An agonising 3-2 home defeat against bitter rivals Tottenham saw the Hammers drop back into the relegation zone this weekend and the odds on Slaven Bilic being sacked plummeted. In the market for the next Premiership manager to leave his post, Bilic went from 7/2 all the way into even money with some bookmakers on the back of the defeat. Everton’s Ronald Koeman is his nearest rival in the betting and went into the weekend as favourite, but earned a reprieve on Saturday. The Toffees were 1-0 down at home to Bournemouth and staring down the barrel of a fourth straight defeat, but Oumar Niasse got Koeman out of jail with two late goals.
The opposite was true at Wembley as West Ham were 3-0 down against Spurs and brought it back to 3-2 but could not summon a late rally to overwhelm them after Serge Aurier was sent off. It illustrates just how fine the margins are in Premiership football, as joy can turn to despair of vice versa in a matter of minutes, with the high-pressured nature of the league leaves managers in a perilous position.
Yet you cannot say that West Ham’s owners have not given Bilic a fair crack at his role. They backed him constantly throughout last season, while Everton were getting thrashed and flirting with relegations. Many owners would have discovered itchy trigger fingers and removed him, but David Gold and David Sullivan backed their man. They stuck with him this summer, when plenty of leading coaches were up for grabs. They did not spend a great deal of money in the summer transfer window, and Bilic was disappointed not to land top midfield target William Carvalho, but the £40 million investment on Marko Arnautovic and Chicharito should have bolstered West Ham’s attacking effectiveness no end, while loan signing Joe Hart is an upgrade on what they previously had between the sticks, and no players of note left.
All in all, Bilic should count himself relatively fortunate to have such patient employers, against a context of Frank De Boer being sacked four games into his tenure at Crystal Palace and Swansea axeing two managers in a single season. Yet the Hammers continue to underperform. Now should be an exciting time for West Ham fans as the future has been safeguarded with a shiny new stadium, the purse strings have loosened a little and genuine stars like Javier Hernandez have joined the revolution. But the same old failings keep hitting the team: sloppy defensive displays, an inability to close out games, an over-reliance on an injury-prone Andy Carroll, and ultimately a lack of tactical nous from Bilic.
He has been playing Chicharito out of position for much of the season, has generally ruled out playing two up top despite Man City and Leicester both recently having great success with it, and has alarmed Hammers fans with many of his substitutions. Motivation and man management also seem to be an issue, and it has left West Ham with a paltry tally of four points from six games and a goal difference of minus seven.
After the Bournemouth game, Koeman said that Niasse might have saved his job. Bilic could need a similar intervention in his next game. For all their patience, the Davids must be upset at his vindication of the “Dildo Brothers” comment made by Sporting Lisbon’s owner, and he is on thin ice. Losing to Tottenham, last season’s runners-up, would be a harsh reason to be sacked, but if they lose at home to Swansea, Bilic can expect to be shown the door. Fortunately for Bilic, they are the favourites. Check a review of Intertops, and you will see that the Hammers are even money, while Swansea – who do not travel particularly well – are out at 3/1. Bilic has remarkable staying power and has a knack of pulling out a result when he most needs it, so he could well earn another stay of execution with three points next weekend, but time appears to be running out for him.
