Three matches ago we had the best defensive record in the league outside the top 4. Three successive 4-0 defeats is a record no team can be proud of. To lose 4-0 to a team 8 points below us is shameful. Today we read in a Sunday newspaper that the club will replace Alan Curbishley at the end of the season. There will no doubt be cries for that to happen now after this result. But let’s not forget what he achieved last season for us. Surely to God he can turn things round now. The players at his disposal are overall far superior in quality to those who won the last seven games last year. I reckon a riot act needs reading.

But when you drop your best player to the bench (Noble) and persist with the waste of space that calls himself Luis Boa Morte you can hardly blame people if they questions your judgement, can you?

Anyway, I wasn’t there and didn’t see the match. I’m told we attacked much better, but our defence played as if they had never met each other before. What did people think, who actually saw the game?

I really thought we could get something from this game. It shows how wrong you can be. Three soft goals in five minutes and it was all over. Up to then we had been at the races, although never really threatening. I suppose can all be self indulgent and look back at the Lampard sending off as being worth a heavy defeat, but we all know in our heads that such thoughts are madness. Three points would have put us among the European contenders. We’re now dropping a little behind, although it is comforting to see that we are 8 points clear of the eleventh place club, Tottenham.

So what went wrong against Chelsea? Simple. The first three goals. We were never going to come back from that, although it would have been nice to get a consolation goal. I was praying Dean Ashton could have grabbed one when he came on as a sub for the totally ineffective Luis Boa Morte. It wasn’t to be, although I did think Ashton looked a lot sharper than he has seemed recently. I think it’s now the time to give him a run of games. He needs his confidence back for next season and the only way that is going to happen is for him to play regularly. Yet again Carlton Cole was our best player. It’s a shame he just can’t put away a few more goals as his build up play and holding up of the ball are increasingly superb. Hem was very unlucky not to score yesterday.

The midfield were disappointing yesterday and failed to impose themselves. Faubert in particular did little to impress, and looked knackered in the middle of the second half. Ljungberg had a few good runs but that was it. Mark Noble has his weakest game for some time and his distribution was very poor. Mullins went on a few good runs, but that was it. In defence, apart from the goals (!) they seemed quite strong, but you just cannot give away goals like that. The Joe Cole goal was especially unforgiveable.

Was it a penalty? I didn’t think so. I thought the ball was almost out of play before the Chelsea player went down, but I was a long way away from it. Everyone around me felt it was cast iron penalty.

It was good to see Bobby Z get a few minutes. He didn’t really do anything but it would have done him the world of good.

Green 6
Ferdinand 6
Upson 7
McCartney 6
Neill 6
Faubert 5
Mullins 6
Noble 5
Ljungberg 7
Cole 8
Boa Morte 4

I think we just have to put this down as a bad day at the office and move on to think about the Liverpool game on Wednesday. I’d ring a few changes and play 4-5-1, bringing in Nobby Solano in place of Julien Faubert and Lee Bowyer (is he fit?) to play with Mullins and Noble in central midfield.

That will teach me to leave two minutes before the end! Apologies this is a bit delayed. Am at Heathrow Airport on my way to Washington for ten days. In my innocence I assumed there would be computers available but every single one is out of order. Typical BAA. Anyway, I digress.

The first half yesterday was dominated by a West Ham team who were clearly up for it. Three times the ball failed to drop for us in the penalty area and I don’t think we had a shot, but more importantly neither did they. Defensively we were again awesome. Some of Upson’s play was spellbindingan although one wayward backpass which went for a corner had my heart in my mouth.

Anton and George were, as usual, also on form and I thought Lucas Neill had his best game for a long time. He got caught out of position a couple of times but Gerrard didn’t take advantage.

Talking of Gerrard, it comes to something when he is eclipsed but Mark Noble owned him last night. I know some people on this blog reckon I overrate him but after that performance surely even they can see his quality. He was absolutely everywhere. Indeed the middle three all performed well. Hayden Mullins looks so confident now. Our first half performance was in large part down to the success of Noble, Mullins and Bowyer dominating the central areas.

When I saw we were going to play 4-5-1 at home my heart sank. It’s not the West Ham way. However, it seems to bring out the best in these players, especially Carlton Cole, who, again, was a revelation. He held the ball up superbly and seemed to win everything in the air.

There are three contenders for Man of the Match – Nobes, Upson and Cole. I’ll go (surprise, surprise!) for Mark Noble.

I’m afraid the broken record is about to be played again, but I do have to mention the perforamnce of Luis Boa Morte, who was appalling. After missing two chances he just seemed to give up. He persistently lost the ball and was, well, just crap. And the way he loped off the pitch, wasting valuable time was a disgrace. There are still 12 hours left in the transfer window to flog him, but let’s face it, who would want him in this form.

It has to be said that when he went off and was replaced by Matty, not a lot changed. Ashton came on too and we reverted to 4-4-2.

A final word about Freddie Ljungberg. Another great performance. I may have to eat my words on him…

All in all, just what I needed before an eight hour flight.

And don’t worry, I’ll still be posting every day while I am away.

Green 8
Upson 9
McCartney 8
Ferdinand 8
Neill 7
Bowyer 7
Noble 9
Mullins 8
Boa Morte 4
Ljungberg 8
Cole 9
Etherington 6
Ashton 6

Well if ever there was a game we deserved to win and didn’t it was this one. Let’s concentrate on the positives. We played the team with the best home record in the division and we should have won. The defence was again magnificent. The central midfield worked well. Carlton Cole scored a cracker of a goal. Julien Faubert showed some great touches when he came on. There were only two negatives to the game – the referee and Luis Boa Morte. I know people think I have a thing about him and they’re right. Today you could see why. He was a liability. If Matty Etherington had been fit I reckon we’d have won. I also want to pay tribute to Hayden Mullins and Mark Noble, both of whom were immense. Noble nearly snatched it towards the end and perhaps should have, but let’s not ignore their goalkeeper, Joe Hart, who saved them time and again.

We now have one thing to play for: Europe. I really believe that we are now showing the kind of defensive consistency which achieves results. We have a central midfield which looks strong, and if we can only get our wing play and strikers sorted out I believe we can finish in the top 7.

And finally another big up for Carlton Cole. This boy has come on leaps and bounds. He’ll never be perfect, but in game after game he’s working his socks off, something most of us probably never thought we would see. His first touch is getting better and his shielding of the ball is now excellent. He’s going to give the manager a real headache when Ashton and Bellamy are both fit, not to mention Bobby Z.

Green 8
Upson 8
Ferdinand 8.5
McCartney 7
Neill 7
Mullins 8
Noble 8
Ljungberg 7.5
Boa Morte 5
Cole 8
Bowyer 7

There was a time when I used to look forward to playing Manchester City because we’d invariably beat them. We should have beaten them last night but contrived not to take our chances. It was not a good game. Indeed, it was tedious that I took refuge in my laptop for large parts of it.

For me there was no outstanding performance. No one excelled, and it’s for that reason we didn’t win. Noone took the game by the scruff of its neck. Dean Ashton was back out of firm. His first touch seems to have deserted him. And don’t get me started on the inadequacies of Luis Boa Morte. You couldn’t fault his effort but there was never any end result.

And is it just me, or has Robert Green’s form dipped in the last few games? I know I have just said the unthinkable, but he has looked just a little bit ‘flappy’ on occasions recently.

The team must make amends on Sunday. A repeat performance will not be good enough. If we aspire to a top eight finish we should expect at least a point out of the game.

Somehow it was just meant to be. I purposely got to the stadium early to soak up the earlt atmosphere. It’s easy for me to say now, but as I sat down I felt it might be our day. I didn’t say it to anyone for fear of jinxing us.

The reception for Carlos Tevez was astonishing. I suspect I wasn’t alone in having a tear in my eye. The whole crowd rose as one and sang ‘One Carlos Tevez’.

At first sight the team selection looked odd, with Deano being dropped to the bench. But with five across midfield Man U just couldn’t cope.

From the word go we got stuck in and harried them.Parker, Mullins and Noble were not just putting in some tough tackles but being creative too.

Our play in the first twenty minutes made us look like the top four team, rather than Man U. We should have scored when Mullins hit the crossbar and Noble hit the ball over the bar with the follow up. A few minutes later Man U broke down the left and Ronaldo scored with a powerful header. Previous West Ham teams might have folded there and then but not this one. For the rest of the half we played well, dug in and created chances. Carlton Cole held up the ball superbly and Nobby was inventive down the right. We also had two good penalty shouts.

The second half saw Man U come into the game more and when they were awarded a penalty after a Spector handball it seemed it might well be Game Over. Not so. Robert Green seemed to put Ronaldo off and he skewed the ball wide. That was the turning point. I screamed at Curbishley to put on Deano and take off Ljungberg. He duly obliged and I turned to my mate and said ‘we’re going to win this’. He didn’t look convinced!

Meanwhile Anton had replaced the injured Scott Parker and John Pantsil came on for Nobby, who also was injured.

Anton didn’t look rusty at all and made some telling headers before popping up at a Mark Noble set piece to grab the equaliser. And theb, what do you know but Matthew Upson headed a winner seven minutes from time from another Mark Noble free kick special. We went delirious.

John Pantsil was tremendous in the last ten minutes, tackling, harrying, running the ball to the corner flag. At last he’s been given the chance to show what he can do.

So a fabulous day and by far the best home performance of the season.

Now, can anyone name me the last club to beat Man U in three successive league meetings? No? Thought not!

29 points, eh? Woo hoo!!

Green 9 Awesome
McCartney 9 Brilliant
Upson 9 Stupendous
Spector 8 Great
Neill 7 Untroubled
Noble 8 Back to his best
Mullins 8 Powerful
Parker 8 Midfield general
Solano 9 Inventive
Cole 9 Man of the Match
Ljungberg 6 The only average performance
Pantsil 8 Supersub
Ashton 8 Held ball up well
Ferdinand 8 Super goal!

PS Tevez also played apparently!

Well that really was two points lost. Unforgiveably so. This was a lacklustre showing against ten men who we should have wiped off the park. The truth is that they showed the spirit we lacked. I can’t think of a single move which deserved the accolade of being made by West Ham United. Our defence was strong, but we created little on the wings and too often lost out in midfield. Cole and Ashton were well off the pace and Camara was even worse when he came on as a sub for Cole. What’s the betting we now go and beat Man U?!

Green 7
Upson 7
Spector 7
McCartney 7
Neill 7
Mullins 6
Parker 7
Ljungberg 5
Solano 7
Cole 5
Ashton 5

Ljungberg is way past his best, and he may be many things, but a left winger he ain’t.

I couldn’t go to the game today. I could tell you why, but I’d have to shoot you. So, tell me how terrible it was…

The great thing about this performance was not the win, it was the consistency. The team have performed with the same dogged determination now for several games. It may not be pretty at times, but it’s effective. When was the last time we had a plus 8 goal difference? When was the last time we had won four games away at this stage of the season? We should remind ourselves that we have only let in 12 goals so far this season. At the same stage last season it was 18. After 15 games last season we had 14 points. We now have 22. We had scored 10 goals last season compared to 20 this season. All in all, we should be really proud of what this team has achieved. Imagine what might have happened if all the injured players had been available.

There were no weak links today. Everyone gave their all. I thought Dean Ashton was outstanding in the second half. Mullins and Parker ruled midfield and the back four coordinated really well. Lucas Neill had a few dodgy moments, possibly, but I’m nitpicking. Boa Morte could have had a couple of goals and he seems a different player to the one I criticised so freely earlier in the season.

And Robert Green. Well, his save from Tugay in the last few minutes said it all. The man is pure class.

Green 9 – Three world class saves
McCartney – 8 Apart from a miskick, dealt with everything that came to him
Neill – 7 Drove the team on
Upson – 8 Kept both Blackburn strikers in his pocket
Gabbidon – 8 Ditto
Mullins – 8 He’s transformed himself this season
Parker – 9 He’s going to be a massive player for us. A real leader.
Solano – 8 A joy to watch
Cole – 7 Few chances but gave his all
Boa Morte – 8 Brilliant volley should have led to a goal
Etherington – 6 Not really on song and picked up an injury
Ashton 9 – Back on song. Imagine what he will be like by Christmas

So as I say, the fourth match in a row where the team has put in a consistent performance full of vim and vigour. Bring on Everton!

I am sure I am not alone when I say how proud I was of our performance against Chelsea. We deserved at least a point, and defensively we were awesome. It givesd me real hope for the future if we continue to play with that level of total commitment and skill. We were never going to have a huge number of goalscoring opportunities, and so it proved, but again, Carlton Cole worked his dogs bits off and Luis Boa Morte had his best game in a Hammers shirt. Scott Parker was terrific in midfield, with Upson the star of a superb back four. I really cannot praise them too highly. Let’s hope this kind of form is carried forward into the two Everton matches and beyond.

Green 8 Consistent as ever
Upson 9 Man of the match
Gabbison 8 Didn’t give Drogba a sniff
McCartney 7 Solid
Neill 7 Improving with every game
Solana 7 Pity about the missed header
Mullins 8 Linked well with Parker
Parker 8 Great tough tackles
Etherington 6 Had a difficult day
Cole 8 Total commitment
Boa Morte 8 Harried and tackled like a demon