West Ham United’s poor form at Goodison Park meant many fans would have taken a draw before kick-off, but it was desperately disappointing to see the Hammers come away from their FA Cup third round tie against Everton with a 1-1 draw.

Romelu Lukaku is a dangerous player but he looked the only one who appeared as if he might get past an obdurate Hammers defence.

Even so, the 92nd minute equaliser wasn’t really a fair reflection of a game that the Hammers had bossed for long periods.

With a man-of-the-match performance from Stewart Downing and the affectionately-named ‘Ginge’, James Collins, effective at both ends of the pitch, nobody could have complained if the Hammers weren’t looking forward to an away tie against either Doncaster or Bristol City in the next round.

As it is Sam Allardyce will need to shuffle his squad to cope with another match against a team whose record at Upton Park is almost as good as their record against the Hammers on Merseyside.

With the surprising news Alex Song is to retire from international football to ‘concentrate on his career at West Ham’, Big Sam should at least be able to count on the Cameroonian as he flies back from the African Cup of Nations after trying to re-establish himself in his national side.

The conclusion to the on-off story of Song’s inclusion in the tournament has provided the manager with an excellent opportunity to try and ensure the Hammers don’t keep conceding the odd goal a game.

It’s all very well and good to applaud the attacking football that has seen the Claret and Blue score in every away match bar one but surely Allardyce can see Kevin Nolan is barely contributing to the team currently and his presence is hampering his side’s chances?

It’s a football cliché that every fan thinks he would make a good manager and/or player, but sometimes it is very hard to see what the manager and coaching staff see with certain players and, in the case of the club captain, supporters are surely rightly frustrated as they watch the player struggle to make a mark on the game.

The situation is not helped by the fact the Hammers looked a far more fluid and compact outfit when Nolan was out due to injury and, on his return, players comfortable in certain positions have been juggled round to make way for his return. It is a puzzle.

The festive period hasn’t been kind to the Hammers but it says much for the form of the team for the first half of the season that fans are disappointed with just one point from the three games against Chelsea, Arsenal and West Brom.

The jokes about coming down with the decorations can be put on hold as the Hammers have made it past Twelfth Night but the manager needs to have a good look at his formation if fans are to be as excited by the second half of the season as they were the first.