Lifelong fan Ray Winstone is looking forward to the West Ham United End of Season Awards dinner to be held on Tuesday 4 May - with all proceeds from the glittering gala night going to the Academy.
The homegrown Hollywood star was back at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday to see his daughter be a mascot before his beloved Hammers ran out 3-0 winners against Hull City. Although he has a notoriously busy schedule with movie commitments around the world, Winstone has earmarked the May date already.
It promises to be a special night with X Factor star Stacey Solomon already booked as part of the night's entertainment, which will also feature an array of player awards including Hammer of the Year, young player of the year and Goal of the Season. Tickets are going fast, with prices at £2,500 for a table of ten with a limited number of individual places available at £250 per person.
The evening is also being staged to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1980 FA Cup final triumph with the majority of the squad already confirmed as being in attendance on the night. Thirty years ago this May, Trevor Brooking stooped to head the only goal of the game against Arsenal and hand the Hammers a memorable 1-0 victory.
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AT THE END OF SEASON AWARDS DINNER
Last year's star-studded event was hosted by comedian and West Ham fan Phill Jupitus and was a memorable celebration of all things claret and blue. Gianfranco Zola, who was on the receiving end of some light-hearted banter, and the first-team squad were all in attendance on a night that saw Tony Carr earn a special tribute.
Winstone himself caught up with friends old and new and admitted he struggled to recall much of the festivities afterwards. He has pledged to be at the London Hilton in Park Lane this time around, work commitments permitting. "I'll be there. I can't remember it last year, so it must have been good," he said with a smile.
He went to claim it looked like there would be plenty more reasons to celebrate come the end of this campaign. "I've got nothing to moan about this season. Zola's done a great job with, week-in, week-out, players seemingly coming and going.
"The team has had plenty of heart. If you look at the goal difference, we've been getting beat by the odd goal and sometimes you need a bit of luck, and we probably haven't had that. I've got big hopes. We're going to be all right."
