Fan blogger Toby Fry reflects on Wednesday's victory over Tottenham
Fan blogger Toby Fry reflects on Wednesday's win against Tottenham Hotspur...
So the fairytale continues, not only did West Ham defeat an in-form Tottenham but they also moved remarkably close to the Champions League positions.
Now West Ham have been flying high in the table plenty of times before, but there seems to be a consistency that generates real optimism amongst the supporters. Wednesday's performance was just the latest victory in a season of brilliance, and tactically Slaven Bilic got it spot on.
From the moment the teams were announced it appeared that Bilic had opted for the usual flat back four, however he instead wanted to stifle any Tottenham flair by playing three centre-backs and allowing both Cresswell and Antonio the freedom to get forward. The result of that tactical move was superb. One of the finest strikers in the country (Harry Kane) was largely absent, and the overall work-rate of the home side was crucial.
The aforementioned Cresswell and Antonio have the stamina and work rates required to play wing-backs, and that effort was on emulated by Obiang and Noble in the central positions.
Although Emenike scored twice against Blackburn in the FA Cup, I would say that this may well have been his best performance yet. At times he had to feed off scraps but he held the ball up excellently and was enough of a presence to occupy both centre-backs of Spurs.
Kouyate slotted in to centre-back alongside Collins and Ogbonna and he was his usual flawless self. In fact the whole team made it a largely comfortable game for Adrian in the West Ham goal who had to face just two shots on target.
There were flashes on skill and flair from the usual duo of Lanzini and Payet, with the latter continuing to deliver wonderful set-pieces time and time again.
It was also excellent to see Diafra Sakho return from injury along with considerable game time for Lanzini and Carroll. A frightening prospect to consider where we would be if these crucial players had remained fit!
The final time that Tottenham players and supporters will come to the Boleyn Ground, and I'm delighted that they left empty handed and credit to all the players and Slaven who made sure of it.
Follow Toby on Twitter here
The views in this article are those of the author and not neccessarily those of West Ham United
So the fairytale continues, not only did West Ham defeat an in-form Tottenham but they also moved remarkably close to the Champions League positions.
Now West Ham have been flying high in the table plenty of times before, but there seems to be a consistency that generates real optimism amongst the supporters. Wednesday's performance was just the latest victory in a season of brilliance, and tactically Slaven Bilic got it spot on.
From the moment the teams were announced it appeared that Bilic had opted for the usual flat back four, however he instead wanted to stifle any Tottenham flair by playing three centre-backs and allowing both Cresswell and Antonio the freedom to get forward. The result of that tactical move was superb. One of the finest strikers in the country (Harry Kane) was largely absent, and the overall work-rate of the home side was crucial.
The aforementioned Cresswell and Antonio have the stamina and work rates required to play wing-backs, and that effort was on emulated by Obiang and Noble in the central positions.
Although Emenike scored twice against Blackburn in the FA Cup, I would say that this may well have been his best performance yet. At times he had to feed off scraps but he held the ball up excellently and was enough of a presence to occupy both centre-backs of Spurs.
Kouyate slotted in to centre-back alongside Collins and Ogbonna and he was his usual flawless self. In fact the whole team made it a largely comfortable game for Adrian in the West Ham goal who had to face just two shots on target.
There were flashes on skill and flair from the usual duo of Lanzini and Payet, with the latter continuing to deliver wonderful set-pieces time and time again.
It was also excellent to see Diafra Sakho return from injury along with considerable game time for Lanzini and Carroll. A frightening prospect to consider where we would be if these crucial players had remained fit!
The final time that Tottenham players and supporters will come to the Boleyn Ground, and I'm delighted that they left empty handed and credit to all the players and Slaven who made sure of it.
Follow Toby on Twitter here
The views in this article are those of the author and not neccessarily those of West Ham United