Ah,
international breaks. How I hate you.
Therein
lies an unimaginable treasure trove of pictures where Roy appears incapable of
pulling a face that resembles that of any other human being on Earth. The man
was a remarkable subject for photographers and I, for one, miss him greatly.
Seriously, what was happening here?
For
us England fans left behind, however, these international breaks are
essentially the same as queuing at a Drive-Thru McDonalds. Tedious, not
enjoyable and fuelled by a desire to experience something that you know will briefly
excite you, but ultimately disappoint you in a really, really predictable
fashion. And then, despite swearing you’re never going to be so stupid again, you
still find yourself back there in a few months.
I
hate you Jordan Henderson, but I would also absolutely like to "Go Large" with my
meal.
So,
unable to face another McSturridge sandwich, I cast my net around and asked some
fellow West Ham fans – who also happen to be professional writers – what they have
made of our season so far.
Terry (@AmoCS) is a former journalist for The Sun and The Mirror who writes on West Ham at www.moxycoxy.wordpress.com. He has a season ticket in the Bobby Moore Lower Stand, is a huge fan of Mark E Smith, and would greatly welcome your recommendations for songs by The Fall on Twitter.
Emily (@makingthemarrow) is a writer for Blowing Bubbles, Everything Theatre and www.makingthemarrow.com. She has a season ticket in the East Stand and got engaged this week in Iceland. The country, not the shop.
Dan Silver
Dan (@dansilver_) is a journalist and writer who launched and edited the Daily Mirror’s MirrorFootball website and served as Deputy Head of Publishing for The Sun. He has a season ticket in the East Stand and is going to be buying a Zaza shirt this Christmas whether he likes it or not.
Jacob (@jacobsteinberg) is a writer for The Guardian and Blizzard. He is a former West Ham season ticket holder and based on his first answer, owns a pair of skin tight white jeans.
Those
who were kind enough not to delete my begging emails were:
Terry
Land
Terry (@AmoCS) is a former journalist for The Sun and The Mirror who writes on West Ham at www.moxycoxy.wordpress.com. He has a season ticket in the Bobby Moore Lower Stand, is a huge fan of Mark E Smith, and would greatly welcome your recommendations for songs by The Fall on Twitter.
Emily
Pulham
Emily (@makingthemarrow) is a writer for Blowing Bubbles, Everything Theatre and www.makingthemarrow.com. She has a season ticket in the East Stand and got engaged this week in Iceland. The country, not the shop.
Dan Silver
Dan (@dansilver_) is a journalist and writer who launched and edited the Daily Mirror’s MirrorFootball website and served as Deputy Head of Publishing for The Sun. He has a season ticket in the East Stand and is going to be buying a Zaza shirt this Christmas whether he likes it or not.
Jacob Steinberg
Jacob (@jacobsteinberg) is a writer for The Guardian and Blizzard. He is a former West Ham season ticket holder and based on his first answer, owns a pair of skin tight white jeans.
All very graciously consented to answer a few questions from
me on how they were enjoying the new season, and the move to our gilded palace
of sin.
The H List: How
would you characterise our start to the season?
Dan
Silver: Given the unprecedented expectation both on and off the pitch going into this
season, it’s hard to imagine how either element could have gone much worse.
Which is about as good a definition of ‘the West Ham way’ as you could hope to
find.
Jacob Steinberg: West Hammish. Three and a half years ago, I wrote a tongue
in cheek Fiver about how badly the move was going to go for West Ham after they
were given the stadium (if you haven't heard of the Fiver, it's the Guardian's
free and unfunny daily teatime email), drawing on the miserable experience of
supporting this ludicrous club, with its unerring ability to shoot itself in
the foot just when it seems that everything's about to click.
I lived through the Manny Omoyinmi debacle, the Dean Ashton
gut-punch, the Tevez and Mascherano shambles, and I concluded that "West
Ham will start the 2016-17 season in the Championship, Phil Brown will be their
manager and the turnstiles won't work before the first match."
It was a pisstake, some loving self-deprecation, but Carlton
Cole called me out on Twitter for it. Sorry, Carlton. Turns out he was right as
well. Phil Brown is managing in League One/Two (I'm on a day off, indulge the
lazy journalism), West Ham began this season with aspirations of qualifying for
the Champions League and I hear some of the turnstiles have worked really
well. Still, it's probably not unfair to suggest that things could be going a
bit better. I'm warming up now.
By the time this is done, it'll be 7am and I'll be sitting
outside a bar in Shoreditch, a pint in one hand, a Big Mac in the other.
Terry
Land: By any
standards our start has been very poor. Anybody looking at the fixtures back in
June when they came out would have characterised us as having an easy start.
As
much as I don’t buy Sullivan and Gold’s claim we are a side pushing for the
Champions League I would have expected between 10 and 15 points from the first
seven games. Instead we have a win and a draw apiece and sit in the relegation
zone with a miserable four points with a nasty run of games coming up through
late November to early December. While not terminal, the patient surely needs
surgery.
Emily Pulham: Poor! We haven’t had that moment of clicking yet. We’ve got
one of our best ever teams on paper and our worst ever results on the pitch.
The H List: Let's
start with the stadium - what did you think of David Sullivan's comment that
"lots of people want the migration to fail" and what do you think the
Club could be doing differently to make it (more of) a success - beyond simply
not letting David Sullivan make any more comments?
He gets a mention, naturally
Terry Land: As Nicolas Sarkozy
once claimed of another David; the then UK Prime Minister Cameron ”lost a good
opportunity to shut up”. Likewise David
Sullivan never misses an excuse to run his mouth off. Even despite some
ridiculous over-reaction to, and reliance upon, social media to gauge supporter
opinion (the “polls” on whether to buy El Hadji Diouf and Joey Barton come to
mind) Sullivan, along with David Gold and Karren Brady have an enormous blind
spot regarding the migration to the new stadium.
I
don’t blame them at all for being convinced of its worth and don’t want to
re-open the tired old debate over the move – but they refuse to accept a
significant minority don’t share their dream. For myself I can easily see how
hollow their promises sound now we face the reality of a stadium not designed
for football and crucially a poor run of form.
Emily
Pulham: The
club did make some initial mistakes with the stadium - but they are working
hard to rectify them. The club are moving fans around the ground to be in the
right places, they are improving the stewarding, actively campaigning for safe
standing, and also getting police in - but there are some people that don’t
want it to work because it’s not the Boleyn, and so for them, it never will
work.
Having
said that, I know our chairman want to be accessible to the fans but I worry
they are too open sometimes. A little restraint and privacy wouldn’t be the
worst thing on occasion.
Jacob Steinberg: I think there's an element of truth to what Sullivan said
– West Ham have had a villainous image ever since Sean Bean was spotted cutting
some preposterous shapes during that
march on parliament all those years ago and it's not been helped by the manner
of the deal that landed them the stadium.
Plenty of people do want them to fail and you haven't had to
search too far for gloating comments from other supporters after their defeats
this season. Equally Sullivan's probably guilty of protesting too much here.
Some of the criticism since the move has been valid, whether
it has been about security, stewarding, atmosphere, standing, ticketing or,
most damagingly, that sense the club is slowly stripping away its identity,
embracing the corporate culture with a touch too much relish and forgetting
where it came from. Some of it is bad PR – talking about customers instead of
supporters is never going to go down well – and other factors out of their
hands given that they don't own the stadium.
On that note, you'd hope that they'll be able to work with
the stadium operators to make sure there's a sizeable police presence in and
around the ground and also to improve the relationship between stewards and
supporters. What can be done from their side, though? Make more of an effort to
connect with and appease their supporters, listen to their concerns, make them
feel valued. The move won't work without them.
Dan
Silver: I
broadly agree with David Sullivan’s comment. The resentment and jealousy of the
deal West Ham negotiated is writ large across social media - and, more
disappointingly, sections of the mainstream media too.
As
we all know, football grounds aren’t soft play centres and yet it’s almost been
impossible to read a story - any story - about the club without reference to
how unhappy fans are with the new stadium, or an accompanying embedded video of
violence from one of the opening games.
There’s
a prevailing narrative that West Ham have overreached, that the stadium is too
good or too big for the club, and evidence supporting this view is wheeled out
at any opportunity, no matter how tenuous.
On
top of that, a small but vocal minority of our own fans also seem intent on
making the move as difficult and ill-tempered as possible. Is the Olympic
Stadium (as I belligerently insist on calling it) perfect? No, of course not.
Is it anywhere near as bad as some supporters are pointing out? No, of course
not.
I’m
not entirely sure what these fans’ motivation is. We can’t go back to Upton
Park. It’s being knocked down. The Olympic Stadium is our new home. And it is
up to all of us to make it feel like a home. The stadium fairy isn’t going to
turn up one weekend and move the pitch nearer to the seats so let’s just get on
with enjoying the football we can see, yes?
All
that said, however, there have been - and continue to be - some very serious
crowd safety issues at the new stadium and it would be very wrong of Sullivan
to try and dismiss concerns about them as mischievous carping.
The
board moved to address some of these in the wake of the Watford game but, in my
opinion, they are not moving quickly or forcefully enough. And I’m positive if
David Sullivan or Karren Brady tried leaving the East Stand and heading back to
Stratford with their children in tow at the end of a game then they’d be moving
a damn sight quicker.
My
own kids were unwittingly caught up in the fracas after the Middlesbrough game
- seemingly caused by cack-handed crowd management as the away fans streamed
out of the ground at the same time as ours - and were greeted with the sight of
police surrounding a fan stumbling around with blood streaming down his face.
Elsewhere,
anecdotal evidence is mounting up of West Ham fans refusing to take their kids
to games because they don’t feel safe doing so - which, frankly, is inexcusable
in this day and age.
The H List: I
think this is a really important point, but one that is very difficult to
explain to those who haven't been or experienced it. It's scary to take kids, in a way I
never felt at Upton Park. Are you taking your children to the Chelsea game? (I'm
not - primarily for the reasons you outline)
Dan
Silver: No,
I’m not either. They’re both under ten so the kick-off time made it impractical
anyway but I would have had other safety concerns as well.
If
I’m completely honest, I’m a little bit anxious about going myself. On the one
hand I’m hopeful this will be the first great night under the lights at the
Stadium; that the team’s performance and the atmosphere generated by the fans
combine to create the first truly magical moment in this chapter of the club's
history.
The
worry is that it could prove to be a truly toxic evening punctuated by ugly
scenes inside and outside the ground. And if that unwanted scenario comes to
pass then it could have catastrophic consequences for the rest of the season -
and possibly beyond.
Let’s
hope it’s the former, eh?
The H List: What
were your thoughts on Karren Brady’s comments on the corporate culture of the
Club? My own take is that they weren’t unreasonable, but that seems to be a
minority view based on the online responses I’ve seen.
Emily
Pulham: Karren Brady’s comments were never going to sit well with the West
Ham faithful, but although the comments were hard for some to swallow, they
represent a big part of what it takes nowadays to evolve into that next tier of
football.
She
understands marketing incredibly well. If we want Champions League football, big
name players, and global investment (see also: money) - this is part and parcel
of the game we have to play. It’s not just West Ham who have to embrace this,
it’s all clubs - but it’s the responsibility of the fans to balance out the
corporate part by ensuring that we stay the heart and soul of the club.
Dan
Silver:
Karren Brady’s comments were entirely reasonable in isolation but her timing
and delivery were lousy. Unfortunately this seems to be something of a habit;
her early season crowing about the Olympic Stadium boasting the best
hospitality suites in Europe at a time when regular fans felt their safety was
being compromised just by attending a game was particularly grating.
Brady
gets a disproportionately rough ride from West Ham fans but it’s also easy to
understand why. She’s a businesswoman first and foremost and her references to
the club’s history and traditions often come across as lip service, marketing
boxes to be ticked during a PowerPoint presentation. Yes, she’s done almost
unimaginably great things for West Ham the business, but most football fans -
rightly - don’t care about the business.
In
that respect she would do well to remember that football fans don’t talk about
football in the same way business people do, and that her words to the latter
will also be reported to the former. I remember a meeting with Karren and a
couple of other newspaper executives while I worked at The Sun before the start
of the ‘farewell…’ season in which she repeatedly referred to the new ground as
*her* stadium. That rankled with me even then.
Terry
Land: Brady
has a desire to use our geographical proximity to the Eastwards shift of the
London financial sector to grab a piece of the action and utilise the corporate
riches involved for the betterment of the club. I have no problem with that.
Karren breaks with tradition again with our new away kit
The H List: Is
she really this unpopular or is the fact that I’m viewing it through a
misogynistic petri dish like Twitter colouring that narrative?
Dan
Silver: I
wouldn’t read too much into the social media reaction to her - it’s arguably as
representative of the majority of West Ham fans as the actions of the guy who
spat in her face were of the rest of the ground.
But
I am concerned by what appears to be a widening disconnect between her view of
the club and that of many of its fans. She sometimes appears guilty of
believing the move to the Olympic Stadium would transform West Ham into Arsenal
overnight. There are around 30,000 West Ham fans who would beg to differ -
often very vocally indeed - and that source of schism will extremely harmful if
allowed to fester.
Jacob Steinberg: She does seem extremely unpopular, although I do wonder at
times whether there is a strand of misogyny at play when it comes to
Brady. Then again, she doesn't always help herself with some of her
comments. If supporters don't feel that she has their best interests at heart,
maybe it's something she should think about rectifying.
Terry Land: While I have little doubt the gender of
our ennobled Vice-Chairman is an easy target for those of a less reconstructed
mind-set I also believe the purpose of football for many fans is a sense of
community, identity and cultural grounding in a fast-changing world. Something
that in her desire for pounds sterling Brady might do well to remember.
The H List: What
has your personal experience of the Stadium been like? How many of the
problems we’re discussing could be resolved with a five game unbeaten run, and
how many are deep rooted genuine issues?
Dan
Silver:
Personally I like the new ground, but then I’m a middle aged man with middle
aged mates who now take our young kids to football and therefore value easy
access to toilets above standing in the middle of a seething bear-pit.
We
all sit in the upper East Stand, central to the pitch and about four rows from
the back, which affords an incredibly impressive view of the vast, sweeping stands.
Our sightlines of the pitch are impeccable - although, admittedly, it does feel
a little detached, like we’re watching the game on an iMax screen.
I’m
sure many of the gripes about atmosphere and sitting down etc will evaporate
should that fabled five game winning run ever materialise. But as we’ve all mentioned
above, the issues with stewarding, segregation and crowd safety will not, and I
again urge the club to take measures before their hand is forced by a tragedy.
Terry Land: My initial reaction
to the stadium was one of awe and disbelief. My West Ham here?!
You
certainly wouldn’t feel ready to chuck a chip wrapper on the floor as you might
in E13. My view from near the back of the Bobby Moore Lower Stand is excellent
even if we now play in a stadium rather than football ground (a crucial
difference). Stewarding and policing is a problem that must be resolved, and if
stories of former stewards leaving are to be believed things may get worse before
they get better. The Plus Two scheme for season ticket holders has been
lambasted as it dilutes those with a history of supporting the club but the
lack of delineation between areas is my biggest bugbear. With no obvious
singing areas the noise seems more generalised and less intense.
However,
let’s not become too misty-eyed about Upton Park, the atmosphere deteriorated
markedly post the West Stand development, the East Stand was a tip and the
ground difficult to get to. I’ve still not settled on a place to meet pre and
post-match – but Hackney Wick appears to offer fertile if somewhat gentrified
ground. My memory may be playing tricks but I don’t remember charred broccoli
and haloumi wrap available in the Earl of Wakefield.
While I don’t for a second believe the new ground directly contributed to our poor form, I think the Board, in a moment of rapture over the new ground and in a wholly characteristic bout of hubris, took their eye of the ball with regard to recruitment. For all the talk of Champions League football, few if any of the players brought in this summer look to be of that quality.
While I don’t for a second believe the new ground directly contributed to our poor form, I think the Board, in a moment of rapture over the new ground and in a wholly characteristic bout of hubris, took their eye of the ball with regard to recruitment. For all the talk of Champions League football, few if any of the players brought in this summer look to be of that quality.
Emily Pulham: If we were winning on a regular basis,
a good chunk of them would dissipate. Unfortunately, when the roof is leaking,
you’re more likely to notice that the floor is dirty too! I have faith that a
lot of the issues will be fixed by the club - especially with regards to
getting the right fans in the right places.
My own experience has been good - my seat is excellent, the
atmosphere is building, I can get a beer in under five minutes at half time and
I’m impressed by the scale of the stadium. Wouldn’t mind seeing some wins
though!
Jacob
Steinberg: I've
only worked at the stadium and missed all the fun at the Watford game as I was
working on the Paralympics. I did enjoy following Twitter from my room in the
Quality Hotel in Rio, though. Bashing out a Jonnie Peacock piece for the
Observer, imagine my delight when I saw that West Ham led 2-0. Imagine my shock
when I checked my phone an hour later.
Anyway ... the stadium. I'm lucky enough
to live a five minute walk from the stadium and my route takes me straight to
the media entrance, so that's good. I've heard people have experienced
transport problems, though – not great considering that was one of the main
arguments for leaving E13.
From
a work perspective, the media facilities are much better than Upton Park. The
wifi works and the various working areas are spacious. That said, the press box
is very far away from the pitch. It's not that you can't see what's happening –
you can, the binocular comments are tiresome now – but more that you feel
removed from the action. Not sure if that's something that's possible to change.
Either you do or you don't. This is what it is and you'd better find a way of
getting used to it. There's no going back.
It
was always a concern for me. We interviewed Payet by the pitch just after
he joined and the stands felt far away then. I was willing to reserve
judgement. But here we are. Maybe it will grow on me and others, and some
people love it. It was certainly rocking in the first couple of games – but,
well, they won those. It's true, I suppose, that the mood will change if the
team improves (no guarantees there). Let's not be disingenuous, the atmosphere
at Upton Park was often insipid on a Saturday afternoon and downright vicious
during the bad times.
Overall
it's left me a bit cold. Maybe I'll warm to it with time. There are parts that
are undoubtedly impressive - the floodlights, the sweeping west Stand. But
others look cheap, muddled and, sorry to say it, ugly - the green material
covering the track, say, or the large gap between the middle tier in the
stand behind the dugouts, which holds the corporate boxes, and the lower tier.
Also I don't think Bilic is happy about the distance between the dugouts and
the pitch. The view is rubbish from the bench, hence why he never sits
down.
The H List: And yet, for all that, you
and I were both unsuccessful in the ballot for the Middlesbrough game, despite
there being plenty of empty seats in the ground.
Jacob
Steinberg: That’s
a big issue. There were empty seats during both the Southampton and
Middlesbrough games. What went on there? If it was part of the fallout from the
fighting at the Watford match, then it's understandable if people felt unsafe
taking kids after all the negative publicity. Only one way to get past that –
better security.
But
if it's down to the team, it's not taken much for people to stay away, has it?
Who were they? Where did they come from? Where did they go to? It's worrying on
two levels. Firstly that the people who snapped up all those extra season
tickets had no real affinity to the club and won't stick around to watch Gokhan
Tore do his Gokhan Tore thing. Secondly, that members (such as me) can't get
those tickets if they're unsuccessful in the ballot. It was easy for members to
get tickets at Upton Park. Only at West Ham could it be a problem in a bigger
stadium! Hopefully they'll implement a resale feature.
The H List: Moving
to on the field matters, how surprised have you been by our start to the
season, and to what do you attribute our poor form?
Terry Land: I didn’t expect a great start on the pitch but
even so have been disappointed. Poor defending that saw us concede two goals a
game over the last quarter of last season has deteriorated further. Transfer
business over the summer was poor with quantity seemingly a priority over
quality, and two obvious areas of concern – right-back and striker were not
fully addressed.
Slaven Bilic’s idealism has been expressed in asking too
many players, especially in midfield, to perform unfamiliar roles and the lack
of a holding midfielder to screen the back four has been obvious. A settled
back four is a prime requirement after, I think, 10 different combinations in
our 12 competitive games played so far.
Emily Pulham: There’s no communication in the team.
None. The defence have no idea where anyone is or who they are responsible for.
As soon as anyone on the pitch moves slightly out of position, the cover for
them is almost non-existent.
The other problem is that the heart goes out of the players
so quickly - they are struggling with confidence. The Middlesbrough game was
the first sign of hope in a long time and for an odd reason. As soon as
Middlesbrough put one past us, the fans reacted by clapping and encouraging the
team on. It was the first time we did that all season - and the team responded
in kind by equalising. More of that, please - from both fans and players.
Dan
Silver: I’ve
been surprised by the extent to which the symptoms have manifested themselves
but the underlying malaise took hold throughout last season: the leaky defence;
the tendency to concede the first goal(s); the difficulties breaking down and
beating lower table teams. Those fantastic results against the top six teams
and the game-changing brilliance of Dimitri Payet papered over a lot of cracks.
I commented
on a couple of occasions in the latter half of last season that the team
appeared to be believing their own press. The Cup replay at home to Man United
was particularly galling; there was so much talk of Wembley beforehand that the
team seemed to think they only needed to turn up to go through.
Our
abysmal start to the season - and it has been abysmal, there’s little point
sugar coating it - can be traced back to the embarrassing mauling by Swansea
and pathetic capitulation away to Stoke that bookended the emotionally charged
final home victory against Manchester United.
Those
performances was compounded by a miserable pre-season that from the outside
appeared to involve too much meaningless travel (low-profile fixtures against
poor US sides) and too many games in too short a period of time (the Austrian
training camp). The pitiful Europa League games laid bare the squad’s awful
physical and mental states.
Jacob
Steinberg: I
wasn't too surprised by the defeats at Man City and Chelsea given that they
have improved and West Ham were missing players for a variety of reasons. But
if you go back to the end of last season, they were already conceding too many
goals and nothing has been done about it. I want to like Bilic - he is
intelligent, charismatic and decent - but he doesn't entirely convince at
times. West Ham were very lucky in several matches last year and it was hard to
gauge their true level. They would often hang on in matches before scoring the
first goal (Liverpool at home in the cup), equalise with their first attack
(Norwich at home) or capitalise on generous finishing (Southampton at home).
The ability to stay in matches suggested increased resilience and it was impressive
how often they would fight back, often scoring their goals in bursts (Norwich
away), but you do wonder if it was built on solid foundations.
They
have become so fragile. Bilic has spoken about individual errors. But when they
keep happening, it suggests that structural and tactical flaws are undermining
decent players. The organisation and discipline has gone out of the window,
which is why they collapsed after Southampton took the lead. The lifeless style
of play is reminiscent of the performances that toppled Pardew in 2006 - but
unlike the Baby Bentley team, I don't think there is a major problem with this
squad's attitude. It's more that they look lost on the pitch, as though they're
not enjoying playing football. How much of that comes back to Bilic and his
tactics?
Ultimately
it's not easy to pin down what style of football Bilic wants to implement and
they often struggled against the 'lesser' sides. That was worrying - those
results against the top teams weren't flukes but a side like West Ham is
reliant on so many things to go right in order to win at Arsenal, City and
Liverpool. They improved in the summer, West Ham didn't and repeating those
wins becomes tougher to pull off. The worrying thing is how broken they look at
the moment. It's the whole team, not just the defence. They don't look like
they know how to attack at the moment and Bilic is struggling to work out his
best 11. There is quality in the squad - they're not at 02/03 or 10/11 levels,
far from it - but it's not working right now.
They've got four points largely
because of Payet's brilliace against Boro and Harry Arter's rush of blood to
the head in the Bournemouth game, when West Ham looked bereft of ideas before
the red card.
Probably not the answer. Unless the question is "Name a redheaded Turkish man"
The H List: Apart
from the ultra-obvious answer of building the team around Gokhan Tore, what’s
the silver bullet?
Dan Silver: The team needs to be rebuilt from a defensive foundation,
starting with Randolph in goal. Adrian veers between over-confidence and
neurotic calamities and could do with knowing his league starting place isn’t
guaranteed.
Then
Slaven needs to pick a back four and stick with it (injuries permitting, of
course). I’m convinced Reid’s loss of form is at least partly due to his
constantly changing centre back partner. My current choice would be Arbeloa -
Reid - Ogbonna - Cresswell.
The
midfield needs to be anchored around Obiang. Neither Kouyate or Noble have the
necessary attributes or dedication to play as proper holding midfielders, and
their lack of defensive nous heaps pressure on centre backs already exposed by
rampaging full-backs.
Noble
warrants a whole chapter to himself. His performances this season don’t justify
his place in the side, and there’s little evidence so far this season of his
ability to lead the team on the pitch. I’d drop him and give Kouyate the
midfield general role.
Finally
I’d move Payet inside and play out and out wingers - Antonio and Feghouli, say
- on either flank and instruct the full-backs to show more restraint going
forward.
Jacob Steinberg: Payet getting fitter? A run for Pedro Obiang? Andy Carroll
and Diafra Sakho returning? Aaron Cresswell, so important to offensively and
defensively, coming back? Winston Reid remembering how to defend? One going in
off Simone Zaza's arse?
Looking at it optimistically, Bilic has to hope it's down to
confidence. That's easier to overcome than a simple lack of talent.
Emily
Pulham:
Get everyone
fit, introduce the players to each other so that they have an idea of who is
playing around them on the pitch and don’t be afraid to try different things to
find solutions. The team line up against Middlesborough was odd (and sounded
better if you read it upside down) but it was an improvement. Don’t play the
best players; play the best team combinations.
Terry Land: Turning our
form around may well require a change of manager. As mentioned, a settled back
four and proper holding midfielder are essential.
I believe we have missed Diafra Sakho badly. His
movement, goal threat, and work-rate were all crucial to our big results last
season. And I cannot for a second imagine we’d be talking about silver bullets
if we hadn’t got rid of Joey O’Brien.
The answer - says Terry
The H List: What
did you think of the Club's transfer business in the summer?
Emily
Pulham: I
loved it at the time - I thought there were some excellent signings there!
We’ve been so unlucky with injuries to Andre Ayew and Arthur Masuaku - but I am
genuinely surprised at Simone Zaza and Gokhan Tore’s failure to fit into the
side. I expected more from them.
Terry Land: Summer business was
poor. I was criticised after writing a negative blog on the subject but reckon so far I’ve been vindicated.
Sofiane
Feghouli is a good player and I believe Arthur Makuasu has the potential to put
Aaron Cresswell under healthy pressure at left-back. Otherwise, none of our
signings improved the side or put existing places in jeopardy.
Jacob Steinberg: Not great, especially with Benteke starting well at
Palace. I have sympathy with that one, though, because he has had bad injuries
in the past and would not necessarily have represented value for money.
It's a shame. Everything worked last summer but it's not
quite clicked this time round. But they should have signed a right-back earlier
and seemed to lack focus. All those right wingers? Where do they fit in? After
the talk of a top striker, they've gambled with Zaza and Calleri, and Fletcher
is a kid. I don't think Zaza or Calleri are as bad as has been made out –
Calleri has ... something – but they don't look like the answer. Feghouli has a
good track record, though, and Ayew could be a success when he's back.
Dan
Silver: On
the surface, the strategy - sign a world class striker and build a squad
capable of competing in both the Premier and Europa Leagues - was sound.
Unfortunately the execution was abysmal.
The
search for a striker, seemingly conducted via the chairman’s teenage son’s
Twitter account, became an embarrassment. There’s absolutely no shame in being
rejected by the likes of Lacazette, Bacca and Batshuayi; we have to be
realistic about West Ham’s standing in the global market. However, publishing
every cough and spit of their protracted pursuits on social media harmed not
only the club’s reputation but also attempts to sign other targets. And that
road, as we found out to our cost, ends at Simone Zaza’s door.
The
dual team approach was, of course, undone by the team’s failure to qualify for
the group stage of the Europe League. I believe if Tore, Nordveidt, Feghouli,
Calleri and co were playing regularly relatively low-stress,
confidence-boosting midweek matches against beatable opposition, we’d be seeing
the kind of performances their records suggest they are more than capable of.
Instead, we now have a bloated squad of unhappy, out of form players who have
already been written off by much of the fan base.
The H List: I'm
definitely guilty of this - of the players you mention, I think I'm only still
on board the Feghouli wagon which, even as I say it out loud, seems ludicrous
just 7 league games into the season. How do you think this all plays out in
January, with particular reference to Zaza and this odd deal we have where we
have to buy him once he starts a certain number of games?
Dan
Silver: At
the risk of stating the obvious, a lot depends on how the players perform
between now and then. Zaza is the big concern for me. Despite all the evidence
to the contrary, I had reasonably high hopes for him when he joined. My eldest
even has his name on the back of his shirt (and, yes, he has genuinely asked
for another one for Christmas).
In
retrospect, the deal we struck looks eminently sensible. Zaza now has a set
number of games to prove he can adapt to the Premier League or the club can
chalk him off as a failed £5m gamble - no small beer, of course, but preferable
to a £25m failure with however many years’ worth of wages on top.
If -
and it’s a big one, obviously - Carroll, Sakho and Ayew return fit, stay
healthy and play to their not inconsiderable abilities then we won’t need Zaza
anyway. And there’s always Fletcher and Calleri - who I have the sneaking
suspicion will come good with time and patience - to add to the mix as well, so
I think we’ll be fine for forwards whatever.
The
Tore situation is definitely one to watch. Most fans wouldn’t be too upset if
we curtailed his loan before the end of the season but as we all know he is
very much Bilic’s man and it will be interesting to see how much of a fight he
puts up to keep him at the club. Reading between the lines of that saga should
reveal a lot about the power balance at the club.
Terry Land: There is seldom good business to be had
in the January transfer window but a substantial outlay may prove necessary.
How
long does Bilic have to turn things around?
Dan
Silver: As we’ve already found out to our cost, the
Daves don’t tend to sack managers mid-season - not even managers as bad as
Avram Grant, so I can’t imagine how bad it would have to get before they called
Slaven into boardroom to pick up his P45.
Perhaps
being in the bottom three at Christmas would force the board’s hands but I
envisage Slaven steadying the ship and sailing reasonably steadily through to
the end of the season.
I’m
not so sure he’ll be setting sail next term, mind. Things haven’t seemed the
same at the club since he embarked upon his pig-headed - and utterly wrong -
Antonio at full-back experiment and the nagging suspicion he fluked last
season’s success is starting to hang heavy in the air.
David
Sullivan has been roundly criticised for not backing his manager by inserting
that relegation release clause into his first contract and holding fire on
offering a new one in the summer but both those decisions are looking eminently
sensible now.
Jacob Steinberg:
Not long.
Emily Pulham: He can have more time from me - and I’m not putting a
limit on it. We’re an unsettled club, the last thing we need right now is to
cause more instability by changing manager. He’s a great manager - he’ll turn
this around.
Terry
Land: I’m not sure. If the manager does receive the tintack, not only will
the club need to re-paint Dimitri Payet slogan outside the ground, we’ll need
to think up new words to the song.
However, you know a manager is feeling the
heat when he's speaking in September of the next three games as
"cup finals" - and especially when one of them is against the might
of Accrington Stanley.
A
notable feature of Bilic’s managerial career has been a marked decline
following relative early success, and that tricky second album/season proving
especially problematic. The obvious parallel to be made is the utter mess
Roberto Martinez made of Everton following Davids Moyes’ steady if undramatic
improvements. Just as Bobby Brown Shoes didn’t understand how teams start from
a defensive base with leaders all over the pitch, nor does Super Slav.
If
I were the owners and on-the-field events don’t markedly improve I’d be looking
at mid-December following our bad fixtures to get another man in and make the
most of the bounce new blood often provides. If Bilic makes it to the New Year
he will probably last the season.
The H List: I get what you're saying
there - why 'waste' any bounce on those November fixtures where we're going to
get obliterated anyway. My concern - is that too late though? Can we afford to wait?
If we carry on as we have been, we'll be toast by mid-December.
Terry
Land: Good
question - but I'd think the owners would be very conscious of three things.
Firstly
they've said in the past they think they could have given Steve Bruce more time
at Birmingham, even if that's weighed against not sacking Avram Grant at
Christmas. More important I think, though is that Slaven Bilic is
"their" man and unlike Sam Allardyce they invested in him all manner
of attributes regarding the West Ham way and his past with the club.
Now,
that may have been partly to disguise he was the least good of the candidates
we were linked with at the time - and his CV was pretty thin without that
history. But equally, they may feel they will take some of the stick should
they sack him. His is popular with fans and I heard his name sung at the
Middlesbrough game.
I
would hope they are already putting feelers out about a replacement and it
could depend on the quality of any replacement. Guus Hiddink, Louis van Gaal
and Roberto Mancini are all out of work - but I'm not sure any of them would
want to come into such a fractious environment. It may take the reality of a
relegation battle to sink in with fans before the club act.
"Wait, is he playing Antonio as a right back?"
Complete
this sentence: West Ham will finish (xx) and will be managed next year by
(insert name) in front of an average crowd of (xxxxxx).
Dan
Silver: West
Ham will finish 12th and will be managed next year by Slaven Bilic in front of
an average crowd of over 50,000.
Emily
Pulham: West
Ham will finish 12th and will be managed next year by Slaven Billic in front of
an average crowd of 59,000.
Jacob Steinberg: West Ham will finish 12th and will be managed next year by
Sam Allardyce in front of an average crowd of 35,000.
Terry Land: Two scenarios here, what I’d like and
what I expect.
Scene One: Finish eighth under Guus Hiddink in front of sell-out crowds.
Scene two: Finish 17th under Steve Bruce and Julian Dicks in front of 30,000.
I leave you to decide which is heart and head or which one to put your mortgage on.
Scene One: Finish eighth under Guus Hiddink in front of sell-out crowds.
Scene two: Finish 17th under Steve Bruce and Julian Dicks in front of 30,000.
I leave you to decide which is heart and head or which one to put your mortgage on.
The H List: You’re out of your
mind Terry – we’re going to finish 12th.
So there you have it. My sincere thanks to each of Dan, Emily, Terry and Jacob for giving up their time and letting me pester them for their thoughts.
Cheers Roy
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