---
title: "Turkish Football Expert Emre Sarigul Shares An Insight Into Slaven Bilic"
canonical: "https://readwestham.com/2015/08/04/turkish-football-expert-emre-sarigul-shares-an-insight-into-slaven-bilic/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Michael Oliver"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2015-08-04T11:28:29Z"
modified: "2015-08-11T10:39:09Z"
---

# Turkish Football Expert Emre Sarigul Shares An Insight Into Slaven Bilic

When West Ham appointed Slaven Bilic as their new manager – not many of us knew much about his playing style or how he conducted himself on and off the pitch.

Turkish football expert [Emre Sarigul](https://www.turkish-football.com/) tells us about Bilic’s managerial style, how he manages his players, and what to expect from the Croatian at Upton Park.

**How did Bilic turn Besiktas around and make them a title contender?**

*Slaven Bilic took over a Beşiktaş side rocked by a financial crisis and without a home stadium. The club are still rebuilding the İnönü stadium which will be renamed the Vodafone Arena.*

*The slogan used by the club president was ‘FEDA’ which translates to sacrifice. Players were asked to reduce their contracts, the club shifted to a transfer policy of signing young and unproven talent in a bid to cut spending. Bilic managed to create a side that contended for the title and almost won it over his second season in charge.*

*Several players developed under his stewardship especially Gökhan Töre who finally started living up to his billing after a few disappointing seasons following his exit from Chelsea as a youth.*

**What was about his character that made the fans take to him the way they did?**

*One of Bilic’s main strengths was knowing how to use his charisma. Bilic was the darling of the media and the fans.*

*He identified with the club’s main fan base due to being a bit of a rebel – the main fan group Çarşı have anarchic undertones hence the A in Çarşı being an Anarchist A. He made an extra effort to learn Turkish, almost always greeted the fans after the games and in interviews generally was full of praise.*

**What kind of tactics and formations did Bilic use with Besiktas?**

*Bilic generally used a 4-2-3-1 and at times a 4-4-1-1. The key to his side was the holding midfielders. Veli Kavlak and Atiba Hutchinson formed the backbone of Bilic’s side protecting a shaky defensive line and contributing to attacking play. Both midfielders are physical with Atiba being the more technical player with a decent passing ability.*

**How did he approach the big games against English opposition – Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham?**

*Undoubtedly Beşiktaş played their best football against English opposition last season and Bilic’s side thrived as the underdog. The Black Eagles only narrowly lost out 1-0 on aggregate to Arsenal, drew/beat Tottenham and knocked Liverpool out of the Europa League Round of 32 against all the odds.*

*The most impressive part was that Beşiktaş were rarely outplayed in any of the six games and even out passed Arsenal in London.*

**What is Bilic like as a player-manager – his handling of the players?**

*On the one hand, Bilic is capable of getting the best out of his players but he was also criticised with mental frailty when the going got tough. Beşiktaş were in pole position to win the league title last season but could not handle the pressure and Bilic failed to find a solution. The same happened the season before. This would be the one thing he really must work on.*

**Do you think his playing style will work in the Premier League?**

*Bilic has already demonstrated that he can compete against Premier League sides. Beşiktaş caused the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool all sorts of problems.*

*He knew their weaknesses, how to exploit them and how to motivate his players for these games. His main test will be maintaining a consistently high level of football throughout the season. Bilic failed to win a single derby during his time at Beşiktaş and was criticised for lacking bottle in big games.*

*Bilic will go down well with the fans and West Ham are likely to play far more aesthetically pleasing football than under big Sam last season but he still has quite a bit of room for improvement.*