Oh what fun it is to see, West Ham win a…..t home!
Do you like me feel totally elated tonight? What an incredible feat. I watched the game in a rather disgusting Yates bar in Manchester, with Lord Stewart Wood, one of Ed Miliband’s closest advisers and a Liverpool fanatic. Sadly he didn’t turn up until five minutes had elapsed. I was as kind as I could be in the circs, but by the end I was wondering whether I’d get an interview at all during the conference!
Seriously, have you ever seen a match against Liverpool where we rarely looked in any danger? Where we scored two goals in the first seven minutes? Wherer we dominated them physically? Where we outshone them defensively? Where we dominated them in midfield? Where we restricted them to one shot in the first half? Where we nullified their strikers?
No. Me neither.
Make no mistake, this was a top class performance which could, just could, end up defining our season. That’s four outstanding performances in five games. It seems we have put Southampton behind us and the new signings are proving to be a real inspiration.
Even when Liverpool started chasing the game in the second half and had far more shots, there wasn’t really a moment when we looked uncomfortable. We were the team who looked more like we were playing in the Champions League. We were superb going forward, just superb. There wasn’t a single player who didn’t contribute to our attacking play. We are unrecognisable from the team which could barely get over the half way line on the ground last season. I don’t recall a single long ball forward, and long may it remain that way. OK, we were helped by Liverpool having an absolutely shambolic defence, but hey…
Valencia, Sakho and Downing all played really well. Sakho in particular really intrigues me. I have no idea whether he meant his goal or not. It doesn’t t really matter. His whole game was immense and he and Valencia really seem to understand each other. Downing had a great game and really seems to be coming into his own this season. In midfield Kouyate put in his usual shift, Noble was excellent defensively and Song was a calming influence in a fast-paced game. And all four defenders were excellent, as were Jenkinson and Collins when they came on. Adrian pulled off some spectacular saves in the second half, although he still makes me feel uncomfortable.
So, enjoy it. Enjoy Match of the Day, enjoy Goals on Sunday, and enjoy David Hautzig’s match review which I’ll post early in the morning.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssss!