West Ham United 2011/12 Awards Dinner in aid of the Academy
10.16pm - That concludes this evening's ceremony. The players will now sign a few autographs for the fans before departing at 10.30pm to get some much needed rest for that all important Play-Off semi-final first leg against Cardiff City in Cardiff on Thursday night. It has been a fantastic evening here at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, everyone has thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Attention now turns to Thursday evening's game with Cardiff, goodnight.
10.12pm - For more reaction to Noble's award click here.
10.06pm - Mark Noble has been crowned Hammer of the Year! The midfielder capped a superb 2011/12 season by scooping the prestigious award, which was presented by Alpari (UK) COO David Stuart. Twice runner-up, Noble was rewarded for his outstanding performances over the past nine months by edging James Tomkins into second place after more than 10,000 votes were cast by West Ham supporters. Robert Green came in third and Kevin Nolan fourth.
10.02pm - Now the moment we've all been waiting for - it's time to crown the Hammer of the Year - sponsored by Alpari (UK)!
9.46pm - A short break now whilst Jonny Gould concludes the live auction before its time for the main event and the crowning of the 2011/12 Hammer of the Year sponsored by Alpari (UK).
9.44pm - The winner is Ricardo Vaz Te. He only arrived in January from Barnsley but his energetic and sometimes unpredictable displays have won Hammers fans' hearts. Ten goals in his first ten starts did much to endear him before a hat-trick against Brighton had them singing his name. A popular winner, Vaz Te collects his award from S14 stage director Mark Pryke.
9.42pm - The penultimate award of the night is Signing of the Season. Big Sam has brought in some real quality during the season and this is a tough one to call. Sponsored by S14 Limited, the nominees are striker Ricardo Vaz Te, Matt Taylor, Abdoulaye Faye, George McCartney, Sam Baldock, Joey O'Brien and Kevin Nolan. All have enjoyed a fantastic first season in East London; Vaz Te's goals have proved invaluable as have Faye, McCartney and Taylor's performances at the back. Who have you voted the winner? Let's find out.
9.40pm - And the winner is George McCartney! A hugely popular choice, McCartney is a fantastic character to have around the club, George is a worthy winner. He is presented his award by the owners of EES and SAS Mr John England and Peter Drayton.
9.38pm - Next up is Players Player of the Year. This award, sponsored by England Environmental Services and Southern Asbestos Services, is voted for by the West Ham United squad and the nominations this year are East End boy Mark Noble, defender George McCartney and goalkeeper Robert Green. All have enjoyed fantastic seasons with Noble as hard working as ever, McCartney, in his second spell with the Hammers, has excelled with his displays at left back he can be seen flying up and down the wing for the entire 90 minutes and Robert Green who has provided several match winning performances between the sticks.
9.36pm - Its Blackpool away! With ten men and Henri Lansbury in goal it was a monumental result and rightly deserves this award. 'Goalkeeper' Lansbury, Nicky Maynard, James Tomkins and Gary O'Neil go up to collect the award from Call Print Chairman Alan Cheek.
9.34pm - As the guests finish their dessert we continue with the awards. Up next is the Best Team Performance award sponsored by Call Print. In contention for this award is the Hammers 4-0 away win at Watford, 4-1 away win over Nottingham Forest, 4-0 victory at home to Blackpool, a 2-0 away win at Middlesbrough, a ten man 4-1 triumph away to Blackpool, a Good Friday 4-0 win at Oakwell against Barnsley and finally the Hammers 6-0 thrashing of Brighton. Some fantastic performances in there I am sure you will agree but which one did you vote the best?
9.05pm - Exclusive images of all the winners so far from tonight's Awards Dinner are now on the club's official Facebook page here. Here is one to whet your appetite of Ricardo Vaz Te receiving his Goal of the Season award from Eamon O'Malley from Mulalley and Co.
8.55pm - There are more exclusive images to be viewed from tonight's Awards Dinner on the club's official Facebook page here. Jonny Gould of Channel 5 baseball fame is now running the live auction in his own unique style.
8.44pm - The presentation of the awards takes a break for the live auction to take place. We will be back shortly with the Best Team Performance, Players Player of the Year, Signing of the Season and the all important crowning of the 2011/12 Hammer of the Year.
8.40pm - And the award is won by Mark Noble for his performance against Nottingham Forest when he kept his nerve to fire two unstoppable penalties past Lee Camp to secure the Hammers a much needed 2-1 victory. The midfielder is presented his award by Mulalley & Co Director Vince O'Malley.
8.39pm - Best Individual Performance, sponsored by Mulalley & Co Limited is the sixth award of the evening. The nominees include Sam Baldock for his performance and two goals in the 4-0 home win over Blackpool, goalkeeper Rob Green for his fantastic saves in the match away at Hull City, James Tomkins for his display on the South Coast at Portsmouth, Mark Noble for his match winning penalties against Nottingham Forest at the Boleyn Ground and finally George McCartney for his strong defensive play and solo effort away at Cardiff City.
8.36pm - Crimson Fine Wine Managing Director Craig Cooper presents Cole with his award before turning to the big screen to watch all of Carlton's strikes from the season.
8.35pm With 14 goals this season, Carlton Cole is the deserved winner of this year's top goal scorer award sponsored by Crimson Fine Wines. This is the third year in a row Cole has picked up this award making it a hat-trick for the England striker. Cole started the season in imperious form scoring in each of his first four starts against Watford, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Portsmouth. The striker then netted vital goals against Millwall and home and away to Birmingham City before finishing off the season with two against Hull City taking him to 14 for the season, two ahead of second place Kevin Nolan.
8.34pm - Ark Build commercial director Michael Finlay presents Robert Green with his Save of the Season award for his reflex fingertip stop to deny Kenny Miller at Cardiff City on 4 March. Let's hope we see more of the same when we take on the Bluebirds in the Play-Off semi-finals!
8.32pm - With only one contender for this award, Robert Green is guaranteed to win Save of the Season, sponsored by Ark Build PLC. The England stopper has been at his brilliant best for the entire campaign and has caught the eye with a succession of fantastic saves. The nominated efforts were acrobatic stops from Hull City's Jack Hobbs, Barnsley's Rob Edwards, Derby County pair Ben Davies and Theo Robinson, Doncaster Rovers forward El-Hadji Diouf and Cardiff City striker Kenny Miller. All five were outstanding efforts from the No1, but which one have you voted as the Save of the Season?
8.31pm - Bet… CEO Paul Yelland joins Tony Carr on stage to present the Young Player of the Year award to Dan Potts. The left-back has made four starts for Big Sam's side this year, making his debut in the 1-0 home npower Championship win over Barnsley on 17 December. Potts also appeared at Birmingham City on Boxing Day, the 2-1 defeat at Derby County and the FA Cup with Budweiser third-round defeat at Sheffield Wednesday. He also captained the Under-18s to the last-16 of the FA Youth Cup and has appeared regularly for the Development Squad. At the age of 18 and just two years after getting the all-clear after winning his battle with leukaemia, the defender clearly has a very bright future ahead of him.
8.30pm - Sponsored by Bet…, Young Player of the Year is the third award of the night. The contenders for the trophy are first-team regulars James Tomkins and Henri Lansbury, Dan Potts and newly-crowned Academy Player of the Year Rob Hall. All four have been in fine form this season, with Tomkins and Lansbury making an impression for Sam Allardyce's side and both Potts and Hall graduating from the Academy to first-team duty. All four would be worthy winners, but who has Tony Carr picked?
8.28pm - Rob Hall is the winner of the Academy Player of the Year award. The England Under-19 forward has excelled this season, making four first-team appearances including his debut at Derby County on New Year's Eve. Hall has also enjoyed two productive loan spells at npower League Two club Oxford United, where he scored six goals in 14 appearances. The 18-year-old is presented with his award by Shore Capital director Rupert Armitage and Academy Director Tony Carr MBE.
8.26pm - Academy Player of the Year, sponsored by Shore Capital, is the second award of the evening to be presented. Academy Director Tony Carr MBE had an embarrassment of riches to choose from this season, with his side riding high in the FA Premier Academy League all season and reaching the last-16 of the FA Youth Cup. Among the contenders are Under-18s captain Dan Potts and forward Rob Hall, both of whom have made their first-team debuts this season, as well as youth-team starlets Blair Turgott and Elliot Lee. Turgott and Lee have both netted goals galore this season.
8.25pm - It's Ricardo Vaz Te whose amazing acrobatics against Brighton have won him the Goal of the Season award! The scissor-kick completed his hat-trick against the Seagulls - three of ten goals the Portuguese forward has netted in 15 games since his arrival at the Boleyn Ground in January. Eamon O'Malley from Mulalley and Co presents the 25-year-old with his award.
8.20pm - OK, as the guests enjoy their main course, it's time for the awards. Goal of the Season, sponsored by Mulalley and Co, is the first award to be presented this evening. Joey O'Brien, Matt Taylor, Kevin Nolan, Carlton Cole, Jack Collison, Winston Reid and Ricardo Vaz Te are all in the running for the trophy. All seven were fantastic strikes, with Nolan's volley against Derby County, Reid's rocket to secure victory over Millwall and Vaz Te's scissor-kick against Brighton and Hove Albion leading the voting, but which will prevail?
7.25pm - It's nearly time for dinner and host Ben Shephard to get things underway. For an exclusive Facebook photo gallery from tonight's event, click here. The players are desperate to know who has won all of the awards. Kevin Nolan and Carlton Cole spoke to Sky Sports News on the way into the hotel. I am informed their interviews will be broadcast on television later this evening.
7.15pm - The guests and players are taking their seats for the dinner and awards after a drinks reception. There, award sponsors mingled with the players, who happily posed for photographs, signed autographs and answered questions about the season and upcoming Play-Off semi-final against Cardiff City.
Good evening and welcome to the Grand Ballroom at the London Hilton on Park Lane for the West Ham United Player Awards 2011/12 in aid of the Academy.
Tonight is the night that the Hammer of the Year will be crowned, with a host of players in the running to be voted as West Ham's player of the season by the club's supporters.
More than 10,000 votes have been cast and counted, with the winner set to be announced at around 10pm. Before then, we have nine other prestigious awards to be presented.
Lifelong Hammers fan Ben Shephard of Sky Sports Soccer AM fame is our host for the evening, with nearly 800 supporters joining Joint-Chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold, Vice-Chairman Karren Brady, the first-team squad, manager Sam Allardyce and his coaching staff here in the West End.
It promises to be a fantastic night, with awards being presented for - deep breath - Individual and Team Performance of the Year, Goal, Signing, Save and Players' Player of the Season, Top Goalscorer, Young Hammer of the Year and Academy Player of the Year!
We will also bring you an exclusive photo gallery from tonight's event, which can be viewed on the club's official Facebook page here.