West Ham’s televised game against Manchester City at Upton Park on Saturday evening was a marketing manager‘s dream. As a world-wide advertisement for the Premier League it could hardly have been bettered.

An exciting and enthralling match that had almost everything, it was hard to deny that 2-2 was probably the right result. Slaven Bilic’s claim that his team were ‘disappointed to only get a draw – but this is a good thing’ spoke volumes. It says much about this current Hammers squad they can take the game to a team like City and be dissatisfied because they only earned a point.

There were so many plusses it’s hard to know who to mention first.

Enner Valencia has often seemed like an expensive luxury that the Hammers can ill-afford, but on Saturday the Ecuadorian looked as if he’d bought up in the back streets of the East End. A damp January evening on a surprisingly muddy-looking pitch would often be the signal for some expensive imports to go hiding, but Valencia looked sharp and composed. He also seemed less inclined to be muscled off the ball; an issue that has had some doubting his suitability for the English league. His form is encouraging news for everyone concerned with the club.

Carl Jenkinson’s foul on Sergio Aguero to give away the penalty resulted in the Arsenal loanee adding injury to insult as he limped off moments later. This unfortunate event gave Hammers fans an early opportunity to see new signing Sam Byram and they were not disappointed. Byram’s first touch was to bring the ball down sharply and hit a long pass direct to his teammate. The £3.2 million signing needed no further introduction.

Most supporters smiled ruefully when Bilic informed us Byram was a player for ‘next season’. Born in Thurrock and with many family members supporting the Irons, Byram would have known about the Boleyn injury hoodoo. As it was the former Leeds player spent a mere 13 minutes on the bench before being called into action.

Elsewhere, the sponsor’s man of the match Alex Song had his best game for some time; it’s when Song plays like this that you realise why his signing was such a coup last season. The former Arsenal man so often looks like he’s about to give the ball away – never comfortably looking in control – it’s easy to forget just how good Song is. Alongside him captain Mark Noble battled as only he can and then there’s Dimitri Payet. The humble blogger can only turn to the online dictionary and type in synonyms of ‘excellent’ when describing the Frenchman. Unless he gets injured regularly – and please let’s not tempt fate – it’s hard to see how anyone can not find a season’s worth of superlatives.

It’s Liverpool at Anfield up next in the cup; can the Hammers win there twice in a season? Well, simply put, if Payet is fit and playing well then West Ham always have a chance to win any game.