West Ham Fan View: A much-needed win but performances must improve
West Ham 1-0 Swansea. We finally move out of the relegation zone following Diafra Sakho’s late winner. Here are three things that we learnt from the win…
Slaven Bilic gave the fans what they wanted, but it didn’t work
Since Andy Carroll’s return, we all had questions over his role in the team and how he would link up with Javier Hernandez. Slaven Bilic opted for Hernandez to play out wide in recent games though today we played a 4-4-2 with Carroll and Hernandez partnering each other up front.
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The fans finally got what what they wanted. But we did not test Swansea’s defence enough and it was clear that this was something that has to be worked on more. It’s difficult to ignore that they had little to work with given the absence of a creative midfielder though the return of Manuel Lanzini will undoubtedly help.
It was another poor performance despite the win
Bilic has now tried multiple formations and players though the result has been the same for the majority of our games. We have failed to put in a convincing performance. We were unlucky late on in the game with Carroll’s shot hitting the bar but we did fail to create top-quality chances throughout the game.
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Our performance did improve when Lanzini was subbed on and it is clear that if he is not on the pitch, we will struggle to win games such as these. He glided through the midfield and his energy and vision allowed us to attack with purpose. Lanzini is finally back.
Arthur Masuaku to play left-wing?
Arthur Masuaku’s performance from the bench against Tottenham last week had many calling for him to start this week. This didn’t happen with Bilic choosing to start Aaron Cresswell though Masuaku put in another great performance this week having come on in the 78th minute.
Like last week, it was his attacking threat and stunning delivery which saw us score a goal and Bilic cannot keep starting him on the bench. Given his attacking quality, could we see Bilic play him as a LAM with Cresswell behind him?
