Having announced the news of Sam Allardyce’s departure just minutes after their defeat to Newcastle United on the final day of the season, West Ham filled their managerial void by appointing former player Slaven Bilic on a three-year contract last week.
Notwithstanding a breathless start to the 2014/15 campaign, the Hammers went into free fall at the turn of year, ensuring that the charismatic Croatian will arrive to a litany of issues. Speaking on his installment as the new Irons boss, Bilic assured fans he would do everything in his power to renew their optimism and push on for a top-half finish.
“I remember West Ham as a special club. My first priority when choosing a club is to look at its ambitions. When I spoke to the chairmen and Karren Brady, they made clear that it is not only the fantastic new stadium we are moving into, but they showed their determination and ambition to make what is a big club even bigger. I saw their determination and passion that they want to do that. That was the number one reason. I could feel that they really wanted me so it was an easy choice. I would say to the West Ham fans that I will give my best and together we will achieve great things.”
The History
Bilic agreed to manage his hometown club Hajduk Split on a temporary basis back in 2001, following his retirement from football the previous season. After the Croatian First League outfit sourced a new head coach, Bilic set about co-managing the Croatian U21 team (alongside Aljosa Asanovic), guiding them to the group stages of the U21 Euros qualification rounds.
The former centre-half earned his big break when taking over from Zlatko Kranjcar as the senior national team’s boss in 2006. From an English perspective, Bilic’s most pertinent period in charge of the Blazers arrived in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, when he led Croatia to a 3-2 victory over the Three Lions, thus consigning Steve Mclaren’s men to an inglorious exit during the group stages. Bilic eventually ended his stint with Croatia on good terms, boasting a 64.6% win record (42 wins in 65 matches).
Bilic’s next foray into management wasn’t such a success. The ex-Everton defender spent one year at Lokomotiv Moscow in 2012/13, commandeering the Russian club to their worst finish (ninth place) since the inception of the league. He was relieved of his duties that summer, having carded an underwhelming 38.71% win record (12 wins in 31 matches).
After that, Bilic signed a three-year contract with Turkish Super Lig outfit Besiktas just 10 days after his dismissal. During his tenure, Besiktas secured successive third-place finishes and progressed to the Europa League Round of 16 last season, triumphing over Tottenham and Liverpool in the process. Amid speculation that West Ham were poised to snap him up, Bilic resigned at the end of the 2014/15 campaign, ending his reign with a 52.17% win record (48 wins in 92 matches).
The Previous Regime
Following their relegation from the Premier League, Allardyce signed a two-year deal with West Ham on June 1 2011. Renowned for developing hard-nosed sides with a penchant for tough tackling and a long ball style of play, he was always an awkward fit for a Hammers faithful raised on the silky champagne football from the likes of Trevor Brooking and Alan Devonshire. Inevitably, his direct style of football prompted murmurings of discontent but they were quickly calmed as Allardyce steered the Irons to promotion via the play-offs.
Two solid seasons in the top flight of English football followed – harvesting mid-table finishes – before the dawn of the 2014/15 campaign beckoned in a shift in Allardyce’s philosophy. The appointment of Teddy Sheringham as attacking coach aided West Ham’s transition into a side that took the game to opponents in search of goals, abandoning Allardyce’s emphasis on prioritising clean sheets. With target man Andy Carroll ruled out of the first 11 league matches by virtue of a knee ligament injury, the Hammers boss structured their game around the pace and power of Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia, with Stewart Downing initially excelling at the tip of a midfield diamond.
Buoyed by the form of their new recruits, West Ham stormed out of the blocks and rose to fourth place by Gameweek 17, with Allardyce even earning the Manager of the Month award for November. Events took a sharp turn for the worse in the second half of the season, however, as they recorded a pitiful three wins in their second batch of 19 fixtures. West Ham’s new cavalier style was abandoned as Allardyce’s side limped over the finish line, signalling the end of his tenure in charge.
The Season Ahead
From a tactical standpoint, Bilic primarily employed a 4-2-3-1 set-up during his spell with Beskitas but also adopted a 4-4-2 formation on occasion. That being said, the law graduate counsels fluidity over regimented banks of four and believes that traditional formations are “dying out”.
In an interview with BBC Sport, FourFourTwo Turkey’s Ahmet Yavuz shed some light on how the newly-installed Hammers boss is likely to organize his troops:
“In one of his first interviews in Turkey, Bilic said ‘my team is as energetic as Iron Maiden.’ He really delivered in that regard. With a 4-2-3-1 formation, he built a team with two dynamic defensive midfielders, one creative playmaker and wingers able to cut inside. Last season especially, Demba Ba showed that he was the missing piece of that formation with his ability to encourage midfielders to attack. In two years Besiktas transformed to an energetic, collective and fast team, playing with short passes.”
In his first interview after securing the Boleyn Ground hot seat, Bilic offered insight into the principles that underpin his playing philosophy. Of most interest, the ex-Croatia international stressed the importance of attacking in numbers and playing “good” football. Despite conceding that being compact against the stronger teams is paramount, it’s clear that Bilic espouses a front-foot-forward philosophy:
“To be successful you have to be good enough in every aspect of the team, you have to defend with numbers, you have to be very compact, very organised but also you have to attack with numbers and be good on the ball. The teams that I’ve managed so far, whether that be Croatia, Lokomotiv Moscow, Besiktas or Hadjuk Split, they were all teams with very high aims. To qualify, to top group with Croatia, to win the league with Split and Besiktas, with Lokomotiv top three, top five, so my style had to be dominant. With Besiktas, in 90 per cent of our games we had more possession, you are the better side, you are the one that is attacking and the opponent is on the counter. But in the games where we had to be compact like against Arsenal, we weren’t dominant. So you have to be both. But I like my team to play football, to play good football.”
Bilic’s first port of call will be to rejuvenate West Ham’s attack, in light of the fact they tallied just nine goals from Gameweek 23 onwards. Although he was sidelined for the final six fixtures of the season, Sakho wasn’t in the best form prior to succumbing to a thigh injury, having notched just one goal in six starts. Considering the similarly pacey and powerful Demba Ba enjoyed the best season of his career (27 goals in 44 outings) under Bilic’s stewardship, there’s hope that Sakho will benefit from his arrival.
The aforementioned Valencia (one goal from Gameweek 11) and Downing (one goal and assist from Gameweek 23) also have to shoulder some of the blame West Ham’s decline: their respective seasons plummeted after strong starts. Downing’s prospects next term will largely depend on how Bilic elects to set-up, with a 4-4-2 formation – featuring Carroll and Sakho as a strike partnership – likely restricting Downing to a less-profitable role on the flanks. The former Aston Villa man could well flourish if fielded in “the hole” in a 4-2-3-1 system, though there’s a chance he could be utilised as an inverted winger on the right.
Besides improving the fortunes of West Ham’s underperforming contingent, Bilic will also be keen to further the development of their emerging stars. Aaron Cresswell was a revelation for the Irons last term, chalking up two goals and four assists from his left-back berth and Bilic’s 4-2-3-1 formation – which employs inverted wingers and relies on the full-backs to supply the width – would certainly be conducive to further attacking returns for the young English defender.
In the meantime, Bilic has wasted little time in splashing the cash on Sampdoria enforcer Pedro Obiang in the centre of the park, whilst further reports suggest the new manager will receive significant backing in the transfer market, with Loic Remy linked with a move after a peripheral season for champions Chelsea.
Crucially, Fantasy managers should have plenty of opportunities to assess the Hammers prior to the domestic campaign. As reward for topping the Premier League Fair Play table last season, West Ham earned a spot in the Europa League qualification stages, which commence on July 2. To gain entry into the group stages, the Hammers have to win three two-legged qualifying matches and a two-legged play-off. Ally this with five other pre-season friendlies and we should have a fair idea of Bilic’s intentions ahead of the new campaign.
