Alessandro Diamanti (Guardian images)I watched West Ham's match against Everton on Match of the Day 2 on Sunday evening, and was taken aback at how bad they were and their recent alarming drop of form has led to chorus of boos from the Upton Park crowd.
However, the introduction of Alessandro Diamanti bought about some green shoots of recovery. The Italian playmaker set up Junior Stanislas, who dinked his shot over the advancing Tim Howard but lacked power to reach over the line until opposition defender Tony Hibbert, who seemed to have the ball covered, sliced dismally into his own net.
We lost this game 2-1, and the appearance of the gutsy and skillful Diamanti stamped his own authority on the game. He looks good, and performed admirably against Arsenal when he was easily the inspiration of our 2-2 comeback result.
West Ham also look uncertain at the back, even though much has been made of Carlton Cole's hamstring injury, which is indeed a huge blow for the Hammers. Although Matt Upson has soon great leadership, the other defenders, notably James Tomkins, Julien Faubert and Herita Illunga have very shaky and unreassuring. Rob Green is also a mixed bag since being introduced to the international limelight with England.
It is off to Hull then on Saturday, and a solid performance against the Tigers is essential for reaffirming the fans' confidence in Gianfranco Zola.
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