Hammer & Tongs

There's an old saying about how a little time can make a huge difference... and Gianfranco Zola's West Ham United are currently a textbook example of that particular adage!

I last witnessed the Hammers 'live' just before Christmas when they entertained a Tottenham side which was at that time 'riding the crest' of the Redknapp wave of enthusiasm. That Monday evening, the gulf in class between the two sides was frightening (at least, it should have been very scary for the young Italian manager in his 'rookie' season). Tottenham were as majestic in possession and overall control of the game as West Ham were abject. They couldn't have strung two passes together that evening, much less put the comedic Brazilian keeper Gomes under any sustained pressure.

Wind the clock forward a little under two months and the change at Upton Park is little short of miraculous. Yesterday, the Hammers subjected United to as tough an examination of our domestic title credentials as any side we've faced this season- indeed had the otherwise excellent Carlton Cole chosen power over precision with his best chance of the afternoon, United may not have been back on top of the Premier League this morning.

For their part, United played no better than 'decent'. Sir Alex baffled everyone with a fluid 4-3-3 formation, with Giggs on the right of a midfield three containing former Hammer Michael Carrick and veteran Paul Scholes. Ronaldo, on the left, flitted between left-midfield (minus any ideas of actually tracking back to assist O'Shea at left-back) and left-sided forward. The industrious Tevez spent as much time in the midfield area as he did up alongside Dimitar Berbatov.

It was a game played at 100mph, but not lacking any quality for that. West Ham were snappy in the tackles, with Mark Noble and Scott Parker quick to close any space in the centre. Consequently, much of the United threat emanated from the wings, Ronaldo usually providing an outlet for the defence since he hadn't bothered to cover back during the previous West Ham raid. Behrami, the Swiss international, had a pretty decent game for the home side, doubling up to counter the threat of our Portuguese winger.

In the end, the midfield stalemate was broken only by a sublime finish from Ryan Giggs. The Welsh wizard received a diagonal pass from Scholes, fained to cross twice with his favoured left foot (thereby taking two home players out of the game) before cutting inside on his right and sending a lovely shot across the unsighted Rob Green into the far corner of the goal.

It says much for our record-holding defence that, despite some heavy West Ham pressure late on in search of an equaliser, the most notable talking-point after Giggsy's goal was the refusal of referee Phil Dowd to point to the spot after Ronaldo was blantantly tripped in the area by Lucas Neill. There's little doubt that Ron's reputation for 'losing his feet' is costing him (and us) penalties that are clearly warranted these days.

So, a narrow hard-fought victory in the East End, where we've often been 'found wanting' in recent years, sees United return to the summit, with only lucky Liverpool for close company. Just how much more luck the Merseysiders are going to get this year is anyone's guess, but Rafa's bizarre decision to leave both his available strikers, Kuyt and Torres, on the bench in a Premier League game almost came back to haunt him. Indeed, were it anyone else but the hopelessly inept Portsmouth as opposition, they may indeed have regretted such a strange team selection. As it was, the reason Tony Adams has since lost his job at Fratton Park was there for all to see as his side contrived to turn a 2-1 lead into a 2-3 defeat in the last five minutes of the game, with former Liverpool striker Crouch particularly culpable for a hideous back-pass which led indirectly to the opening goal for the Anfield side.

Elsewhere, 'Big Phil' Scolari's stay at the Bridge looks increasingly in jeopardy as his side tamely drew 0-0 with Hull City, with John Terry making a claim for this year's 'Miss of the Season', volleying over the bar from inside the six-yard box.

The North London derby ended in goal-less stalemate as well, with Wenger's well-known blindness making a return, the Frenchman claiming not to have seen Emmanuel Eboue's ridiculous kick at Modric for which Eboue rightly received his second yellow card of the afternoon. Of course, he has since made a miraculous recovery and is now moaning that the referee wrongly chalked off Eboue's earlier 'goal', in the build-up to which the Arsenal player quite blantantly shoved Jonathan Woodgate in the back. I guess some things never change...

Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa increasingly look like a side which could become a permanent fixture in the fabled 'top four'. Villa completely dominated in the 2-0 victory at Ewood Park against a rejuvenated Blackburn Rovers, and must wonder how they only scored twice. Everton also had another excellent result, winning 3-0 at home to Bolton despite their heavy toils of mid-week in the F.A. Cup win over Liverpool.