Three wins in a row is not something easy to come by in the Premier League this season as even powerhouses Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal have struggled to achieve that in recent weeks.
Slaven Bilic’s West Ham are currently 11th in the table, four points adrift of 7th placed Everton which is a big relieve to the fans and coach having battled with relegation since the beginning of the season, recording only three wins in their first 15 league games. This early season dismal form is in sharp contrast to their buccaneering form last season which saw them beat the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal finishing 6th at the end of the season. While Bilic was applauded for playing an impressive attacking football with Dmitri Payet and Lanzini in the Hammers attacking engine room creating chances for teammates, it hasn’t been the case this season with West Ham struggling in attack scoring only 23 goals in 18 games. Bilic is yet to find his ideal target man, judging from the form of the likes of Andy Carroll (always injured and struggling with form and fitness), Diafra Sahko (inconsistent), Fletcher (young and not yet up to the quality required) and Simon Zaza (incompatible with Bilic’s style). It is also surprising that West Ham have created 187 chances this season with the attackers unable to finish off those chances. Payet on his own has not dipped contrary to what has been written about him considering he is the player that has created most chances in the league so far (67), which buttresses the point that West Ham must start scoring goals in order to escape relegation this season as 18th placed Sunderland are eight points adrift.
Having conceded 32 goals in 18 games with 13 coming from set-pieces it is clear that West Ham are poor at the back as their goal difference of -9 is the worst in the league with the exception of four other teams. Bilic’s side have surely missed the defensive and attacking presence of Carl Jenkinson who returned to parent club Arsenal in the summer and whose forward marauding runs kept opposition wingers and full-backs on their toes unable to come forward. In the opposite wing, Cresswell (last season’s best left-back with the exception of Tottenham’s Danny Rose) missed majority of the games this season and is just returning to match fitness. The centre-back pairing of Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna has been slow most times and look troubled when facing fast creative players with the game against Arsenal (Alexis Sanchez scored a hat-trick) an example.
Bilic has found his mojo back with these three straight wins and must continue to improve on the attacking front as Dede Ayew, Andy Carroll and Sofiane Feghouli have all returned from injury and ready to take the opportunity when presented to them. With just three straight wins, it surely seems the early season form of three wins in 15 league games is a distant memory for the fans and players. For now there is no better way to celebrate Christmas and New Year for Bilic than getting the results on the field of play.
Stats powered by Opta.
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