
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