gooders 11:23 Tue May 2
Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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David Hytner
@DaveHytner
• Matches against Tottenham and Liverpool key to whether Croat will stay in job
• West Ham have been outplayed by the top clubs at home so far this season
Slaven Bilic’s future at West Ham United will be determined by how his team performs against Tottenham Hotspur on Friday night and Liverpool on Sunday week in the final two home matches of the season.
The club’s hierarchy has watched Bilic’s team labour at the London Stadium since the move there last August and they are conscious of how routinely they have been out-played by the leading sides. Manchester City took them apart in both the Premier League and the FA Cup, as did Arsenal in the league, while Manchester United and Chelsea have also beaten them in the league.
The Tottenham game is pivotal and Bilic could re-energise his tenure and be able to look towards the summer with optimism if he could oversee a good result against the club that West Ham fans most love to hate. Those supporters would love to end Tottenham’s title hopes and, if they did, it would go a long way towards ending a disappointing season on an upbeat note.
On the other hand, another bad home defeat would put Bilic’s position in jeopardy. The board of directors will review whether to persist with him at the end of the season and it is difficult to overstate how sorely he needs some positivity against Tottenham and Liverpool, with the former the most important game because of the local rivalry.
West Ham finish the season at Burnley. They have restored a measure of stability in recent weeks with a run of four matches without defeat, having lost five in a row previously and they look to have done enough to stay on the right side of the relegation cut-off. But if results were to go against them, they might need one more win to make sure.
The club’s various settling-in problems at the London Stadium have been well-documented but arguably the biggest issue to bog them down has been the lack of spark in their displays.
Bilic’s team beat Chelsea 2-1 in the EFL Cup last October – on a night when crowd trouble led to unwanted headlines – and there was the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in January, when Andy Carroll scored one of the goals of the season. Those games apart, the pickings have been slim and the picture has not been much better away from home.
There is an acceptance within the hierarchy that the club’s recruitment last summer left plenty to be desired and Bilic cannot be blamed for all of it. Of the 10 new faces to arrive, it is hard to say whether any of them have been out-and-out successes. Edimilson Fernandes has done well, at times, while Havard Nordtveit and Arthur Masuaku have shown flickers of late.
But Bilic made it plain that he wanted Gokhan Tore above anybody else and the loan signing from Besiktas has started only three league games. His decision to rely upon Michail Antonio as a right-back at the start of the season was also flawed and it left the team short in the position.
Bilic has – by and large – been able to retain the support of the fans and this has helped him during the season’s low points. He urgently needs to give them something to shout about at the end.
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Replies - Newest Posts First ( Show In Chronological Order)
Mex Martillo
6:31 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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Good, I am Bilic in and I want a big win a spurs
Will be great if we get both
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Sarge
4:51 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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alfie romeo 11:11 Wed May 3
He wanted to get Burgess Meredith in!
He's been here before - who do you think taught Kevin Keen to run like that other than The Penguin himself.....................
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Willtell
12:21 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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Exactly goose. It's a sports journalist looking for something he can dress up as news to justify his salary. Mind you I think he has guessed right and the next 2 games will have a bearing on Bilic's future...
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goose
12:03 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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nothing to see here is there?? surely the normal course of action is to review the managers performance at the end of the season?
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Trevor B
11:57 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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"They have also failed to renew a managerial contract end of season" - allardyce?
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,
11:55 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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They have fired managers but they have been end of season dismissals. They have also failed to renew a managerial contract end of season. The owners pattern looks consistent and let's hope that if they are leaning towards getting rid of Bilic they have a credible replacement lined up.
If we had just five or six more PL points so that we were top of the also rans, in eighth place, I'm convinced that Bilic's job would be safe. Especially after the season we have had.
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DP
11:52 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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The big failure for us has been not signing a decent striker and its one that has gone on for a crazy number of seasons now!
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Trevor B
11:46 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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swiss
they have fired 2 out of their 4 west ham managers.
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Swiss.
11:45 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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As already posted I'm a big fan and want to stay loyal but for me the new stadium and injuries aside his team selection has been abysmal this season. I don't think he can turn it around.
However two points. One of course we get an improvement as a replacement. Secondly history has taught us G&S aren't the firing type. So I don't expect this to happen at the end of this season.
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alfie romeo
11:43 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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claret on my shirt 11:31 Wed May 3
"We can't score goals without a forward line and spurs are on fire at the moment, you can only see one result on Friday and its not a good one for us or Bilic "
I've gotta feeling we're gonna turn them over friday. If the atmosphere is vicious, i think they could melt with so few games left. The one thing that spurs team lack is a billy big bollocks leader type that will keep shouting and encouraging them. If they get intimidated and their heads go, they will crumble. i'm sure.
It will have more to do with the crowd though than Bilic's team selection.
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Lee Trundle
11:35 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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wurzel 11:33 Wed May 3
"New owners please
Keep Bilic"
If we get new owners, Bilic would be the first one out of the door.
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Razzle
11:34 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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"West Ham have been outplayed by the top clubs at home so far this season " errr..... thats why they are the top clubs.
Genius.
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wurzel
11:33 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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New owners please
Keep Bilic
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claret on my shirt
11:31 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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We can't score goals without a forward line and spurs are on fire at the moment, you can only see one result on Friday and its not a good one for us or Bilic
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,
11:27 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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If any of us think that owners of clubs do not have their managers under constant review they are much mistaken.
Mark Hughes for example cannot feel entirely safe going forward and there is speculation that the Southampton owners are not happy with Claude Puell ( who admittedly has a hard act to follow in Ronald Koeman ).
Bilic compared to those two mentioned must be under a strong spotlight. Dismissing the manager is one thing and replacing/improving is another.
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alfie romeo
11:23 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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Trevor B 11:18 Wed May 3
"Our last two managers were an improvement on the previous ones, so why not? This isn't speculation though, it's fact that it will depend on who he is replaced with. "
It's gotta be Marco Silva. It's a no fucking brainer. And if we can't coax him from Hull, then that says everything. We deserve nothing.
Of course others can't have failed to have been impressed either. What if Arsenal came in for him? Unlikely but Wenger was a surprise appointment 20 years ago.
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The Hammers
11:21 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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We will either get Alex McLeish or Steve Bruce as our new manager.
The West Ham way.
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Trevor B
11:18 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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Our last two managers were an improvement on the previous ones, so why not? This isn't speculation though, it's fact that it will depend on who he is replaced with.
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Sir Alex
11:18 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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I'm thinking of coming out of retirement and moving to London.
I wonder what I should do there?
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DP
11:16 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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Trevor B 11:06 Wed May 3
Honestly from past experience do you hold out any hope on the next appointment??
Day 1 of new manager search:
Rumour has it West Ham will coax Alex Ferguson out of retirement.
Day 60 of new manager search:
West ham appoint Steve Bruce as new manager.
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Trevor B
11:16 Wed May 3
Re: Slaven Bilic's future hangs in balance - The Guardian
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Cus D'Amato was training boxers up until he died aged 77, he didn't have to get in the ring and box with them.
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