Will the pressure prove too much for Slaven Bilić? He came. He saw. He conquered…sort of
Slaven Bilić’s first season at West Ham United might not have brought any silverware to Upton Park, but the Croatian guided us to a UEFA Europa League place and the club’s highest finish for almost 15 years, smashing several Premier League records along the way. In came the likes of Dimitri Payet, Michail Antonio and Angelo Ogbonna, and players at the club with potential (such as Aaron Cresswell) began to show exactly why they were being tipped for big things. By the end of the 2015/16 season, Bilić had built a team that could rub shoulders among the very best, and with a move to a brand-new 60,000-seater stadium on the horizon, the future looked bright for our beloved football club.
However, somewhere between then and autumn 2016, something took our epic voyage off course. The results began to slide. Fans grew to resent the Olympic Stadium and the bad form that it seemed to breed. The beloved stars of last season suddenly looked out of their depth. Payet, in particular, made the spectacular transition of hero to nemesis in a matter of weeks, and packed his bags in a strop to shoot off to Marseille in January. It was a sight that would have brought Hammers to tears last summer, but such was the manner of his exit, many were glad to see the plane arrive to take the Frenchman home.
Languishing in the middle of the Premier League this season, with no scapegoats left on which to pin the blame, attention now turns to Bilić – the man who took us to new heights and stands here today in a very different scenario. The ruthless nature of modern football means that he’s been the victim of sacking rumours since before the festive season, and now we’re all left to wonder whether he’ll be capable of handling the pressure.
As adroit and articulate as he has been during press conferences and punditry sessions in the past, Bilić has occasionally sounded like a man running out of excuses. The duo of demolitions by a Manchester City side who have proven weak spots in their backline have been morale-sapping, and we don’t appear to be able to take any points off any team inside the top six. On the plus side, there have been important results collected against the Premier League’s relegation scrappers, which in turn should help prevent us from sailing too close to the red zone for comfort. Another trip to the Championship (see this 888sport article for more on the Championship ) is about as appealing as a defeat to Millwall.
It has been a season of turbulent upheaval rather than the one of steady progress that we expected. Bilić has dropped some tactical clangers and made some peculiar comments after big defeats, but he is still a man who is trying to play entertaining football for a club that demands it. The January signings were a little underwhelming, but the likes of Robert Snodgrass and José Fonte are part of a bigger picture for the next campaign. Bilić has shown managerial nous before, and it seems only fitting that we support a man who wants to bring success to the club in style, even if it doesn’t come this season as originally predicted.
Those crying for Bilić to be sacked have short memories, and he is a far better fit for the club than many of the men who’ve previously held his position. Be careful what you wish for.
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