Written by Adam Leatherbarrow
This weekend we saw Sakho score a 90th minute winner against Swansea so that means Slaven lives another day at the club, but win, lose or draw this weekend should have been his last.
I am sick, tired and fed up of watching this club build up our hopes by signing established players, to not be fully trained or coached by a so called legend. Let’s face it, Slaven is no West Ham legend he is a CULT player who had a 14 month stay at the club. It’s become apparent that the low intensity training levels are affecting the players work rate during matchdays and it comes across Slaven and his staff have lost the dressing room with a number of players, most notably Diafra Sakho. DIAFRA scored the goal and during his celebrations, took off his shirt and showed the world his name… that goal wasn’t for the club, that was a protest. He is our most consistent striker in the team scoring 3 goals in total and this form has earned him to be recalled to the Senegalese National Team… not bad for a player who has started two cup games and some cameo premier league appearances. But why isn’t he starting in the premier league? I didn’t agree with his actions on transfer deadline day, but for the player to result to actions that could affect his relationship with the fans surely indicates a difference of opinion with Bilic… how ironic for a player who is backed by the board, scores a winner to keep a man he doesn’t like in a job.
Slaven Bilic has had enough time to turn things around and his win ratio record is poor. As a player he has four cup honours (only in his native country) and as a manager he has no honours, going by his tactics and philosophy he is going about his career the wrong way by relying on individual talent to keep him in a job. Payet was his trump card and Lanzini is now, but when he hasn’t got those cards his tactics are flawed.
Did you know that Slaven Bilic’s career win ratio was 53.6% over 14 years… His West Ham win ratio is 38.7%… he has dropped around 15% worth of wins in his 2 and half year tenure at the club… that is simply not good enough, regardless of the comparative leagues he has managed in, he has not won 65 fixtures being West Ham boss, that is just three games shy of as many games Sam Allardyce won! Stats don’t lie and stats prove he needs to go and we need to employ someone BETTER.
The board need to act in sacking Slav NOW, not in December, not in march, but they have to take action today. His contract runs out end of this season so the compensation is around £3.5m plus the contracts of his staff and most importantly the board need to get a world class manager in on a long term deal. No manager of the highest calibre will accept a three year deal, the board need to offer a seven year deal to allow that world class manager to build from the current team. The club have a fantastic opportunity to get Carlo Ancelotti in, he is a guy who has managed the best clubs in world and most notably won trophies with those teams. He even built a legacy with Parma to make them one of the best in Europe, managing Buffon, Cannavaro, Crespo and even worked with former West Ham manager Zola. But it is his 8-year tenure at AC Milan and his short spell as Chelsea boss are the two spells the board need to refer to, to make him the next West Ham boss. Also he has just been released from his Bayern Munich contract so the board do not have to spend the money to get him in.
Agreed with the point regarding Bilic need to go, and shouldn’t keep him just because he played for us. Worth noting aswell that big factor of Payet coming to us in the first place was Bilic – We all fall short of given credit where credit is due, and no doubt SB has still gone out and had a great first season, bad second and third TBC.
The thing I find most frustrating is the lack of footballing identity, with Big Sam at least we know what we was paying to go and watch, a big long ball up to AC and Diame. We aren’t a direct football team anymore, much more a defensive type team that tries to play from the back but ends up going long with a lack of effect that was under Sam, and a defensive team that should be performing better, which I might add is not entirely the fault of the defense & Joe, more so defending from the front with the midfielders plenty closer to our forwards – Agreeing with your point with the intensity of the training sessions. Personally, I believe the only way forward is a new manager, but not now.
Ancelotti is a great name, a world class manager, a man that has played and managed a the highest level. However, we aren’t a world class team, and the only player close enough to a ‘World Class’ title in our ranks in Mani, even then he isn’t in the leagues of the current crop of creative midfielders. So in theory he is an unproven manager at our level. Stability and clear building progress is needed for our future, so a manager that has managed at our level & managed or close to world class players. Difficult shortlist… However, I’m a strong believer in stability and steady progress with a clear defined football identity. My suggestion of a new manager… Thomas Tuchel or, although he would never come to us Ronald Koeman as an alternative.
CO