One game in - all sense of perspective out of the window!

You have to laugh. Given all the criticism I get for being honest, the reaction of West Ham fans to yesterday's performance and result is incredible. I have seen someone post that Avram should be given six games and then sacked if he doesn't turn things around. I've seen another poster claiming that Parker and Behrami should fcuk off if they don't want to play for West Ham. Everybody is suddenly crap, all of a sudden, nobody in the team wants to play for West Ham. Even the Happy Clapping Claret & Blue Klan have their Katy Perry knickers in a twist! Now let's get a sense of perspective shall we?

Yes we were poor - very poor. But Villa were good, very good. They did a complete number on us from the kick off. They pressed when we were in possession, shutting down our midfield and locking them into our own half. Cole was isolated and the Villa full backs were at liberty to attack down the flanks as the centre halves and Petrov closed out any escape route. Our short passing only reached the centre circle and when we knocked it long, Cole was suffocated and dispossessed. Same old, same old perhaps, except we did try to utilise the flanks and we came close to slipping the wide men behind the Villa back line a couple of times. Faubert actually came close to scoring in both halves and had Boa had any vision, he could have put one on a plate for Cole. So, even playing very badly, we created a few chances.

Villa, meanwhile, were pulsating going forward. The way Albrighton and Young switched flanks was a joy to see, unless you supported West Ham. Downing and Milner also attacked with pace, and the full backs joined in too. Meanwhile Carew led the line with muscle and guile. The whole team were pumped, playing, it seemed to me, to get Macdonald the job. It was a Cup Final for them, for us the first challenge in a long, grind of a season.

Villa would have beaten most teams yesterday - maybe even Chelsea and Man Utd. The decision of Macdonald to go with Milner was both brave and clever, and the whole team responded to his maturity, relieved, I suspect, that the eccentricity and childishness of O'Neill was no more. 3-0, given the breathtaking nature of Villa's play, was par for the course. Had we been thumped by Blackpool or held at home by Birmingham, I would be far more worried!

That's not to say we should ignore the performance! Grant must never pick such a negative midfield again. If you don't offer an offensive threat, the opposition are at liberty to commit numbers forward with impunity. Briefly, after Piquionne was introduced, we competed. The fire went out of our bellies when Tomkins was done for the third. Two of the Villa goals were down to dreadful West Ham errors, with Green and Tomkins culpable. Take out those errors and...well Villa did hit the woodwork four times too!

It was a VERY bad day at the office and it means we are a point down on last season. Zola's side drew against O'Neill's Villa remember. So the Grantazola Index shows the Italian ahead! But let's not go overboard. We started the 1976-77 season away to Villa with a team reading Day: Colemen, Lampard, Tommy Taylor, Green, Bonds, Alan Taylor, Paddon, Holland, Brooking, Curbishley. We lost 4-0! That team had a dodgy keeper, a sub standard right back and centre back and lacked a goal threat up front. Nothing changes much does it! We finished 17th that season, avoiding the drop with 36 points (but it was 2 points for a win and 42 games played!) All in all, it wasn't such a bad season because guess who finished rock bottom? Tottenham Hotspurs!

Unlike Zola, Grant will learn from Saturday's performance. Sullivan said before the game that we still needed two or three players. That's the sort of realism we need. To get them, there will have to be sacrifices. I said all along that Parker would go and I fancy that will happen. Interestingly, my old adversary on the Org, Grumpy King, was suggesting we demand Keane in exchange - a week or so after I mooted the deal. That deal would suit me, with O'Hara chucked in on loan and maybe Hutton too. Yesterday showed we need to be realistic in our expectations.

Let's bite the bullet, sell Parker and maybe Behrami and Cole too, and restructure. The foundations of the current side are flimsy and urgently need underpinning - not with marque signings but with players who will follow the manager's instructions and fight for the team and the fans.

We will not go down. We might well finish higher than 17th. 1976-77 was not a vintage year but was not a nightmare either. Losing heavily at Villa on the opening day of the season is not necessarily the end of the world!