West Ham has been one of the clubs who have made a horrible start to the season. The Hammers have lost 5 of their first 6 games in the Premier League and were also dumped out of the qualifying stages of the Europa League group stages by Romanian club FC Astra Giurgiu. The bad start to the season has been a bit of a surprise after having a fantastic transfer window in the summer where they brought in ten new players investing a total of €62.3m on them.
After a highly successful last season, the place where the club finds themselves in is a massive shock not only to the team management but also for the supporters. Following their latest 3-0 loss to Southampton at the Olympic Stadium, there was a sense of widespread frustration and anger amongst the fans with some calling for the manager to be sacked.
We all know that in the world of football management the manager is always the soft target for the club management when the results deteriorate. Bookmakers have also slashed the odds on Bilić to be the first manager to be axed this season, but if that happens that would be even more catastrophic than the current results in reality.
Slaven Bilić has always been a manager who has earned praise for his tactical acumen. Right from his time as the Croatia boss, until last year at West Ham, the manager has shown some exceptional tactical understanding of the game which paved the way for his teams to punch above their weight in a competitive environment against all odds.
After doing so well last season, just on the basis of the results of the first 6 matches into the new season, it would be almost suicidal to relieve the Croatian of his job. West Ham United managerial job is a project at the moment which needs some time. It can be argued that after the 2015/16 campaign, the base was laid for the team to accelerate their rise up the table in the league but sadly, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing.
The move to the new Olympic Stadium has been one such thing which has had a bit of a negative influence on the team.
The Hammers have scored 7 goals so far but have conceded a league-high 16 which has them sitting currently in the 18th place of the Premier League table. The problems with the defence have been the biggest concern on the pitch which is the only team which needs to be fixed from the footballing angle perhaps. The injury to record signing Andre Ayew before the start of the season was a bad omen and all these factors have also affected the team mentally.
The Hammers are in need of a lift, which can happen with a good win, and sorting out the defence would instantly change their fortunes. The supporters also need to contribute to building the game atmosphere at the Olympic Stadium during the matches so that the club won’t have to resort to playing crowd noises anymore to create the ambience.
Thus, it can be concluded that West Ham’s problems are not linked with the manager wholly at the moment. Bilić is the right man to lead the team into their new era and sacking him from his position would only take the club backwards.
