da pinup bet： Here we go again: Slaven Bilic is under pressure at West Ham according to the London Evening Standard. Prior to Christmas the Croatian’s future was being debated with the Hammers struggling near the relegation zone, but a run of good results through the darkest days of winter lifted the London club up to a midtable position, and the rumours went away.
da dobrowin： Alas, without a win since early February, the situation in the Irons’ ranks is not healthy. Indeed, Bilic will be judged on this side’s next three games (Hull, Arsenal and Swansea) and given the injuries that have hit the squad, the outcome could be pretty negative – even if two are relegation candidates and the other in crisis.
The whole situation got us thinking here in FFC Towers: Is Bilic to blame? Or is the decline this season at West Ham the board’s fault?
Blame Bilic…
Maybe a victim of the success he achieved last season, it’s hard not to blame Bilic. Ultimately, results on the pitch are he manager’s responsibility and while there have been external factors beyond his control such as the stadium move and injuries hitting key players at key times, his management of the whole season hasn’t been great.
Players have been shoehorned into the XI in positions that are not their own and chopping and changing the team and formation during the early months of the season really disrupted the side’s rhythm. Bilic seemed to doubt himself and his system through this period, switching from the 4-2-3-1 that was so effective during 2015/16 to a 3-4-2-1 while forcing his best player (on form), Michail Antonio, to play in all manner of positions.
Defensively West Ham have been awful, too, with 52 goals conceded in 29 games, and the buck has to stop with the manager on this, with organising a team a tactician’s job due to there being less reliance on individual quality.
The ultimate question, though, is can the team progress with Bilic in charge? There’s no doubt that 2015/16 shows there is potential there in the 48-year-old, yet his ceiling may not be as high as the owners believe the club has. A more glamorous boss may be able to attract a greater calibre of player of player as well, which is needed if West Ham are to step up – as was shown by the striker saga of last summer.
Blame the board…
This is a situation the West Ham board could avoid by making one simple decision: giving Slaven Bilic a new contract.
What Bilic did in his first season at West Ham exceeded all expectations but there was always the danger of suffering second season syndrome, particularly with a new stadium to get used to; that made life even more difficult than was already going to be.
The board didn’t help themselves with all their broken promises last summer, when Simone Zaza was delivered despite claims they were prepared to spend £30m on world class striker. The number of loan signings and cheap bargains hindered Bilic’s chances of replicating the success he and West Ham enjoyed in 2015/16. He was left with a weaker squad of players and was also unlucky to have a number of key men ruled out through injury so early in the season.
There is also no evidence that Bilic was the man behind the majority of the business completed in east London last summer either. Only a handful have really made a positive impact, while most have either disappeared or been allowed to leave already. It is well known that David Sullivan likes to be involved in the transfer business, and most West Ham fans know full well that he should be held accountable just as much as Bilic for a number of damaging transfer deals over the last 18 months.
The fact the board are undecided on whether they want to hand Bilic a new deal is arguably the most damaging aspect of West Ham’s ability to improve both on and off the pitch. The players will know what’s going on behind the scenes and are less likely to fight for a manager they are not convinced will be at the club much longer.
The same can be said of the star players West Ham will want to sign this summer. If Bilic still hasn’t signed a new deal and goes into the 2017/18 season with a year left on his contract, a move to the club becomes far less attractive to prospective signings. Additionally, the promise of ambition and success becomes much harder to sell.
West Ham’s owners must make a decision one way or another now as they’re damaging the club in ways they simply cannot afford to. Sacking Bilic on the back of a poor start to life in a new home would be extremely harsh and could only lead to the club standing still for even longer, rather than continue their journey forwards into an exciting new era.
Keep him and they show how ambitious they really are, sack him and they’ll prove they really have no idea which direction they want to take the club.