Sven’s video revolution passes its screen test

It was at Upton Park in what seems a lifetime ago that Eriksson made his first appearance as England boss in 2001.

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While his successor Steve McClaren watched from the stands this time, it has to be said that West Ham proved to be very accommodating hosts.

Goals on debut from two members of the exotic collection Eriksson is creating in east Manchester — Italian Rolando Bianchi in the first half and Brazilian substitute Geovanni in the dying minutes — were barely sufficient punishment for a woeful home team whose performance suggested last season's travails were no aberration.

But while there remains something disquieting about City supporters singing tributes to new owner Thaksin Shinawatra, given some of his alleged activities while prime minister of Thailand, it was hard to begrudge Eriksson his day in the sun.

The West Ham programme described Shinawatra's policies while in government as "distinctive" — Amnesty International have other words — and the way he and his manager have gone about rebuilding an English Premier League club is unique.

By his own admission, Eriksson has spent much of Shinawatra's money on players he has seen only on video. With five of his eight new signings featuring in a starting line-up boasting nine nationalities, it was no surprise to see City struggle for cohesion at times.

But it was they who played much the better football and West Ham who looked like a team of strangers. Peter Schmeichel was one of the 11 players from outside the British Isles registered for the Premier League's inaugural season and, 15 years on, his 20-year-old son Kasper could hardly have had a more comfortable introduction to firstteam football.

The young Dane did not have a save to make until the last minute of the first half,and when West Ham enjoyed a 15-minute spell of pressure at the start of the second half,Richard Dunne and man-of-the-match Micah Richards stood firm.

While West Ham's new signings Freddie Ljungberg and Craig Bellamy made little impact, all seven of the City new boys who made it on to pitch provided a positive contribution. Not least of these were Elano Blumer and Bianchi,who combined for the first goal of the new regime in the 18th minute.

After Luis Boa Morte gave the ball away, Elano beat Matthew Upson with embarrassing ease before striking a cross-shot which Bianchi forced home at the back post by showing the instincts which saw him among Italy's top scorers last season.

It was no more than the visitors deserved and West Ham manager Alan Curbishley made much-needed changes at half-time, taking off the disappointing Boa Morte and Lee Bowyer.

For a while it paid dividends, as the home side at last exerted some pressure on Schmeichel's goal, but the closest West Ham got to scoring was when Ljungberg narrowly failed to reach a low ball from substitute Matthew Etherington on the hour.

Substitute Dean Ashton later volleyed over, but with three minutes to go, Nedum Onuoha took on half the West Ham team before laying the ball into Geovanni's path for a finish which ended all hopes of the home side snatching an ill-deserved point.

After last season's storming run-in to avoid relegation and the long-awaited end of the Carlos Tevez saga, Curbishley and everyone connected with West Ham had hoped for a fresh start.

Curbishley said: "I'm massively disappointed. We started off poor and got worse. Their passing was miles in front of ours.

"The fans deserve better than that. Everyone was looking forward to today and we've left everyone flat."

The sound of boos, so familiar from last season, rang around Upton Park at the final whistle.

For their part, the City fans will have to adopt a far more upbeat tune than 'Blue Moon' if things carry on like this.