West Ham United are enduring a torrid season and fingers are being pointed in different directions.
The bubble has well and truly burst for West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
Slaven Bilic‘s side have lost eight of their opening 13 Premier League matches and look set for an unexpected relegation battle.
The Hammers were also embarrassingly dumped out of the Europa League by Romanian minnows Astra Giurgiu for the second season running.
Fans have been at each other’s throats over issues at their new 60,000 seater Olympic Stadium home and a toxic atmosphere is starting to fester at West Ham as fans grow increasingly fed up.
It is a far cry from last season when West Ham enjoyed their best ever points total of the Premier League era, recorded a first positive goal difference since 1986 and finished just four points off the Champions League places in their emotional farewell campaign at Upton Park.
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan takes a lead role in the running of the club
The wheels have well and truly fallen off this season, though, prompting some to even suggest co-owner David Sullivan was right not to hand Slaven Bilic a new contract in the wake of that fantastic debut season.
Sullivan insisted in an interview with The Mirror back in March that he wanted to wait and see that Bilic was not just a “one season wonder” first.
But make no mistake Sullivan is no Nostradamus, he has set the former Croatia boss up to fail.
Firstly the mere suggestion that you suspect the most important person at your football club might be a “one-season wonder” sends entirely the wrong message to the players.
Dimitri Payet was one of several players rewarded with new contracts for strong performances
Indeed the same didn’t apply to the likes of Dimitri Payet who were handed improved deals after just a few months of good performances.
Backing Bilic as the man to take West Ham into their new era was exactly what Sullivan should have done.
It would have sent the right message to everyone connected with the club and the media. And had things still gone drastically wrong at worst it would have cost Sullivan and co a little bit more in compensation to sack Bilic.
Instead his comments and his subsequent cheap and nasty transfer business has inadvertently set Bilic up to fail.
Bilic has been inadvertently set up to fail
Yes the manager would have had an input on signings one way or another, whether it be identifying them from the start or signing them off.
But we know from the kind of players Bilic was linked with in the summer and those he ended up with that West Ham hardly pushed the boat out.
Signing 13 players – 10 for the first team – most were loans and freebies and only one has come close to impressing in the shape of Edimilson Fernandes.
It borders on scandalous the vision that West Ham fans were sold compared to the reality.
And any supporter worth their salt will know that while Bilic has been found wanting this season, he was set up to fail by the actions of those in the board room more than anything else.
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