Arsenal legend turned pundit Paul Merson has slammed West Ham United’s lack of progress this season.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
Slaven Bilic has endured a tough second season in East London, a stark contrast to his record breaking debut campaign which saw the Hammers finish just four points off the Champions League places.
West Ham have flirted with relegation at times but secured their survival with a 1-0 win over fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur and ended the campaign on a high with an impressive 2-1 win at Burnley last time out.
West Ham’s struggles throughout the season has seen Bilic’s future become the frequent subject of intense media speculation with the likes of Jaap Stam, Roberto Mancini, Rafa Benitez, Slavisa Jokanovic and most recently Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi tipped to replace him in various reports.
West Ham United owners David Gold and David Sullivan
Speculation has not been helped by the refusal of co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold to offer the Croatian a new contract.
That is despite many fans and pundits feeling Bilic has done a good job in difficult circumstances this season with injuries, the Olympic Stadium move, the Dimitri Payet saga and poor recruitment taking its toll.
And Merson feels it is the latter which has seen them blow a massive opportunity, labelling their transfer business ‘atrocious’ when assessing West Ham’s season on Sky Sports.
“I was disappointed with them,” Merson told Sky Sports.
“I thought in the next three or four years, with all the money they didn’t have to spend on the stadium, they might be able to invest in players and challenge for the top four.
West Ham had a massive opportunity with their cut price move to the Olympic Stadium
“But their signings have been bordering on atrocious at the highest level. That needs to be sorted out in a big way and it’s important they recruit well. But I expected them to be a lot better than they were.”
Merson is not the first to criticise West Ham’s transfer conduct and dealings.
West Ham’s recruitment of players like Robert Snodgrass has been poor
Jamie Carragher has hit out at co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold for making too much noise.
The former Liverpool legend also claimed average players see West Ham as a soft target and feel they can ‘talk their way into a move’ to the club.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
