Welcome to the Lee Bowyer show, in the east end for a seventeen week run only, after which it may transfer to a bigger stage.

This may have been a Premiership match between two teams, one looking upwards enviously at the top three and the other nervously contemplating the abyss beneath them. But as far as the media were concerned, this was West Ham's day and we were merely the supporting cast. For that reason alone a point was most welcome.

To be fair, we weren't alone in approaching this game with a certain amount of trepidation. Partly because of Bowyer yes, and partly because the Hammers finally managed to win a home game the previous week. Mostly though because we've endured some depressing days on this ground in recent seasons and a certain D. Hutchison was back in the side, a man who has had something of an Indian sign over us in recent years.

In the event Bowyer (with hair apparently modelled on Don King) started, while Hutchison (a barnet covered in what looked like sparrow droppings) was confined to a place on the bench.

We began in bright conditions, attacking the away section and seemed to have the bit between our teeth from the off. The newly-wedged up Bellamy (£35k pw) had seemed in good form beforehand, signing autographs after warming up and donating his sweatshirt to a toon supporter and he continued to be as positive with the ball, torturing Winterburn with his pace.

With Bellamy popping up on both wings, the search for Robert began. He did get over one early corner that Steve Caldwell was a breath away from getting a strong header on, but in open play was nowhere to be seen, apart from when he symbolically dumped Bowyer on his arse in front of the Newcastle bench.

At that time though his absence wasn't vital, with Ameobi also looking in the mood, and it was his thrusting run down the right flank that opened up the home side for our first goal.

After that we continued to look dangerous, principally through Bellamy giving Winterburn the sort of run-around treatment Robert should have inflicted on the similarly-flagging Irwin at Wolves. However, when the jinking Welshman did get to the byline and look for a colleague in the danger zone, there was none to be found.

A leveller from Cole had rocked us back a little and as the half wore on we increasingly relied on Given's kicking and a succession of poor punts forward from our defenders. With Acuna trying to stem the flow from the home midfield and Jenas ineffective as an attacker on the right flank, we were short-handed in the creativity department, especially as Dyer was in similar mood to Bolton i.e. trying daft little flicks at inopportune moments and losing the ball cheaply.

Robert's contributions became more and more fitful, but he drew warm applause from the Mags in the ground when he ambled over to take a corner. Had he unleashed a howitzer that caused mass panic from James and co. nobody would have minded his studious ignoring of the support. However his dead ball kick was just that - akin to someone kicking a medicine ball. Yet again his weak effort succeeded only in reaching the first man, inevitably a defender.

He just doesn't help himself - contrast this to Solano, who generally acknowledges the clapping when he takes a corner, and is probably better liked by some as a result. Not massively important but...these small things mount up. Add this to the Olly incident, the training ground tussle with Griffin and the comments on his website that if nothing else betray a certain lack of humilty. 

The weekend media stories and denials about the Frenchman meant that once again he hogged the headlines and we make no apologies for sticking the proverbial knife in once again for his onfield performance, despite his protestations of innocence when accused of rocking the boat and looking to leave the club.

With no Shearer or Speed, Robert was the senior professional in the side at Upton Park. 

And at 2-1 down when we seemed to be lost and clueless, what was his contribution? One quick run and cross that almost brought a chance and the occasional wander back to help his defenders (admirable in itself, but not really what we wanted from someone with his talent at that time). 

In the absence of Shearer, we were also treated to a simply awful free kick from Robert that only the back of the Bobby Moore stand stopped from dropping in the Thames.

At present Robert walks the walk, talks the talk and takes the cash but is just not pulling his weight. To repeat, he was the senior professional in the side on Saturday - a fact he plainly failed to appreciate. 

Contrast that with Bellamy, who kept trying to find a way forward with what passes he received or scraps he picked up, and 19 year old Jenas who might not have been having a stormer, but kept going and ultimately got his reward. 

Dyer again just baffles me, but as long as your pals are doing the match reports you'll get nothing in the papers apart from slavering platitudes. No meaningful dissection of his displays, inconsistency, shortcomings etc.

Having dug out a point that hadn't looked likely, we could have won it in the last few minutes as the West Ham players and supporters were on the ropes, almost cowering in expectation of a knockout blow from us, such was their deflation at letting a home  advantage slip once again.

To be brutally frank it was partly their own fault. Roeder looked to have urged his players to build on the second goal that had gone in just before the interval, and his charges restarted play pressing for the third goal that would surely have won the match.

However, 65 minutes in and it hadn't come. With a hint of anxiety creeping in from the home stands, the Hammers then gradually began to sit deeper and deeper on the field, causing us less of a threat and leaving Defoe isolated up front with only occasional dashes forward from Bowyer to join him.

So, set our test we didn't really set about things that convincingly, with Shola fading badly (later said to be carrying a knock) and the sub LuaLua making tracks down the right but not quite managing to work a shooting position or make a defence-splitting pass.

But with the jeers of the toon fans ringing in his ears, Hutchison made his entrance and within seconds Jenas had made the West Ham net bulge with his first Premiership strike. 

Something very satisfying about that short passage of play and sequence of events.....

Whether the Hammers lost concentration crucially we'll never know, but there seems to be an increasingly fatalistic attitude in this part of London, with the equalising goal enough to send some home fans scurrying for the exits.

Initial post match feelings were slight surprise that we'd managed to take a point from a game we were widely expected to lose, but also a certain depression about the mundanity of our performance - the absence of Speed and Shearer were certainly felt, in that we looked remarkably average for long periods of time without them.

But on reflection, and given the fact we emulated both Arsenal and Manchester United in taking a point away with us, there were still reasons to be cheerful.

The youthful side we put out managed to avoid defeat, although clean sheets away from home are very much a thing of the past (league games in the West Midlands excepted) and again the rest of the top half of the league conspired not to make up any gorund on us. 

Oh, and we never signed Trevor Sinclair - a player who i've never had any time for since he cut his hair and who was stinking today. A bit like Robert.

On the negative side, Steve Caldwell  had a miserable afternoon in defence and this below-par showing came at a crucial time when he'd hoped to impress the manager sufficiently to earn a new deal. Unfortunately for him, this performance may have gone some way to sealing his ultimate Newcastle fate.

Quite simply though we took a point off a poor team - a more skilled or confident one would probably have beaten us if they'd got 2-1 ahead. We again failed to keep a clean sheet and are lining up week after week with 10 players - Robert is not worth his place, certainly away from home, but knows that in the absence of Viana there's no natural replacement.

At present we're maintaining our position thanks to our home record, but results like this and the point at Southampton are most welcome - another one at Spurs would be a prized return, but keeping on winning those home games will take us a long way towards a champions league return next season.