The last time West Ham lost their first four Premier League games, they were relegated under Avram Grant.
The Hammers finished 20th back in 2010/11, seven points adrift inside the relegation zone.
This statistic is doing the rounds again after West Ham lost their first four games under Manuel Pellegrini.
Away losses against Liverpool and Arsenal may have been expected. Home losses against Bournemouth and Wolves, not so much.
But despite the ominous start to the season, West Ham fans must realise this team is better than the 2010/11 side.
Here, we look at a classic starting XI under Grant and compare it to Pellegrini’s preferred selection.
West Ham XI under Grant
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Grant liked to use a 4-3-3 formation, often deploying strikers out wide.
Other players he used regularly during the season included Danny Gabbidon, Victor Obinna and Jonathan Spector. Demba Ba often started after joining the club in January.
West Ham XI under Pellegrini
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Pellegrini has mixed his team around but this is probably his most used XI so far.
Operating in more of a 4-2-3-1 formation, it bares some resemblance to Grant’s 4-3-3.
How do we compare position by position?
Goalkeepers
Rob Green did a superb job for West Ham between the sticks. The England international stuck by the Hammers in relegation and helped win promotion again.
Lukasz Fabianski has started the season brightly, although he is yet to keep a clean sheet.
Defence
West Ham have shipped 10 goals already this term, but conceded 12 in their first four in 2010/11.
Lars Jacobsen and Wayne Bridge (after January, Herita Ilunga before) were poor at full-back, while Tal Ben Haim was a liability.
Matt Upson was coming towards the end of his career back then and so was Gabbidon.
West Ham’s current defenders would walk into that 2010/11 defence, despite struggling to gel at the moment.
Central midfield
Scott Parker was excellent that season and West Ham could do with someone like that in midfield now.
Mark Noble is still there and the main difference is the current options as opposed to Radoslav Kovac.
Jack Wilshere, Pedro Obiang, Declan Rice and Carlos Sanchez can all produce good displays on their day. Kovac, however, was poor for the majority of the time.
Attacking midfielders
West Ham’s current attacking midfield line is taking its time to gel.
Felipe Anderson has shown glimpses while Andriy Yarmolenko and Lucas Perez are both yet to make an impact.
Michail Antonio and Robert Snodgrass have been preferred starters but more quality is needed from them.
In contrast, Grant never had quality to work with.
Frederic Piquionne was not a Premier League standard attacker, Obinna only impressed sporadically and Luis Boa Morte was awful in Claret and Blue.
From the bench, Julien Faubert and Pablo Barrera were not any better.
Strikers
In terms of firepower up front, West Ham are in a much better position now than they were back then.
Marko Arnautovic is a goal scorer andalready has two in four games. Javier Hernandez’s experience and finishing ability make him a good back-up and Andy Carroll provides a physical alternative when fit.
In 2010/11, Carlton Cole led the line but scored just five Premier League goals in 35 games.
Ba scored seven goals in 12 games but his January arrival was too late to save West Ham.
Robbie Keane was brought in as the saviour, but was wasteful in front of goal and clearly past his peak.
The end result was just 43 goals in 38 league games.
The verdict
Things are miserable at West Ham at the minute. Four league losses has really dampened the mood.
But considering the quality in this team, surely it will not be a repeat of 2010/11.
Position-by-position, West Ham look stronger and have more depth. They also have a better manager in Pellegrini than they did in Grant.
When looking at it from this perspective, there is some cause for optimism.
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