For many, if you had told them West Ham would be sitting in fourth place, two points ahead of champions Liverpool after 25 games played, you would have been laughed at and rightly so since they just about scraped safety last season. Yet here we are.
And though while on the surface it may still feel strange that the Hammers currently have more points than any other London club in the league, dig a little deeper and the stats more than back them up.
To put it in short, West Ham are proving to be very hard to beat. Only Manchester United and Manchester City have lost less games this season than Moyes’ side (6). This is extremely important when learning that on average, no other top half team has less possession per game than the Irons (43.7%). Moyes must therefore ensure his team is well drilled enough to withstand large periods of the game without the ball – something that is much easier to do when you have the diligent Declan Rice in front of your defence.
Recruitment has been a big reason West Ham sit 21 points better off than where they were at this stage last season. Defender Craig Dawson, who signed on-loan from newly promoted West Brom in a bid to strengthen squad depth has now emerged as a crucial part of the back four prompting some, including Harry Redknapp, to nominate him for the signing of the season.
Jesse Lingard, another loan signing made by The Hammers has so far proved to be another shrewd piece of business. The England international now has as many league goals under David Moyes (3) in four games as he did after playing 36 games under Ole Gunner Solskjaer. But we do not need stats to show us just how good his recent form has been – the mere fact Lingard is playing with a smile on his face again tells us everything we need to know.
The loanees winning goal against Tottenham and the musical celebration with teammates Pablo Fornals and Declan Rice that followed, epitomises everything that is going right with West Ham right now, happiness, togetherness and plenty of imagination. This certainly feels like a team that is enjoying their football and once more the perfect environment for someone like Jesse Lingard whose recent playing time has dwindled, to step into.
West Ham fans will feel it is only right they leave a special place in their claret and blue hearts for Slavia Prague after signing duo Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal this season for a combined fee of approximately £24m. To call it money well spent seems quite the understatement.
The taller half of the Czech duo, Soucek, standing at 6’3”, is a huge reason why only Burnley have won a higher percentage of ariel battles per game (22.9) than West Ham (20.8) so far this campaign. The midfielder has shone in his first season in the Premier League battling tooth and nail in every challenge while still managing to contribute an impressive 11 goals – five of which unsurprisingly are headed.
As for Coufal, if up until now you have never seen him play a single game since signing for the Hammers, his highlights against Aston Villa will educate you on all you need to know. The 28-year-old managed to do what virtually no other player this season has done – mark Jack Grealish out of the game. The full-back took to Twitter after the game to tweet “Sometimes I look like a psycho on the pitch”, he certainly stuck to his task and gave Villa’s star man zero time and space.
It’s not just been the new additions which have fired West Ham up the table either, David Moyes will be delighted to see the progress that fullback Aaron Cresswell has made too. After registering zero assists in the league last season, the 31-year-old already has six so far this campaign along with more final third passes (245) than any other defender in the top tier.
Ask any West Ham fan if they’re content to be sitting in fourth place and all will nod their head. Yet David Moyes insists the Hammers still haven’t hit “top gear” yet. “I think we can play much better.” He told Match of the Day following his sides 2-1 victory over Spurs. “The players have been finding ways to wrestle points off the opposition. They have done a brilliant job. You need a bit of luck along the way, but we had all the right things.
“I think we can play much better. That’s the bit I’m saying. I’m looking forward to when we hit top gear. I don’t think we’ve hit top gear yet; I think we’ve got another couple gears to go.” He added.
So, whatever happens now, West Ham fans can certainly feel like they have a team they can be proud of, a team they know will fight for everything which in difficult times for everyone can certainly be something to provide hope for the future of all Hammers.
By Jack O’Connor