Slaven Bilic named as West Ham Manager (09.06.15)

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard

Bilic has had more than one Brighton performance remember NUFC?

SuzanneClaret

Press saying this morning that he has two games to save his job.

ASLEFshrugged

SCHB - MON never said yes, someone from the club (thought to be KB) told the press he'd be replacing Grant and apparently he was angry that they had made it public before he'd made a decision.

OldCastleSwift

My concern now is that the board are basically sticking with a manager who won’t be at the club in August. Barring a huge turnaround, there’s no way they’ll offer SB an extension, so he’s basically a dead man walking. This inevitably means they won’t give him any money to spend in January because they’ll want to save it for the new man in the summer, so it seems like we’re destined for a season of treading water, hoping to stay in the league so we can appoint someone else to ‘take us to the next level’.

Problem is, and slightly off topic, but I don’t think the current chairmen can take us to the next level. I don’t think they have either the money, nor the professionalism for it. Take the Carvalho situation. We couldn’t afford to/didn’t want to (delete as appropriate based on which story you believe) meet the buy-out clause, and then got in a public slanging match with the Sporting chairman about who was telling the truth. It’s one thing to miss out on a player in the summer, but to then rule out any chance of signing him in January by engaging in a childish spat is not what I want from a board.

I do appreciate that they saved us from the financial mire and have put us on the right path, but I don’t think they’re ready to mix it with the big boys. As much as it pains me, I really admire what Levy has done with Spurs. They’ve got it right on the pitch, they got it right with the manager and they’ve got it right with the new stadium. They’re everything I want West Ham to be but it feels like we’re a million miles away from that.

As for Bilic, I really feel for him. I genuinely believe he’s trying his best but his best appears not to be good enough. He was the man I wanted to replace Allardyce, and I felt hugely vindicated after his first season. But, on reflection, that was a lot to do with the fact that the big clubs had a terrible season on the whole, plus we had the Payet factor. But even then, 7th was not as good as it could have been (that Stoke game ;weep ) and then we subsequently blew our chance of European football by (IMO) not committing to it properly. Last season never got close to the heights of 2015-16, but we found excuses with the stadium move, Payet-gate and the perennial injury crisis, but we’ve actually found a way of being worse this time round.

Sadly, this is the second season running where I’ve found no enjoyment watching West Ham. We appear to have no defined system, no style, no identity, no fitness and unfortunately that is down to the manager and his team of coaches. Of course the players have to take some responsibility, but ultimately it’s Bilic’s job to get the best out of them and, quite simply, and sadly, he isn’t.

horshamhammer

Another thing - why has Bilic ditched three at the back again? You would have thought two 3-0 hidings against promoted teams would have consigned a back four to the bin...

Lukerz

If we are going to play a back four, Zabaleta can’t be the RB. He showed at City, a castle superior team, last season that his legs had gone at RB. What chance has he got here?

Hart
Byram - Fonte - Reid - Cresswell
Noble - Obiang - Kouyate
Antonio - Lanzini
Chicharito

Adrian, Ogbonna, Zabaleta, Rice, Arnautovic, Ayew, Carroll

But I don’t know why, again, he’s ditched the back 3 when we started getting positive results playing it?

It just looks like he doesn’t know what he’s doing?

OutcastLondoner

I think it's pretty clear he does it to try and fit his best attacking players in? Same reason he doesn't play a diamond.

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard

OCS ;ok

Dropping the back 3 model is even more baffling to me than the Antonio experiment, at least I could see why he was trying to turn this powerful athlete into a wing back it just didn’t work out because he’s a bit of a bull in a china shop.

Somehow we’ve got to stick with the CB pairing for a bit, try and get some confidence but Fonte and Reid don’t exactly set the world alight for me, they don’t look comfortable on the ball or passing. Ogbonna is probably the more technically gifted but day dreams like Tomkins did, bring back Ginge!!

SuzanneClaret

On Friday more often than not the ball was played to Fonte by Hart who played it to Reid who played in to Fonte who passed it back to Hart who had to hoof it away quickly as he was under pressure from the opposition forward.

It looked like a lack of confidence and very little movement in front of them.

horshamhammer

I think he is trying to shoehorn in the expensive players. What he should be doing is putting the team before individuals, and if certain players don't like it, then tough.

What I think it does show is the failings of our transfer policy. It's all very well signing expensive players, but if they don't fit into the system Bilic wants to play then it's a bit of a waste of time. I get the impression that manager and owners are not singing from the same hymn sheet on that one.

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard

Saw that Suze, it was awful to watch, for me it’s a combination of confidence and lack of movement in front of them from the midfield.

See this is why when AC does play it’s a benefit because at least they have a target they can hit (and hope)

But then the fans label it long ball hoof

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

But it is long ball hoof if you’re constantly lumping it to Carroll.

For all his faults, Noble is the best at coming to collect the ball from the CBs. He can then give it to Lanzini in a slightly more advanced position and we look like we have more of an idea on how to attack.

Lukerz

The stats about distance covered are telling. The team are just not working hard enough. That’s one major factor in why we are so rubbish. If we start putting in the hard yards and applying pressure we might start winning second balls that Bilic always references, and some tackles too.

Once we start doing the basics, we will start improving. But the side seem unwilling to do the dirty work first. There is too much passing the buck going on.

I can accept a lack of confidence impacting our ability with the ball (passing, crossing, shooting), but lacking confidence does not stop you running and working hard.

Lukerz

Jorderz_Slaven_A_Good_Time said:

But it is long ball hoof if you’re constantly lumping it to Carroll.

For all his faults, Noble is the best at coming to collect the ball from the CBs. He can then give it to Lanzini in a slightly more advanced position and we look like we have more of an idea on how to attack.

This is a great point. When we finally get Lanzini, Chicharito, Arnie and Antonio in the side together, why then do we take Nobes out? That is the one time he is fully needed on the pitch. There is a reason we never win when Nobes isn’t playing. He is at the foundation of that diamond with Arnie, Lanzini and Antonio. Kouyate is hardly going to supply them and Obiang is very 50-50 on passing.

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard

But at least it’s a plan, and that i prefer

Friday like so many other games was zero plan from what I could see, at one point Kouyate was the furthest forward and Lanzini was just in front of the back four

I agree about noble, but he’s the fans latest hate figure, they have to have one, it’s compulsorary

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

I agree that long-ball to Carroll is a plan, as opposed to what seemed like no plan whatsoever against Brighton.

I just don’t think it’s an acceptable plan when you have the attacking players we have.

OutcastLondoner

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard said:

But at least it’s a plan, and that i prefer

Friday like so many other games was zero plan from what I could see, at one point Kouyate was the furthest forward and Lanzini was just in front of the back four

I agree about noble, but he’s the fans latest hate figure, they have to have one, it’s compulsorary

He ended up so high up because they were playing so deep, so he couldn't drive forwards (though he arguably hasn't really been doing that anyway) and just ended up lost because he's not the player to unlock a defence. I guess that's why Ayew was brought on early.

Agree with Jorderz, it's a 'plan' that revolves around Carroll and lacks balance. It's predictable. So many times I've heard people say we didn't play to his strengths when we did try to but it's hard to get it onto his head when it's obvious that's what we're trying to do.

Moojor

I think we need an identity on the pitch. A manager who is going to say, this is the style of football we want to play and these are the players I need to make that happen.
If the current lot don't have the skills then you bring in people from the dev squad to fill the holes.
As Horsham said, shoehorning expensive players in to a system that doesn't work from them is a waste of time and money.
If Bilic can't set up the team he wants because of the owners not backing him he should quit.
If this is his "style" then he needs to start ripping the players apart for not putting in the effort. Start getting players from the dev squad if the first teamers thinking strolling around is acceptable.
If the owners aren't going to renew his contract, then they need to get rid of him now because letting this drag on for the next 3 or 4 months will see us going down.

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard

Trying to get that identity and a plan that is used time and time again can take time, problem is that many fans get the hump when the slightest thing goes wrong.

I think SB is caught between having a plan, ala SA and really wanting to entertain the fans and get them off their feet. He’s caught in the middle somewhere

Yeoldhammer

horshamhammer said:

Another thing - why has Bilic ditched three at the back again? You would have thought two 3-0 hidings against promoted teams would have consigned a back four to the bin...

He wants to get all his attacking players on the pitch. I think he has too many "Big" personalities in the attacking department that he doesn't want to upset. If he wants wins he needs to go to the back 3 and accept he will have a few disgruntled players on the bench but the football will not be pretty.

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

I honestly don't believe that Slaven

He's not a new manager this is his 3rd year in charge now and he's still trying to get a plan....it can take time but 3 years is ridiculous

He wants to play 4-2-3-1 but we've never really looked good with 4231 unless Payet was on the ball

The team has no plan attacking they were crossing high into the box for Hernandez..... and the defence is pretty non existent as they don't seem to be on the same wavelength hence why we get punished for so many mistakes

welovethehammers

SuzanneClaret said:

On Friday more often than not the ball was played to Fonte by Hart who played it to Reid who played in to Fonte who passed it back to Hart who had to hoof it away quickly as he was under pressure from the opposition forward.

It looked like a lack of confidence and very little movement in front of them.

Rice and Reid are our two best centre backs in terms of passing and on the ball. Hart has a tendency to play it short because he can't kick a ball long (gets no height and no accuracy). He only goes long when out under pressure by an attacker and simply has no choice but to go long.

TwistandShout

welovethehammers said:

SuzanneClaret said:

On Friday more often than not the ball was played to Fonte by Hart who played it to Reid who played in to Fonte who passed it back to Hart who had to hoof it away quickly as he was under pressure from the opposition forward.

It looked like a lack of confidence and very little movement in front of them.

Rice and Reid are our two best centre backs in terms of passing and on the ball. Hart has a tendency to play it short because he can't kick a ball long (gets no height and no accuracy). He only goes long when out under pressure by an attacker and simply has no choice but to go long.

I think Fonte is good on the ball too.

Maybe a back 3 of Fonte, Reid and Rice could work well

Pearces_Left_Foot

I see that we are bottom for distance covered and numbers of sprints this season. Are we unfit, lazy or not bothered . I would expect a manager to be at least demanding we match the other teams effort

MrsGrey

Hammers have earmarked Hoffenheim coach Julian Nagelsmann - the 30-year-old nicknamed the "Mini Mourinho" - as a potential replacement for Slaven Bilic according to the Express.

(No quotes or anything in the article though)

OldCastleSwift

Bilic confirms that a meeting was held with club captain Mark Noble.

"The players had a meeting," he said. "I had a meeting with Mark. A long meeting, chat whatever you want to call it. It was very positive…..we have to play better and get points especially from our home games."

Does this sound to anyone else that the players held a meeting without the manager, then Noble spoke to him afterwards as their mouthpiece ;hmm Suggests to me there's a bit of division there; that the players and manager aren't a united unit.

Maybe reading too much into it, but it doesn't quite feel right to me.

Yeoldhammer

Its Markie doing what needs to be done as both a Fan and Player at the club.

I wouldn't be surprised if there is a difference of opinion between some of the players and manager but when they cross the line they need to give 100% and a lot of them haven't even given 50%.

You get the impression though that where it was reported that he has 2 games to get things fixed that I imagine is true. 2 away games 2 derby's 2 chances. He needs to pull out the proverbial rabbit from the hat otherwise he's a gonna and I think the players know this to.

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard

Sounds to me like they’ve a) acknowledged an issue b) trying to put it right

Expat_Hammer

Surely something the manager should have already done / attempted to do ;hmm

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard

Perhaps Nobles pace got him there first?