Security, Slaven and Strikers: What’s Hot and What’s Not at West Ham United

Everything is starting to look a little rosier in the East End of London after back-to-back wins propelled the Hammers out of the relegation zone and up to 15th place in the English Premier League.

A tinkering of the formation from Slaven Bilic has worked wonders to help guide the Irons to back-to-back clean sheets to help wrestle back some pride. Switching to wing-backs and three in the back is a go to for the Croatian when needing a result having played with that formation back in that famous 1-0 win over Tottenham at the Boleyn Ground last year.

And it bailed him out of jail again when he reverted to his 3-4-3 formation as goals from Manuel Lanzini at Selhurst Park helped the Hammers to a 1-0 win with ten-men against Crystal Palace and a last-gasp Winston Reid strike stole three points for the Irons at the London Stadium against struggling Sunderland at the weekend.

West Ham United are by no means out the woods yet after their stuttering start, but the Hammers faithful are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel as Bilic and his staff start to turn their season around ahead of some horror upcoming fixtures.

So what have been the successes and failures in the recent weeks of support West Ham on and off the pitch?

Here are SHOOT‘s David Bowden’s What’s Hot and What’s Not for the Hammers…

HOT – Pedro Obiang

The Spanish midfielder has finally broken into the starting line-up and is showing that he should never have been away with some calm and classy performances at the heart of the midfield.

The former Sampdoria man has added some vital stability to a team that was leaking goals; he breaks the play up nicely and plays the simple ball to relieve any pressure.

He is the defensive midfielder the Hammers have been crying out for and it allows players like Lanzini, Dimitri Payet and Mark Noble to be more offensive and it has brought some crucial wins for the Irons.

NOT – Strike Force

We’re nine games into the season now and a West Ham United forward has still not bagged a goal for the Irons.

We have been unlucky in the sense that Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho have been missing through injury, but in Simone Zaza, Ashley Fletcher and Jonathan Calleri, the Hammers have three strikers who should be performing better with the service they receive.

All three look bereft of confidence, with the trio looking to pass rather than shoot in promising positions, you feel that one goal for Zaza will open the floodgates as he is just trying too hard to break his duck at the minute. But it is a real concern for Slaven and his staff.

HOT – The Defence

Back-to-back clean sheets in a new formation is a credit to the back ‘five’.

Winston Reid looks back to his best and is beginning to lead the central back three, Cheikhou Kouyaté has slotted into centre-halve and hasn’t looked out of place and has indeed outperformed his more experienced duo in terms of aerial duels won and interceptions.

Aaron Cresswell returned against Palace and was a revelation at left wing-back grabbing himself an assist in the process. These are promising signs for the Irons and we can only hope that we can continue to keep it tight at the back.

NOT – Stadium Security

Hopefully, this will be my last rant on the stadium, as I must admit it is slowly getting there.

And Wednesday night’s test against Chelsea will be it’s biggest test of all. But after every game now, I am seeing or hearing that violence has flared up around the away exit at the London Stadium, and this is against teams we have no real rivalry with, teams like Middlesbrough and Sunderland, so these are worrying times for when teams like Tottenham and Chelsea come to town.

Not only that, but the queuing to get into Stratford Station after the game is at times a joke, too. On Saturday, it took around 40 minutes to get from the ground to the station and mercifully Reid has bagged a late winner so the atmosphere in the queue was quite light-hearted and there was even some rare banter between the fans and the security.

But, had the Irons had lost that match, it could have been carnage.

HOT – Slaven Bilic

The Croatian has come under some pressure from the media for the Irons slow start to the campaign, but he has tinkered with the formation and has brought us seven vital points from the last three games to ease any worries.

They may not have been the majestic exciting performances we saw last year, in fact at times they were real nail biters, but they were crucial points on the board for the Irons and his tactical awareness and bravery have to be applauded.

Come on you Irons!