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What kind of deranged Premier League is it in which West Ham are the model of consistency and unflappability?
Unbeaten in eight games after their terrific victory at Bournemouth, they must fancy their chances of extending that run at struggling Newcastle on Saturday.
Not only that, for more than two months, they negotiated a major injury crisis which robbed them of key players such as the fabulous Dimitri Payet.
Their victory over Chelsea on October 24 was their only win during that time. But they lost only twice between then and the beginning of this current run of three straight wins, kick-starting against Southampton on December 28.
This is the kind of form which must surely have the club’s hierarchy contemplating the enticing prospect of staging European football in the first campaign at the Olympic Stadium next season.
Perhaps, with a twinkle in David Sullivan’s eyes, the Champions League - rather than the Europa League with which they club had an odd flirtation last summer - may even have been mentioned this week.
In this most unpredictable of seasons, it should have been. What a windfall of pride, anticipation, credibility and emerging potential that would be for the Irons in the year in which they leave the rumbling old cathedral of Upton Park.
It would confirm utterly Sullivan’s assertions that the stadium move will elevate West Ham into a new sphere of the game.
This form has also illustrated how quickly the bond between the fans and the manager, the former Upton Park defender, Slaven Bilic, has been re-established.
The supporters accepted Bilic’s plight during that injury crisis with an understanding many would never have shown his predecessor, Sam Allardyce.
In his first season, the Croatian has managed so far to tune into the twin demands of the club’s following in a way Allardyce never did.
There were five consecutive draws between the 4-1 thrashing by Tottenham on November 22 and the defeat of Southampton. The points tally ticked over. The fans understood.
That resolute run is also why West Ham, having beaten Bournemouth on Tuesday, could watch Wednesday’s seven fixtures, knowing they couldn’t be over-hauled.
"Perhaps, with a twinkle in David Sullivan’s eyes, the Champions League - rather than the Europa League with which they club had an odd flirtation last summer - may even have been mentioned this week."
The dear, old, un-threatening Hammers, who even during the era of Moore, Hurst and Peters, were mocked Up North for being soft and wayward – with occasional flashes of dazzle – simply could not exist at any reasonable level in the modern game.
They are burying that strand of their past quite emphatically just now.
Bilic has made the side both competitive and exciting. Payet, who confirmed a stunning return from injury with a brilliant free-kick goal at Bournemouth, still looks like the best signing of last summer. Credit must go to the board for the way they have handled transfer policy and provided Bilic with the tools he is utilising so well.
The supporters can begin to think about Europe again because of West Ham's achievements in their own right. But it is also a major prospect because this is the title race – and the hunt for the attached prizes – in which nobody wants to take command.
Paradoxically, that is why fans of Arsenal and Tottenham should not be too concerned about the setbacks of this week.
In a more conventional campaign, the surrender of two precious points to Joe Allen’s late equaliser in the wild 3-3 draw at Anfield on Wednesday would be cited as evidence that they don’t have the ruthlessness and relentless to be champions.
But as it stands, we’re beyond all that in 2015/16. It’s a bit of a lottery up the top end.
Conversely, too, Arsene Wenger's side twice came from behind to lead against Liverpool so there is clearly some spirit at work in the side. And the Frenchman, Olivier Giroud, is now comfortable in the role of good old-fashioned English striker.
Arsenal have the most victories, with 13. And they have beaten both second-placed Leicester and third-placed Manchester City. Those results may be critical.
There is, of course, a residue of fragility within Wenger’s outfit and it will be severely tested at seventh-placed Stoke this weekend.
Mark Hughes, the Potters’ boss, is currently on a run of four consecutive league wins. There is a bit of unsavoury history between the teams.
But Arsenal’s recovery to reach the last 16 of the Champions League points to a firmer resolve this season, too. They have a great chance to prove that spirit is in good order at the Britannia this weekend because this is the kind of fixture where titles are secured.
Spurs’ home defeat by Leicester was not calamitous, either, even if this was the week when the challenge of Claudio Ranieri’s men for the biggest prize began to look seriously credible.
Second-placed Leicester have lost only twice in the league. That’s the best record of all the leading clubs in that particular column of the table.
Tottenham are next best in that department, with three defeats now, although they have drawn nine, two more than Leicester.
Meanwhile, Manchester City somehow seem to retain some people’s belief that they are proper title challengers even though have lost on a whopping five occasions to date.
They don’t convince me at all just now. And Manchester United? Even the manager, Louis van Gaal, says they bore him.
Back to West Ham, one of the teams of the moment, along with Leicester and Stoke.
After the trip to Newcastle, City are the next visitors to the Boleyn Ground.
It’s a test, no matter how unfocussed Manuel Pellegrini’s team appear just now. But in February, Bilic’s side have fixtures against Aston Villa, Southampton, Norwich and Sunderland.
All of them are winnable. It could be the month when the Hammers properly nail their place in this season’s elite.
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