Defeat to Liverpool last time out put a spanner in the works for West Ham United statisticians.
Board supporter turns on owners but gets short shrift from Moyes
David Moyes’s West Ham side have been superb this season.
The Hammers have gone from struggling at the wrong end of the table to challenging near the top.
Liverpool defeat meant West Ham fell behind ‘best season for 35 years’ stat
But the 3-1 loss to Liverpool meant West Ham had no longer made their best start to a season for 35 years.
It was a fact being loudly and proudly trumpeted by West Ham fans and the club’s media team. And rightly so.
The truth is, in this modern day Premier League it would take some going for West Ham to ever match the 26 wins they achieved in the famous 1985/86 season.
It was the year West Ham should have won the title.
The Hammers still have more points (35) – and a superior goal difference – than they did at the same stage of the 1998/99 campaign (32) when they went on to secure their best ever Premier League finish of fifth.
A point or more at Villa will get Hammers back on track to surpass Farewell Boleyn and 98/99
But they are now marginally worse off – only by goal difference – than they were after 21 games of the emotional Farewell Boleyn season in 2015/16 – when the Hammers went on to record their highest ever Premier League points total of 62.
West Ham are on the same number of points as 2015/16 after the same number of games and are in the same position in the table, fifth.
But under Slaven Bilic West Ham had a goal difference of +9, five better than their current standing.
Can Soucek and co follow in Payet and Di Canio’s footsteps?
The good news is West Ham can revive the ‘best season for 35 years’ stat if they get at least a point against Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
West Ham lost 2-1 at Newcastle in game week 22 five years ago.
So a point or victory for Moyes’s side will be enough.
And the Irons are well on course to match the 16 wins achieved when they said goodbye to Upton Park in style.
Dimitri Payet inspired that 2015/16 season just as Paolo Di Canio had in 98/99.
Tomas Soucek has been the hero so far but could the likes of Said Benrahma make this his time to shine?
David Moyes drops big Lingard hint ahead of Aston Villa
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