Five things we learned from West Ham United’s 2-0 defeat to Everton at the weekend.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic defeat on his return to Goodison Park
The Hammers slipped to a sixth defeat from their first 10 Premier League games at Goodison Park last time out.
The defeat was made all the more frustrating by the fact the Hammers could not make their first half dominance pay at Goodison Park with a series of missed chances.
Here are five things we learned about the Hammers from the game.
Everton’s Gareth Barry in action with West Ham United’s Manuel Lanzini
1) Confidence is still fragile despite mini-revival
West Ham showed that their confidence is still very fragile as heads visibly dropped when they conceded a sloppy goal in the second half.
Slaven Bilic’s side had won three games in a row, including that cup win over Chelsea, and were unbeaten in four going into the game.
But as soon as Lukaku put the Toffees ahead the Hammers looked beaten.
It is worrying given the mini-revival Bilic has overseen in recent weeks and supporters want to see more courage and determination from their side in those scenarios like they displayed last season.
West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini at Goodison Park
2) Some players still haven’t learned their lessons from Watford
West Ham were lambasted after their 4-2 home defeat to Watford earlier this season after throwing away a 2-0 lead.
A series of rabonas from Manuel Lanzini and Dimitri Payet at 2-0 inspired Watford to launch their remarkable comeback according to Hornets star Troy Deeney who accused Bilic’s side of ‘taking the mickey’ out of them.
But while Hammers fans want to see their side play with flair, it appears some of them haven’t learned their lesson.
At 1-0 down against Everton Lanzini was guilty again of overdoing it as he attempted a ridiculous rabona shot from outside the box rather than keeping a very dangerous attack alive.
Payet kept trying to beat players in tight positions rather than pass and keep the move going too.
West Ham United’s Simone Zaza in action with Everton’s Idrissa Gueye
3) Zaza is being readied for hasty West Ham exit
If Simone Zaza can’t get into a West Ham side that is not scoring freely and where his three rivals for a starting spot are injured or not fully fit then it doesn’t bode well.
Used as a substitute yet again in favour of winger Michail Antonio, Zaza clocked up another appearance on his way to activating the 14-game obligation to buy clause for a whopping £25 million.
That will not be allowed to happen, though, if this game is anything to go by. Bilic clearly doesn’t trust the player and with good reason, the Italian striker has not even come close to a goal with a quarter of the season gone.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman greets West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic before the match
4) Obiang proves Bilic must put the team first not the individual
One criticism that can be levelled at Bilic is that he seems afraid to upset his star players, even if they are not performing.
How Pedro Obiang, arguably West Ham’s best player at Goodison Park and certainly their best player in the last month, was withdrawn at 1-0 while the likes of Mark Noble, Dimitri Payet and Antonio stayed on the pitch was beyond most Hammers fans.
Obiang’s absence left a gaping hole in midfield which Everton quickly exploited to make it 2-0 and kill the game.
Managers like Ronald Koeman, Jurgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola make decisions for the good of the team as Koeman’s recent decision to drop Ross Berkley proves. Bilic got this one wrong and it did not go unnoticed either.
Under pressure: Bilic
5) West Ham are not out of the woods yet
While West Ham should have more than enough quality to avoid a relegation battle, their performance at Everton showed they are not out of the woods yet.
They had turned a corner and Everton is a tough place to go, especially for West Ham who have lost more to the Blues than any other club in their history.
But with a poor goal difference the Hammers are sat 16th in the table just three points off the bottom three and with a hellish fixture list looming in the next month including consecutive games against Spurs, a double header against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Arsenal and Liverpool.
They need to roll their sleeves up and prove they want to make a success of their season, especially after Bilic admitted even he could see the complacency in his side this season.
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