West Ham, Relegated? No chance!

Carrick, Cole, Defoe, Di Canio, James, Johnson, Kanoute, Sinclair, Repka...that's 9 pretty good players from a team that was famously too good to go down. They were. They amassed 42 points, enough to stay up in every Premiership season except one; the one that mattered.

Of course, another list of names could have been given: Breen, Brevett, Camara, Cisse, Minto, Schemmell, Winterburn...that's a list of old knackered has beens, journeymen footballers and  foreign mercenaries, dead weights to be carried through a relegation struggle. Looking at them, it is no wonder we struggled!

But go back to that original list and, the centre of defence apart, that was one hell of a spine, a spine far too good to go down surely? But then, there was the centre of the defence!

And there is the rub. We went down in 2002-03 because we couldn't defend for our lives. The centre backs were slow and far from brilliant - add Pearce to that second list - and the full backs were either old, inexperienced, or just plain crap. Schemmell indeed, was our Ilunga - one good season and then hopeless.

When we look at the present team, the first thought is, too good to go down. We have Green, but that side had James. We have Upson, but that side had Repka. We have Parker. But that side had Lomas (not as good but similar!). We have Cole and Obinna but that side had Kanoute, Di Canio and Defoe. Carrick or Noble? Cole or Barerra? When you start making comparisons, it starts to get a bit chilling.

This morning, after watching MOTD highlights, my son said, "We played well really. We just missed some easy chances and conceded some stupid goals." Grant has said something similar although not so succinctly. The trouble is, you win games by scoring more than you concede so it doesn't matter how well you play if you don't score and if you keep conceding.

Yes, at times, we played well yesterday. In fact, at no point did Chelsea dominate us in the way they have dominated other teams so far this season. If Cole's offside goal had stood, and on another day, it might not have been flagged offside, we may have staged a fight back. Had Piquionne scored when standing on the line beneath a gaping goal, 2-3 wouldn't have looked so bad. If Green had made a simple catch, if Upson had kicked the ball into touch, if Green had saved that first header, if Essien hadn't scored twice with his head after never scoring headers before...if, if, if, if ,if!

But here is the rub, here is the most important if: IF we don't stop making the same mistakes game after game after game, we will go down. That was the point of my Groundhog Day report yesterday.

Green has already made terrible howlers in two games. Two games out of four! When you have a keeper throwing games at a rate of 50%, you are in desperate trouble. Upson has made a terrible mistake leading to goals in both home games this season. When you have the captain of your defence making that many crucial mistakes, you are going down - ask Newcastle fans and remember back to Breen! Four games down and a forward has yet to net a goal. If you can't find a regular goal scorer up front, prepare yourself for relegation!

That's why I wanted Behrami and Parker sold. That's why I didn't want Diamanti and Daprela to go. That's why our focus should have been on sorting out the defence in the close season and finding somebody who scores to play up front. Actually that's why we possibly shouldn't have let Ilan leave. He wasn't very good outside the box, but he had that rather precious quality when in it, he scored goals. Unlike Cole and Piquionne and Sears and, based on yesterday, Obinna too. As for Diamanti, we have had three free kicks already this season that he might have scored from. Without him, at least until Der Hammer plays, we have nobody to take these crucial set pieces.

So, the bad news is that, if this continues, we WILL go down. You can't stay up if your keeper is crap, your centre halves are crap and your forwards can't hit a barn door from five yards, or five inches in Piquionne's case!

The window is closed so what do we do? Drop Upson, some will scream. But I would stick with Upson. For all his errors, he is the best defender we have. Drop Ilunga, some will scream. But do you want to see Spector at left back? Oh for Daprela! Drop Cole, some will scream. But Cole was our leading scorer in each of the last two seasons and was one of our better players yesterday. Drop Noble some will scream, but I thought we matched up reasonably well in midfield yesterday.

Drop Green, some will whisper, and if Boffin is any good at all, I would do that. Green's confidence is shot to pieces but it is more than that. He was always weak on crosses, he was always too meek. We need a man between the sticks and not a mouse. We need somebody to take charge, to boss the box, to shout and yell and demand and intimidate those lazy arse defenders into doing their jobs. Look at his face after each of the goals yesterday. He doesn't look angry, he looks dazed. We was poor last season and he is even worse this. It may be that a rest will help but I don't think it will. I don't see Green doing a Robinson, I don't see him ever coming again sadly. He is a Richard Wright, a keeper who has strengths but who is fundamentally flawed. Green actually belongs in the Championship and I don't want the rest of the club joining him down there. I used to say that Green was a great shot stopper but an average keeper; ask me now and I would say that Green is an average shot stopper and a poor keeper.

But chopping and changing personnel, ultimately, is not the answer. We need a settled back four certainly that plays as a unit. My back four would include Da Costa, but if Grant thinks Ben Haim and Upson are the answer, so be it. Settle on that and start drilling the unit. Ilunga really does need a rocket up his backside though. Watch that third Chelsea goal. He ambled across to the left flank, having drifted too far infield in the first place. Had he sprinted, had he closed, that cross would not have been delivered on a plate, but Ilunga didn't even try.

Der Hammer will hopefully help. We don't know how good the guy is yet but the promise is a captain who will play box to box and contribute goals from midfield. You know, what Parker offers, which is perhaps why Parker should have been sold. Obinna also looked good yesterday. His movement was impressive, his touch excellent, his pace threatening - if he can score too, he could well keep us up. And then there is McBenni in reserve. IF fit, he WILL score goals. The raw materials are there for a decent team, a team too good to go down. But then we have heard that before haven't we?

Blackpool WILL go down. Wigan WILL go down. West Brom and Newcastle WILL struggle. Stoke's attempts to sign big names may have eroded the team spirit that was so important to them. There are enough teams to fill those bottom three places. Four defeats in a row isn't great but it happens to lots of teams; it just feels worse at the start of a season. We didn't expect anything at Man Utd and history tells us the best we could hope for away to Villa and at home to Bolton and Chelsea is three draws. We are therefore, just three points shy of the best we should really have expected at this stage. Everton only have 2 points and they will finish in the top 8. It isn't time to panic, yet.

But nor is it time to be complacent. We are not too good to go down. I'm still backing Avram but if these rumours are true about him missing the Stoke game for Yom Kippur, I would sack him on the spot ahead of the game. Football is our religion and prayers will not keep us up; any manager who puts another god first can go to hell in my book. Curbishley or Pardew in charge next weekend anybody?