West Ham United are paying the price for neglecting to improve the weakest part of their team sufficiently in the summer.
West Ham have replaced Slaven Bilic with David Moyes after a disastrous start to the season with just two wins from the opening 11 games.
The Hammers have the worst defensive record this season shipping 23 goals – an alarming rate of more than two per game so far.
It should be no surprise, though, given the Hammers had the fifth worst defensive record in the league last season despite finishing 11th.
And the poor start to the season has exposed just how neglectful Bilic and the West Ham owners David Sullivan and David Gold were in the summer window.
All the talk once again in the close season was about signing attacking players to push on and challenge for the European places.
The East Londoners only made four signings in the summer with Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez brought in to improve their forward options.
Goalkeeper Joe Hart arrived on loan but was only ever going to be as good as the defence in front of him.
Ageing fullback Pablo Zabaleta, who turns 33 in two months, was the only addition to defensive unit which already contained two centre backs turning 34 this season and another turning 30.
It is the second season in a row West Ham tried to solve their problem right back position with an ageing free transfer following in the footsteps of Alvaro Arbeloa.
Winston Reid has been injury prone ever since he arrived at the club and Cheikhou Kouyate is too important in midfield to keep playing out of position at centre back.
The level of neglect for a Premier League team – and one with owners claiming they want to challenge the elite – is staggering and it has come home to roost already.
Now it is up to David Moyes to make them harder to beat in the short term and focus his recruitment efforts in January firmly on the back line.
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