Time to close the door on a shocking 2010

With what seems to be an ever-changing team, there’s one player who undoubtedly deserves to be playing every week. That man is Radoslav Kovac.So far this season, he has appeared in nine league games, both starting and appearing as a substitute. Of those nine games, the Hammers have only lost two, those games being Aston Villa and Liverpool.He has appeared in three cup games also, Sunderland, Stoke and Manchester United. All three of those games were won by the Hammers. The only cup game he missed was Oxford which West Ham just about won.Why is it that he is not a more regular pick? Possibly because he doesn’t play fancy football. He gets stuck in and always does his job well. Playing alongside Scott Parker in the centre of midfield, Kovac seems to improve Parker’s performance. This may be because Kovac drops back a little and works defensively while allowing Parker to attack. He is seriously under-rated but is becoming crucial to West Ham’s survival this season. So in Avram Grant’s three most important games this season (Blackburn, Fulham and Everton) we managed a total of five points. Quite impressive considering West Ham were struggling to knock out one point in several games.With several transfers set to be made in the January transfer window, here’s hoping they will be worthwhile. It looks like Steve Sidwell will be coming to the Hammers. Hopefully it will work out and he gets over his injury problems. Valon Behrami could be on his way back to Italy after his season has been riddled with injuries. It is such a shame West Ham have not had full use of Behrami this season, he is a top class player and was vital in both the game against Birmingham and the game against Wigan, scoring in both.Hopefully, 2011 will be better to the Hammers than 2010. With a few tough games coming up, every point received will be very important. Time to close the door on what’s been a tough year for the Hammers.Disclaimer: The views in this article are that of the writer and may not replicate those of the Professional Footballers' Association.