If life was fair, West Ham United supporters would be waking up this morning and reading about how their team bounced back from losing to Manchester City on the opening day of the season. Life is not fair and Alan Curbishley knows that better than most managers. Curbishley has had more bad press than Pete Doherty since he arrived at Upton Park last December and nothing he says or does seems to make a difference.

On Saturday, he had to deny reports that he had fallen out with Craig Bellamy and that the Wales forward had been involved in a scuffle in the tunnel after he had been accused of diving by Birmingham City players. “I had a fairytale existence at Charlton for 15 years,” Curbishley said. “I didn’t upset too many people, but, at the moment, it seems everything I do upsets someone.”

Bellamy is the kind of player who could start an argument in an empty room, but Birmingham players would have been better off blaming Colin Doyle for their second defeat of the season. The Irish goalkeeper did not need to rush off his line when Bellamy raced clear in the second half and, when he did, a penalty looked like the most likely outcome. “The penalty was the right decision,” Bellamy said. “Criticism is part and parcel of the game. If it affected me, I would have got out a few years ago.”

Millions of words have been written about the Carlos Tévez affair and whether West Ham deserve to be playing in the Premier League this season, but only a Sheffield United supporter would fail to be impressed by the squad that Curbishley is assembling. Sean Bean may disagree, but the top flight is the natural habitat of players as good as Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Mark Noble, Kieron Dyer and Bellamy.

“Craig’s a better player than I thought,” Curbishley said. “He’s very professional and he’s not been a problem. You get these situations where you become a target and it’s very difficult. We’re under the spotlight continuously. I’m a patient boy, but perhaps I need to have a thicker skin.”

Whereas West Ham have been shopping for proven Premier League performers – Dyer, Bellamy, Fredrik Ljungberg and Scott Parker – Birmingham have signed players with something to prove. Steve Bruce has been linked with Seyi Olofinjana and Darren Potter, the Wolverhampton Wanderers midfield players, but the Birmingham manager needs to attract players as good as Bellamy if his side are to have any chance of staying up. “If a team is in the bottom six, the manager is going to come under pressure,” Curbishley said. “It’s the nature of the game at the moment.”

Birmingham 0
West Ham 1 Noble 70 (pen)

Birmingham City (442): C Doyle 6 – S Parnaby 6, R Jaidi 7, L Ridgewell 6, S Kelly 6 – S Larsson 6, M Nafti 5 (sub: C Jerome, 75min), F Muamba 5 (sub: M Sadler, 80), O Kapo 5 – G O’Connor 6, M Forssell 6 (sub: G McSheffrey, 65, 6). Substitutes not used: Maik Taylor, R Vine. Booked: Parnaby, Nafti, Ridgewell, Kapo. Next: Derby County (a).

West Ham United (442): R Green 7 – J Spector 6 (sub: D Gabbidon, 86), A Ferdinand 6, M Upson 7, G McCartney 7 – K Dyer 7, M Noble 8, H Mullins 7, M Etherington 6 – R Zamora 6, C Bellamy 7.Substitutes not used:J Walker, D Ashton, L Bowyer, L Boa Morte.Booked:Mullins, Spector. Next: Wigan (h).

Referee M Halsey
Attendance 24,96