West Ham have officially confirmed today (November 6, 2017) that they have parted company with manager Slaven Bilic. The Hammers have endured a tough start to the season and despite Gold and Sullivan previously saying that they would let the 49 year old manage till the end of his contract (the end of the 17/18 season), the 4-1 loss to Liverpool that saw the Hammers drop into the relegation zone was one defeat too many for the board.
Bilic is the fourth Premier League manager to be sacked this season after Frank de Boer, Craig Shakespeare and Ronald Koeman.
Thanks for the memories Slav. You were dignified, passionate, honest and grace personified. None of us will not forget that 2015/16 season- the last one at the Boleyn that saw West Ham beat the likes of Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool, Spurs and Everton.
Bilic’s points per game record of 1.33 is the best of any permanent West Ham manager in the modern Premier League era. In the 87 games he managed, West Ham won 30, lost 31 and drew 26.
That final game at the Boleyn- to come from behind to beat Man Utd, was absolute magic.
A pity it didn’t all work out well- a mixture of some questionable tactics, transfers and board issues, but we’ll always remember you fondly.
This quote of Bilic after the sacking says volumes about the man and his love for WHUFC- “It was more than a job to me. West Ham will always be my club.”
David Moyes, despite his less than stellar stints at Sunderland and Manchester United, is the favourite to take over from Bilic.
The likes of Nikola Jurcevic, Edin Terzic, Miljenko Rak and Julian Dicks have also been asked to go- so it’s pretty much sweeping the cupboard clean at the London Stadium. Goalkeeping coach Chris Woods, who has previously worked with Moyes at both Everton and Man Utd, has however been retained, which is more evidence that the Scotsman is on his way to the club.
A pity it had to end this way, but sometimes a change is required to fix things.
How much of control he had over transfers I don’t know, but I certainly hold the board more guilty than him. We didn’t get Carvalho (those stupid leaked e-mails!), and Hernandez doesn’t seem to suit our game atm. Hart will probably be gone next summer, and we’ll probably need two goalkeepers then, with Adrian also reportedly seeking an exit.