Tottenham return to action on Sunday, they face in-form West Ham United in their second London derby in a row in the Premier League. We Spoke to ReadWestHam.com Co-editor Jonny Gilder about this weekend’s match.
1. Has the start of the season at West Ham met your expectations?
I’d probably say yes, personally I was always going to measure our success by looking at what we did last season in the first half of the season. We were 4th at Christmas and so I expected us to be in and around the top eight. What has exceeded expectations is the way we’ve got ourselves in the position we are in. Wins against Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea are always going to be special.
2. Who has been the best player for West Ham so far this season?
Unfortunately, I have to say Dimitri Payet for this question. The Frenchman has been influential in all of our attacking play and West Ham have only played well when Payet has played well. However, he has now been ruled out for three months with injury so it is a massive blow. Honourable mentions go to Manuel Lanzini, James Tomkins and Victor Moses.
3. What are your expectations for the season at West Ham?
I expect West Ham to be pushing for the European places, anything less and I will be massively disappointed. The fact of the matter is that we went out of the Europa League to concentrate on the Premier League and so in my opinion we need to be near the European places come the end of the season.
4. What do you make of Tottenham’s start to the season?
Spurs have made a pretty decent start by the looks of things. They are level on points with us however Tottenham have been far more consistent. They are unbeaten in the Premier League since the opening day of the season however they have also had a lot of draws. The wins against Man City and Bournemouth were superb for them.
5. If you could pick one player from the Spurs team and put him in the west ham team who would it be and why?
I think the only player I would choose would be Kyle Walker or Kieran Trippier to go at right-back. Jenkinson has been abysmal at times this season. I don’t think I would choose anyone else. Our defence (other than Jenkinson) matches Tottenham’s in quality and depth, we have a class centre midfield with back-ups, some great wingers and some decent strikers. Perhaps Christian Eriksen just for his pure class but even then Payet matches his quality.
6. What or who should we look out for against us?
Look out for Manuel Lanzini. The little Argentine has been an unsung hero for us this season and it is now time for him to make one more step up to help replace Payet. As a team, we are brilliant on the counter, especially away from home.
7. And finally what are your predictions for the game?
We’ve already had four out of four victories against last season top six and I predict that we’ll keep that record going with a 2-0 victory. Lanzini and the returning Diafra Sakho with the goals.
Spurs take on West Ham at White Hart Lane on Sunday. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jonny Gilder for his time.
