It is time to sing Alan Curbishley’s praises. This time last year the former Charlton Athletic manager was sitting at home, biding his time, waiting for the right job to come along.

When he was chosen to replace Alan Pardew at Upton Park in December, some West Ham fans thought that he was the wrong man for the job. Curbishley may have helped Charlton punch above their weight for almost 15 years but what experience did he have of running a “big” club and spending big money?

Well, West Ham picked the right man. Curbishley may have spent a fortune in the summer but many of his signings have been stuck in the treatment room since they arrived. On Saturday, his patched-up side were in scintillating form away to Derby County and by thrashing their opponents 5-0, West Ham – for the third time this season – are the Lucozade Fink Tank team of the week.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters have had plenty to moan about this season and they can feel aggrieved about missing out on our accolade this week. Winning by three goals is usually enough to top our table but Spurs are only second after beating Wigan Athletic 4-0 yesterday. We expected Spurs to win by about one goal – the expected goal difference was 1.28 – but Juande Ramos is obviously making an impact at White Hart Lane.

Reading and Arsenal play this evening.