In ‘new EPL’, West Ham dreaming of Europe
Bilic says: Clubs like us with money, we all have bigger room to improve
SO is this a flash in the pan like 30 years ago? Not since 1986 have West Ham United approached the final nine games of a season with such a glorious opportunity.
That was the campaign when Frank McAvennie and Tony Cottee scored 46 league goals between them, with Ray Stewart and Alvin Martin marshalling the defence and Alan Dickens providing the artistry from midfield. That group, which finished third with 84 points, continues to be revered.
But that year was out of the ordinary. In the ensuing three decades, West Ham have finished in the top half of the table on only six occasions. There have been three relegations and, since the turn of the century, their highest finish has been ninth.
Why, then, should we believe Slaven Bilic’s class of 2016 can keep going? It was a question the Croatian manager considered after West Ham had pulled off one of the comebacks of the season, clawing back a twogoal deficit to beat Everton 3-2. His answer was illuminating.
This, he feels, is the season in which the sands have shifted. His side, along with pacesetters Leicester City, have shown the established order they will no longer have things their own way. A new order, Bilic feels, is emerging.
“Look at it, if big teams like Manchester City and Chelsea want to buy a striker,” Bilic explained, “say City want to buy Karim Benzema. But they have Sergio Aguero already, so there is no big gap for them to improve. There is no big space to get much better.
“Chelsea? Say they can sell Diego Costa and they then buy Robert Lewandowski. But (those strikers) are only different, not better. That’s why I think this is a permanent shift at the top – at least I hope it is! Clubs like us with the money – Crystal Palace, West Brom, Leicester – we can all still improve. Two years ago, maybe West Brom would have had to sell Saido Berahino. Now they can keep him.
“Crystal Palace can keep Yohan Cabaye and bring in another one. So us and those teams, we all have a bigger room to improve. Our story this season is very good. Leicester’s is miraculous.”
It is little wonder West Ham fans are daring to dream that Bilic can squeeze even more improvement from this group. In years gone by, a 2-0 deficit with 13 minutes to go would have seen them fold.
But this Hammers side have come from behind to earn 12 points this season, while Everton have squandered 14 from winning positions.
Bilic admitted that had Everton gone 30 up, all hope would have been lost – but when Romelu Lukaku missed a penalty at 2- 0, the mood inside Goodison Park changed and West Ham tore into their hosts. “We were a little bit too sexy in the first half,” said Bilic, whose decision to introduce Andy Carroll at halftime was key. “We were not clinical or good enough in the box. But my players know they were better, and they had it.”
First Michail Antonio, then substitute Diafra Sakho and finally Dimitri Payet plundered the goals that mean talk of West Ham being involved in the final push for a Cham- pions League place is not some flight of fancy.
The magical Payet, of course, will be the subject of countless compliments – the song West Ham fans sing for him suggests they can scarcely believe he is their player – but the role of others in this success, such as Mark Noble, Cheikhou Kouyate and Aaron Cresswell, should not be overlooked.
“I believe in our players and our squad,” said Noble. “The team spirit is phenomenal. We had a tough game against Sunderland, then our biggest derby against Spurs. We dug those results out and did the same against Everton.”
While West Ham can now attack the final nine matches with relish, Everton’s year continues to be a wretched disappointment. Bilic said they have “one of the best squads on paper” but they were horribly careless once again and Roberto Martinez is finding the spotlight turning on him.
He complained that referee Anthony Taylor was in some way culpable for this defeat – Martinez accused him of “not understanding football” after he sent off Kevin Mirallas – but that was nonsense and seven defeats at home shows a deeper issue.
Is Martinez the man to fix it? With Iranian billionaire Farhad Moshiri bringing investment, the manager knows he will be under scrutiny.
“We are in the Premier League, it is the most ruthless league in world football and we all know that,” said Martinez. “Fortunately I have got seven years of experience in this league and I know what it takes.”