Roeder bears the brunt in a standard-bearer's domain

Manchester United go second as ineffectual display deepens West Ham's plight at the bottom

East End boys both, they were born just a couple of miles apart, but there any similarity between Glenn Victor Roeder, raised in Woodford, and David Robert Beckham, son of Leytonstone, ceases.

There is something curiously old-fashioned about the former, which even that leather coat can't dispel, as the somewhat introverted character stands, hands plunged into pockets, and trousers crumpled over shoes. The latter, sporting a shaggy blond hairstyle with a mane which gives him a passing resemblance to the Lion King, is, of course, standard-bearer of the modern man and the flamboyant talisman of a team fully restored to their magisterial normality.

While Beckham revelled in appearing in his Manchester United No 7 shirt once again – albeit as a second-half substitute after making a comeback against Deportivo La Coruña on Wednesday – Roeder could only succumb to further pain.

Yesterday, on a raw afternoon at Old Trafford, their eyes met fleetingly when Roeder strode to the touch-line to encourage his players as Beckham, alongside Diego Forlan, went through his warm-up routine. In recent weeks the West Ham manager has cut a forlorn-enough figure, but at that moment his sense of foreboding can only have increased.

While Roeder's counterpart, Sir Alex Ferguson, was able to call on the England midfielder or the Uruguay forward to reinvigorate his team, the West Ham manager had the following outfield players on the bench: Gary Breen, John Moncur, Titi Camara and as the team-sheet informed us "A Ferdinand". Well, not just Any Ferdinand, as it transpired. This was 17-year-old Anton, brother of Manchester United's Rio, who again failed to make the squad because of injury. Anyway, neither A Ferdinand, untried at this level, nor the others represented an equality of reserve resources compared with what their hosts could offer. As Roeder observed later: "The size of our task was shown by the fact that the England captain was sitting on the bench, fully fit."

When Beckham appeared in the second half the match was already won. It should not have been, a referee's assistant having erroneously flagged Jermain Defoe offside late in the first half. The preponderance of such incidents this season is something the authorities must urgently review. There have been some absurd judgements, and this appeared another. Roeder, to his credit, admitted that it merely negated an occasion when Defoe secured an equaliser when offside against Manchester United in the reverse fixture at Upton Park, but that is scarcely the point.

Beckham proceeded to enliven the afternoon with those devilish, surging runs, but in fact it was his pal Gary Neville who placed the visitors in most jeopardy with some outstanding wing play.

It was like watching a turkey-shoot, but fortunately for Roeder's men, although the finger of Ruud van Nistelrooy, in particular, was constantly on the trigger, his sights were strangely awry.

Despite his team's dire sequence of results, Roeder is one of those managers who is universally admired by his peers. Ferguson is one. "I feel for their young manager," he said before the game. "And I admire the dignity and coolness with which he has handled the setbacks and all the speculation that surrounds a club in their position."

That is probably scant consolation to the 47-year-old, who is having to scheme his way out of a desperate situation with a depleted squad – still no sign of Frédéric Kanouté returning – and one in which certain personnel appear to have relinquished some of their will to win. Roeder, as always, was a figure of generosity. "We had one or two players who acquitted themselves very well. Michael Carrick is a very classy midfield player who gets better and better. So does Joe Cole, so does Jermain Defoe."

Frankly, that appeared to be considerably overvaluing Cole's performance. Entrusted with the captaincy, he constantly attempted to exhort his men, but he is no inspirational figure – certainly not when his own game does not bear scrutiny. About halfway through, you began to wonder what happened to that prodigy once coveted by Ferguson and whom many believed – this observer included – might have brought England reward in the World Cup if utilised by Sven Goran Eriksson.

His play is neat enough, and he is occasionally incisive in his passing, but he failed to impose himself, and there was little evidence of those scintillating ball skills that we have come to admire. He enjoyed one decent run down the left early in the second half which culminated in a dangerous centre, but fell to a Manchester United defender.

For the moment, though, at least Cole and Co have total faith in their manager. That will prove crucial in coming weeks as the pressure on Roeder becomes all the more intense. Not that it seems to trouble the manager unduly. The voice was somewhat faltering afterwards but the determination that his team should play their way out of trouble was clear. "We tried to play in a manner which will get us out of the bottom three, eventually," he said.

Maybe, just maybe, yesterday will have been a defining moment, just as the meeting was last season at around this time for both teams. Defoe's goal won the game and inflicted Manchester United's fifth defeat in seven games. However, it provoked them sufficiently to embark on a run of 18 Premiership victories from 21. The Hammers, for their part, having gone into the match in 16th, exceeded even their most optimistic supporters' expectations by finishing seventh.

Roeder will be praying this season he is similarly blessed.