Are Toffees Allowed Every Weekend? We took your points, but you got our stereos!

HamburgHammer praises our newfound capacity to recover from setbacks as West Ham overcomes Everton to force the team back into the relegation battle. Is it true that Aréola defeated the blue side of Scousetown almost entirely on his own?

I had so much fun watching that game, wow! If you have claret and blue coursing through your veins, this isn’t the kind of food to keep your blood pressure within prescribed ranges, but that’s football, right?

This one possessed every aspect that a fan of the lovely game adores. Numerous shots on goal, outstanding saves, incredible goals, the occasional controversy, and thrilling late drama! So, the powerful Irons have won two straight! From my perspective, that is technically a winning streak. Forget about the two prong; fifth place is not likely for us. However, that is not really significant. In my opinion, it was a huge relief to witness us play some constructive football once more, with a lot of attacking vigor, particularly in the second half. We were still sitting too deep at times, in my opinion.

If we/Moyes showed a little more confidence in our ability to press the opponent more frequently and play on the front foot on a regular basis, I think we could be much more in control of our own destiny on the field.

But there’s no denying that this game could have been lost very easily. One man, our “Menace from Paris,” Alphonse Aréola, is the reason we may all smile broadly this lovely morning like cats from Cheshire (or any other county, for that matter). He made save after save like a man obsessed. Bobby Moore, bless him, alone knows whether we would have won the game if he hadn’t saved the penalty right before halftime. On a different day, Everton could have easily scored three or four goals. However, it was just one of those days where Everton missed their opportunities and drew blanks.

However, your side has a chance to win any given game when a goalie performs at a high level like Aréola did at Goodison! The commentator would not stop saying, “Denied by Aréola,” so at one point I began to think his first name was Denied-By.

With three goals, three additional points, and some excellent individual efforts from Aréola, Alvarez, and Soucek, I am as happy as a starving kitten under a leaky cow today. This sort of explains why our 2024 performances were so disappointing in the past. Our team is full of talented players, and I think that sometimes we are undervaluing them and failing to give them the confidence they need to play attacking football and produce results. Playing counterattacking football with little possession is perfectly acceptable.

However, why not use guys that are a little higher up the pitch in a higher line? We can score a lot of goals from players like Bowen, Kudus, and Paqueta if you win the ball somewhere near midfield. This is because it’s quicker and easier to sprint half the length of the pitch after winning the ball rather than starting from deep inside your own half.

I considered restarting Zouma to be an extreme risk prior to the game. To be fair, he accomplished a tremendous goal that prepared us for the exciting comeback. He is still not the position’s long-term answer. We’re just trying to get as much mileage out of him as possible, I believe, while his knees are still keeping him upright. I would start Ogbonna far more frequently and I still think it’s hazardous, but maybe that’s just me. However, you cannot dispute the caliber of our objectives. Zouma’s header was the result of a very long jump.

Soucek’s goal-of-the-month contender effort was his ability to reset himself and find the top corner. And in injury time, our third goal?

Although Alvarez isn’t intended to score, he executed that play flawlessly. We all want the boys to play football like that, and yeah, that’s not being entitled—that’s just common sense on the field. Try as you might to convince me that style of football isn’t better than the garbage we’ve been fed up in the games played in 2024 up until the Brentford game. No need to refer to it as Moyes Magic—that’s just good football; it’s not exactly complicated science. Furthermore, it isn’t called codswallop.

No need to refer to it as Moyes Magic—that’s just good football; it’s not exactly complicated science. Furthermore, it isn’t called codswallop. It’s what you get when you allow good football players to play as a cohesive unit. If Moyes was taking a somewhat more upbeat approach to his tactical strategy, he could see this far more frequently. But we must remember that Aréola was the one who kept us interested in the entire time.

.. In my 28 years as a Hammer, that’s the best goalkeeping performance I can remember seeing from a West Ham goalkeeper. It may even be comparable to Robert Green’s unbeatable performance against Arsenal in that 1:0 victory away at the Emirates back in April 2007, when we handed the Gooners their first-ever loss at their new home.

I haven’t yet brought up Kalvin Phillips. That is as a result of his meager contribution. But I don’t hold the athlete accountable for it. It’s obvious he’s not match fit. However, that truly isn’t his fault. It might take him an additional six weeks or so to catch up. By then, the season will be almost done. That’s the reason I’m still baffled as to why we signed him. Performing a favor for Man City by helping him get in shape and paying his salary as well as a sizable loan fee? I’m still not sure how the signature came to be.

However, perhaps he’ll help create the winning goal against Freiburg to silence me completely, huh?

We have significantly more quality in our group than Freiburg has, in my opinion. They are hardly a terrible team, but they haven’t exactly made waves in the football world this year. We should win and give them too much of a struggle if we go into that game with boldness and confidence from the first whistle. However, given that their league position is certain and that they will need to win the Europa League in order to have any chance of playing in Europe again the following season, they really have nothing to lose—especially in front of their own fans.

Thus, do not even for a moment try to undervalue them! Honor them, but don’t be afraid! There is only one choice when it comes to West Ham and Freiburg in the Bundesliga, even though they are my soft spot club. Guys, just win!