West Ham are not a bad team, far from it. There is talent in their squad, and desire. You can see it in every tackle, every gut-busting run and in the frustrated body language when a pass doesn’t quite come off. That energy is matched on the sideline, Rehanne Skinner animated throughout their 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa – “hold the line”, “come closer”, “talk to her” and “Fion can’t get out” are among the many commands from the technical area, with those behind the dugout treated to the thoughts of the manager while the action is under way. Skinner is in it, she is engaged, the players are engaged, so what is not working?

Five games in and they have no points, have conceded 16 goals and scored twice. They can score though, five different goal scorers in a 5-1 defeat of Charlton in the League Cup on 24 September a brief respite from defeat before Chelsea scored three in 15 minutes last weekend to put them firmly back in their place. Against the Blues the Hammers weren’t bad throughout though, that 15 minute calamitous spell was an outlier and, while many feared a complete second half collapse,...