February wasn’t bad – and I guess as far as monthly summaries go, that’s pretty positive for this season. In my last column, I expected three, but hoped for four points from three games and in fact, we got six. Lowering expectations is the key to happiness, I find.
What I didn’t expect is that three of those points would come at Arsenal. It was only Arsenal’s third defeat of the season, the first at the Emirates. It’s quite an achievement for a side that if there weren’t three obviously worse teams in this league, would be looking over their shoulders.
The performance was a sign that the squad can put in a shift. They worked hard for each other and showed what a bit of confidence and organisation can do. It wasn’t a sparkling ‘I’ll remember this forever’ type performance, but it was absolutely a positive step.
Milestones and Key Returns
It was brilliant to see Bowen net his 50th Premier League goal. I think I say it every issue, but he’s just irreplaceable, for me. JWP showed us what we missed as well. There’s something about his presence, aside from his skillset, that makes us complete as a side.
Thank goodness we enjoyed the Arsenal game, because despite another decent shift from the lads, the 2-0 win over Leicester was forgettable. A win’s a win, but despite sitting and watching it all I couldn’t recall much of it. It was a weird evening, with the crowd even falling flat. The Foxes are appalling and they’re gone barring a miracle.
Goodbye to Goodison Park
Looking ahead to the rest of the month, we’ll get to see if Moyes had a revenge plan up his sleeve. He will, of course. And honestly, I don’t begrudge it. It’s the last time West Ham get to visit Goodison. If you’ve got a ticket and haven’t been to the ground before, make it memorable.
It’s a fantastic stadium, what we like to call a ‘proper’ one. I’m sad to see it go and I’m gutted I couldn’t make it over for a second visit. With that game and Wolves coming up, we’re playing the teams directly around us – so it might not sound like an exciting few weeks, but it could shape the outcome of the season. We’re not playing for much, so to finish as high up the table as we can from this position should be our aim.
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