So much for the vote of confidence. The Daily Telegraph claims that West Ham board are looking at plans to sack Slaven Bilic and employ a 'continuity manager' should West Ham lose at home to Swansea.
Like most fans I like Slaven "and all that kind of thing," but if West Ham went down he would have go, though now is not the time to change. There's no Craig Shakespeare figure at the club to take over who might make a difference and if Bilic was sacked the continuity manager would have a mere six games left with the same squad and injury list. West Ham were ultimately well beaten at Arsenal but the spirit still looked to be there, if not the class.
It's been a difficult season for Bilic with the stadium move and the Payet saga, but in another sense he's also been lucky. Had Sam Allardyce sold James Tomkins, played Antonio at right-back, made a number of dodgy signings and lost five in a row there would have been open revolt from the fans and he'd have been gone by now. Luckily the West Ham fans still have an emotional attachment to Bilic, which they never had with Big Sam, though it's being tested at the moment. Ideally we'll stay up with Slaven in charge, regroup next season and then see if the real Bilic is the manager who finished seventh or the manager who struggled to stay up.
So the Swansea game is vital for Slaven's future. The Evening Standard had five suggestions to turn round the Hammers' season, among them changing goalkeepers. After Randolph's error for the opener at Arsenal and Leicester's first goal, I'd restore Adrian. Plus stick Ayew on the bench and play with Snodgrass or Feghouli on the right to get some service in to Andy Carroll and have Sakho ready to come on as Plan B alongside AC. Big Andy does seem to enjoy playing against the Swans and represents Bilic's best hope of getting the result he and West Ham need. COYI!
5 comments:
Our game has to be far more dynamic than finding the best right winger to fire in crosses to Andy Carroll. With the likes of Antonio, Lanzini, Kouyate, and Fernandes there are a number of pathways to goal-scoring, and they don't all have to come form Andy Carroll's head!
We need to mix it up, but Andy does seem to enjoy playing against Swansea though. Let's hope Antonio recovers from his illness.
I wonder if we'll ever have a manager like when I first started going? Lyall 70's, 80's...Bonzo, H...Pards and Sam got a little bit of time...er, that's it
Ken Dyer in the Standard says Slav is staying to the end of the season whatever the results, and he knows West Ham better than anyone. Collins has said Swansea is the biggest game in years; I'd say at least since the Preston play-off final, but arguably much longer. If we're playing in the Championship in the current ground, you'd really fear the worst.
Hopefully Slaven will come through his MJ. And Matt, you're making me nervous!
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