After the Man City defeat Blind Hammer thinks Bilic needs a rest.
A feature of West ham’s early season form is how tired and unfit the squad looks. This tiredness has extended not only to the players but has also included several recent reports that Slaven Bilic himself has looked exhausted.
I am not surprised. Last season he had to invest an enormous amount of effort into an emotionally demanding last season at Upton Park with all the drama for that this entailed. No sooner had the season finished he was instantly involved in early transfer negotiations for Nordtveit and Sofiane Feghouli. This started a summer transfer window which has been unusually unsettling with various targets relentlessly coming in and out of the West Ham talent radar.
Just when he could settle down for a relaxing couple of weeks Bilic was called in to provide expert punditry for ITV on the Euros in France. Whilst it might not seem like work sitting in a studio reflecting on football matches, You have to be mentally at the top of your game , aware that every utterance is heard judged and reflected upon by millions of football supporters. I imagine that during these Euro punditry cameos there was just as much adrenaline coursing around his system as there ever was during his playing days.
The Euros were not even finished before Bilic was off leading West Ham into a USA training camp and pre-season friendlies. From the USA he, and the squad, flew straight into another camp in Austria, travelled by a long coach journey to our first competitive Europa game in Croatia, before at last managing to fly back to the UK to prepare for a first match in the completely unfamiliar surroundings of the Olympic Stadium on August 4th.
Those of you who have started a job in a new office probably remember how tiring unfamiliarity can be until an environment becomes normal and predictable. Bilic had a double whammy to cope with though. Not only did he have to adjust to a new stadium but to a completely new Training Complex at Rush Green. It is impossible for outsiders to know conclusively, but annoying teething problems normally arise when any new facility is developed. I think it would be a miracle if using new facilities at the Stadium and the Training Ground did not hit any problems for Bilic and the team. We only have to reflect on the various teething problems we have experienced ourselves as supporters. The Stadium and new Training Ground will definitely help in the long term but Bilic and the team will have to inevitably adjust and settle down.
After the Europa tie at the London Stadium , Bilic had Barely time to draw breath before needing to organise for the Juventus game only three days later. 3 days after that he flew out to Rumania and manage during the Ostrra away Europa tie.
During all these games Bilic was assailed by injuries to key members of his squad, first Lanzini, then Cresswell, then Carroll all bit the dust. It was hardly surprising that both he and the team were already looking jaded by the Premiership opener against Chelsea. Ayew’s injury instantly ranked up the pressure on Bilic before Payet also received an immediate injury. Sacko piled the pressure on Bilic with his sulks and lack of commitment to training as this meant that we had no experienced premiership quality strikers at the club.
Now the rigours of a Premiership season allied to cup competition can be countered for players by squad rotation. Some players, Carroll comes to mind, just have bodies which give out under the strain and a rest is compulsorily instated.
For Bilic though the pressure is mental rather than physical and it is the Manager’s role, above all which cannot be rotated. This contains real risks for our season as the Manager’s wellbeing and confidence is critical to the wellbeing and confidence of his squad. A jaded Manager will in all likelihood produce a jaded squad.
Bilic’s skill, management and passion for West Ham are essential in determining how we will do this season. We need a man who is inspirational and at the top of his game. A man exhausted and strained will not be able to energise his team.
If I was in either Gold or Sullivan’s shoes I would be ordering Bilic to a Croatian beach during this International Break. He should be ordered to only turn his hone on Wednesday to OK any last minute transfer deals.
Give the bloke a rest and we should reap the rewards in weeks to come.
COYI
David Griffith
We need to look after Bilic, not drive him into the ground.
COYI
David Griffith.