Snapshots from yesterday that summed up this team

Yesterday's performance was absolutely dire and an exact carbon copy of our surrender at Anfield last season. That, in itself, says so much about our club, never mind this group of players. Blackpool went to Anfield and won in their first season back in the Prem after an absence of 40 years; in all those years, most of which we have been in the top division, we haven't even come close to defeating the Reds! That is an indictment of the club, the fact that no matter who the manager, we travel to Anfield expecting defeat and hoping, at best, for a draw.

Last weekend, Sunderland thumped Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. What hope is there that we will EVER do that? Yesterday, Birmingham beat the Plastics. How many years is it now since we turned them over? But London derbies are supposed to be unpredictable! Not when West Ham are involved. Why? Because we play without passion, we play without commitment, we play in expectation of defeat. Look at Tottenham's second half performance at the Emirates yesterday. Could you see us doing that? When Liverpool went ahead, was there a single West Ham fan in the World with a brain who held out ANY hope of a fight back? Certainly nobody in the team thought it was possible!

For me, this team were summed up in a number of snapshots from yesterday's game.

The first saw Johnson running down our right flank. Upson had been drawn out of position, just as he was when playing for England against Germany, and was trailing in Johnson's wake, and Ilunga was there too, jogging! I was yelling, "Run you bastard, run!" but the lazy git wasn't breaking a sweat. I joked about the team wearing lead boots and it was this moment that provoked the idea. Grant eventually pulled Ilunga off, but he should have been withdrawn after five minutes. He may be injured. He may be sick. He may not give a toss. One thing is for sure, he should not have been on the pitch!

Two, three and four all belong to Obinna. We thought this boy was good when he arrived but he is looking like another Jimenez to me! Watch him for Liverpool's third goal. He lost the ball then sat on his arse. When he eventually got to his feet, he made no attempt whatsoever to close or win the ball back. The boy has pace but not when an opponent has the ball. We offloaded Diamanti because he couldn't defend, but at least he tried! Obinna showed his contempt for defensive duties again when he started to track a Liverpool runner into our box, but then literally stopped and stood with his hands on his hips whilst the attack continued! Had one of my team mates done that on a Friday night kick about, I would have given him a mouthful. But did Upson shout at Obinna? Nope. Then we switch to the other end of the pitch and the one bit of class shown by a West Ham player all night, with Noble showing skill and determination to beat two Liverpool players and lay the ball back to Obinna; who leant back and lashed the ball into orbit! Obinna can't shoot, can't tackle, can't cross and can't be arsed. No wonder Inter don't want him!

Now we turn to Green. Yes he made two great saves but did you see him when he came for that cross and made a complete hash of it? It was a carbon copy of his rush of blood against Bolton back on the 14th of November 2007. Three years on, and three managers later (and two goalkeeping coaches later!), and Green has learnt nothing. The guy just has no idea what to do under a cross. There was a scrum of players between him and the ball yesterday, just as against Bolton when Nolan headed that equaliser from a Taylor cross, but Green still came almost out to the penalty spot, trying to take the ball. Why?

Now back to the third goal. What was Upson doing exactly? He wasn't marking anybody when that cross came over, that's for sure! And what did Upson do all game? Did anybody see him shout? Did anybody see him looking angry? Did anybody see him trying to organise the defence? Did anybody see him communicate with Grant? This guy is no captain. Why is he still wearing the armband?

Now to Kovac. O dear God! Second half, to be fair, he played slightly better, getting in an important block in the box and heading away three crosses, but in the second half, Liverpool had switched off and were playing the game as if it was a pre season friendly (and we did ok in those didn't we?). Did you see that drilled pass straight into touch? Kovac hit it as if he was taking a shot from outside the box and it cleared the touchline a good foot above Piquionne's head! Then there was the short pass played to Noble, who was all of two feet away from him. Kovac played it to Noble's trailing foot, and Noble promptly lost possession as he tried desperately to bring it under control. Waddle summed up Kovac perfectly. I quote, "I don't know what he is there for, he offers you nothing defensively and he can't do anything with the ball." We had the guy on loan for a season and still bought him! Why? Because he was cheap and Zola wanted him!

This team is a mess but our club has been a mess for so so so long, so why are we surprised? This morning, Bolton Wanderers sit in 4th place in the Prem with a team of average players. The operative word here is "team". We haven't had a team since that FA Cup final! And on the day when we surrendered so tamely at Liverpool, it was informative to see that Etherington scored for Stoke, Harewood scored for Blackpool, Konchesky was in the Liverpool team that murdered us and Bowyer netted for Birmingham against Chelsea. Johnson, of course, also scored but he was sold for other reasons.

This mess is of our own making. And I can't see anybody on the club's books with the ability or the will to get us out of it! We are going down because that is what we deserve.