Player of the Season: Stephen Hunt
It is telling as to Hunt's ability and Hull City's overall gutlessness that he still wins this award, by some distance too, despite having his season ended by a foot injury back in February. Signed from Reading in the summer, the chippy Irish winger settled in immediately on the opening day against Chelsea, scoring the first goal of the whole Premier League season and, on a performance level, rarely looking back. It was obvious that he possessed the kind of attitude that makes fans love a player, in that he cared not a jot about the ability or reputation of any opponent at all, and would seek to outwit that adversary both through skill and gamesmanship with equal flourish.
Hunt proved himself, handily, as an able finisher as well as a tidy supplier of crosses and a merciless extra pair of tackling feet when, as did frequently happen, the going got tough at the other end. He was rarely the starter of any fracas but was always a competitor and often the finisher of such skirmishes; his willingness to dive in and protect his teammates from intimidation and made him all the more admirable, and his footballing talent made his off-ball antics worthwhile and forgivable, despite the bookings that regularly followed.
Despite the horror stories of the club's finances that Adam Pearson was revealing in the weeks following his return, the club felt able to fend off repeated bids for Hunt from Wolves, with £5 million certainly nothing to be sniffed at even at a prudent time. Hunt didn't let the speculation trouble him, even scoring against Wolves on the penultimate day of the same window.
He didn't miss a League game until his worsening foot injury finally forced him out of action at Everton in February; six days before he had made the trip to West Ham United but couldn't complete the match. A deafening silence followed which frustrated the supporters as it coincided with a shocking run of defeats, before the grim truth that Hunt's season was over finally emerged from the club.
While there were hopes of Hunt sticking around over the summer due to his injury and helping the Tigers in the Championship until the club could cash him in, the player himself has revealed he had an agreement that would allow him to leave in the event of demotion. Clubs are likely to take a chance on him despite his need for crutches for some time yet, and we have seen the last of him. His recent revelation that he chose to scold certain members of the first team squad for their lack of application suggested that his appetite for being a winner wasn't just for public consumption, and he will leave the club a hero who, briefly, we were privileged to see.
Highly commended: George Boateng - defied his age to fight and fight some more in the midfield right through to the last game. Steven Mouyokolo - a simple case of class overriding anything else, as he was handed his favoured central defensive role in January and never looked back.
Goal of the Season: George Boateng, v Manchester City (h)
City were a goal up thanks to Jozy Altidore's tidy first half finish against the richest club in the land whose demeanour thus far seemed to suggest they believed it would be merely a question of time before they levelled up and, eventually, won the game. The match was in the early period of the second half when Craig Fagan forced a corner which Hunt swung in towards the six yard box.
Kolo Toure got a strong header on it and it bounced invitingly for Boateng, loitering on the edge of the area. This was a player who hadn't scored for Hull City, and moreover it was landing on his weaker left foot. But it was simply one of those occasions when the 100th attempt after 99 failures would be the one that mattered. He swung his left foot, got the sweet spot of his instep and the ball flew, true and vicious, through the crowd of bodies and beyond Shay Given's helpless left glove.
This made the scoreline 2-0 and although the visitors pulled one back fairly quickly, the Tigers hung on for a victory deemed the most satisfying of the season, because of the performance of the team, the distinguished opposition and the quality of the goal that ultimately decided the outcome.
Highly commended: Tom Cairney, v Everton (a) - a marvellous tee-up and left foot volley from distance that briefly gave the Tigers hope before an eventual thrashing. Andy Dawson, v Everton (h) - a simply superb textbook free kick that combined power with curl, dip and astounding accuracy.
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