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Bilic, his tactics and the need for good football

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 07/08/2017 - 08:45

reading Bilic's remarks after the city loss, he says basically that to have any sort of chance against big teams you have to have all your players fit, and you have to make no mistakes at the back. whilst i agree with him on the latter, I'm not so sure this is the right approach. we are a premier league side, we are in the league to compete. I'm just not a believer in all this defeatism when we are up against big sides. basically he's saying unless we have a fully fit squad and some luck we won't beat anyone 'better than us'. correct me if I'm wrong but is his job not to ensure that when we play bigger clubs that he finds a way to gain advantages elsewhere? what i mean is and you can take a leaf from allardyce on this, there is more to the game than trying to play 'good football'. it worries me that we have just become a nothing sort of club now. we converted from the drab direct stuff of allardyce but now we have become a southampton or a watford perhaps…a team that plays the same way as the big clubs but has nothing near the same in quality of players. the result - its going to be a tonking 9 times out of 10. Bilic made an impact in his first season, he transformed us from the direct style into a counter attack side that even the big sides struggled against..why? because there was a game plan that played on their weaknesses. many times last year i watched in horror as we took to the field against city and co trying to play basically the same way they set out to play. i had hoped bilic would take the summer to reflect and to decide on his tactics and plans etc. pre season tells me he's learnt nothing in this area. someone like benitez will adapt his line ups, his style to look for ways to win matches, bilic seems to have become a poor mans guardiola, sending the same line up out match after match to play the same way regardless. once in a while you will get lucky, things will go your way…but overall you will be a nothing side, getting thrashed here and there and having mourinho and conte saying 'we played good football' after they take us to the cleaners and looking forward to the 3 points in the return. i may be old school, but managers of the past, especially those english ones of old were tacticians as well as coaches. putting an extra midfielder in there to do a particular job, i.e. close out a play maker, playing two up front to press a weak defender etc. i know i play too much FM these days and maybe get carried away but i hated it when Zola would give a press conference before a big match and say we've got no chance, mind games maybe but he did it so many times it just sent a message of why are we bothering. lets not forget this is a sport, a game of competitors . the balance of power favours those with the most money but there are points to be taken from tactical approaches. it doesnt have to be pretty, but it does need to be effective. i don't mean throwing andy carroll on with 10 mins to go and hoofing it up to him desperately after going 4-0 down at home to city…i mean some real thinking and planning. maybe it was simply luck in his first season but he had a plan that worked on several big clubs, the pace and power troubled them at the back…..so why did we abandon this in search of a more 'total football' approach? Slaven please wake up man, we don't want anymore 5-0 home defeats to city and co this season…we want to compete against them all. get it done.

mcbikeman's picture

when your sides had a go but to many times last year we set up just to not get beat or beaten heavily without trying to win home or away and i think bilic's confidence went with the watford home game last season 2-0 up cruising then whole team fell apart and we lost 2-4 from that match forwards we stopped playing the football bilic was lorded for in his first season...much as i hate to say it i would be surprised if he makes it to the end of september...we all no this sunday we could not of asked for a tougher fixture than manure away and lukaku home debut but going up there already beaten is unacceptable..like i said fans are not stupid and understand if we get beat thats football but i like any fan of any club will not accept not even trying to win no matter who you play.

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301 users have voted.

A lot of bilics "success" on his first season was built on an unseen top season from Payet so many points were rescued mainly thro payets good season and not around any football tactics from bilic. He is still trying to dine out on it. It was Payet who pulled out the points and dragged players confidence along with him not bilic.

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273 users have voted.

He also bought Payet, Lanzini and Antonio. It's a strange argument that a manager dines out on the success of a player he brought in, isn't that the point? if he'd have bought Payet and he'd have been a flop it's his fault, of he buys him and he succeeds it's not his doing. So if Lukaku wins the league for Man U, all their fans will be congratulating the Glazers and not Mourinho I take it?

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300 users have voted.

Bilic didn't want Antonio Betty, he wanted Moses that's why he didn't want to know Antonio at first. But I see what you are saying but take Payet out and we probably finish and play the way we did last season. My point is it's more than just who you bring in as you have no idea how they will play. Its formation, tactics improving players tactical subs etc etc. he could never have known Payet would have been such a success. If Payet had played more like Lanzini in his first season people wouldnt be cutting him so much slack. So inshort he got lucky it wasn't anything bilic did outside of buying a player that turned out a success. On the flip side he wanted tore, and zaza. I'm looking for something more from bilic. Good organised defence, clear formation and tactics, improving players we have and giving a few minutes to the youth and not disregarding them just because they are young. I'm biased but I say outside of a couple of decent signings he has done very little for us on the pitch. As for your mourinho point of course we give him credit, he has proved his salt time and again, we could argue that bilic has proved very little at any club.

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193 users have voted.
hammergirl's picture

most assuredly is hovering over slavs head and i do think the board will be swift to use it if we start badly.....we need to be more adventurous at home and if a disaster occurs against huddersfield in our first home match and live on tv then that will be it for him i feel

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304 users have voted.

Like someone else said, I can't believe that Bilic is being touted for the sack, before a ball is kicked. I think there's bit too much fantasy football being played by a lot of orgers these days, reality is getting skewed. He had a good first season, then his best player gets caught out cheating and made to go home. If that had happened to any of the top teams they would struggled too. He couldn't legislate for that, but we still finished mid table, where most pYING fans see us. Anyway for the sake of debate, if his days are numbered, that means they would gave someone lined/tapped up already. As much as people think the owners are morons, crap, porno-kings, Driscolls etc... they have accumulated huge wealth, running businesses, so they won't get rid of Bilic without someone else to come in. So who do we think that is ? That person would have to have Prem experience because you can't risk a newcomer. All the good ones are employed and all the crap ones are looking for work. Hernandez might not be happy either as part of his reason for joining us was Bilic, so I'm not sure how that plays out. The only manager I can see replacing him is Benitez, but he's employed for now. However in your reckoning if we are languishing at Xmas he'll be gone too. I just don't think there are enough "just outside the top six managers" out there for you guys. You'll burn through them all in about 2 seasons. You never know we might do well and have a good season!? slap slap slap "WE'LL HAVE NONE OF THAT TALK ON HERE!!!"

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306 users have voted.

Betty(or indeed anyone), genuine question. Outside of buying players, what in your opinion has bilic done for us that has been good for our club on the field? Just curious.

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273 users have voted.

Well as a manger doesn't play on the pitch that's a tough one. As you've taken away a big part of his job which is to buy players, again it's limited. I think he tries to change things if they're not working. I think he tries different formations so he's not stuck in one way of playing. I think he's passionate, doesn't sit there chewing gum looking disinterested like the last bloke. I think that apart from Benitez I can't think of anyone else I'd like or want to take a risk on if I'm honest. I think that you guys, that maybe aren't at games have a very detached perspective about Bilic and the team. I don't want to start a "those that go" and those that don't " war, but I think we have very different experiences. To your horror there's a large section the crowd who cant "SuperSlav", even Payet's song mentioned him. I just think if you're more detached on match days there's a tendency to look at things very black and white and stat like, without the human emotion. You'd be happy to get rid of him now, even though he's brought in 4 internationals and three of them major trophy winners. To me that's nonsense or crazy talk, or something born out of a fantasy detached perception of football. Give him a chance to fail before you wrote him off. His signings might click and you can put the knives away for a few months.

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323 users have voted.

Slav is exactly the kinda manager who I'm preying will prove me wrong, sadly I don't see any evidence yet to suggest it. Harsh maybe and I'm sure I'm the only one who thinks it on here but I think he is stealing a living.

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354 users have voted.
Cathammer's picture

First three games away from home, has to be given time. Worried a small bit about our defence but with new signings clicking together hopefully, I think we will do alright. As for pessimism Betty, as Fr Ted would say.. Down with that sort of thing.

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304 users have voted.

And above all as a person he is not arrogant,& always gives credit to the other side if they have been the better side on the day (unlike a certain previous manager)!!

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331 users have voted.

Tbf passion and lack of arrogance don't give our team anything on the pitch? They are not really a commodity for the improvement of the team so I don't see them as a reason to keep. I was happy to get rid of bilic b4 the end of the season. So his 4 new signings are irrelevant to that argument for me. I get the point the crowd like him but fans always give one of their own more slack than an outsider. For anyone to suggest we need to give him a chance, he has had 2 seasons! Taking away transfers is such a big part of it? Well if so should it be? I'm sure we all agree that there is a lot more to managing than buying players. There has even talk that he has trouble man managing players. Teams like city and Chelsea can afford to buy endless expensive players, we can't! So our mangers need to bring a bit more to the table in terms of coaching in general. Only an opinion of course but what bilic brings on that side is very little and no more than every average manager. Personally like you say it's Benitez for me to, but it's easy for us to say. I want to see a manager who has improved the team based on what he has been doing during the week. Much as I hate Sam, you could see he had worked on things during the week and we had a clear plan. I get your points on going to matches, maybe fans at the game get caught up the the emotion? Or they prefer bilic to the board. I'm happy to pay the money if we are playing decent football but the crap we offered for over 90 per cent of last season doesn't warrant the price and effort to go and watch it. Give me a decent game to watch and I'd be there like a shot.

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277 users have voted.

Count for much,but ive always said that slav is a breath of fresh air compared to most of todays egotistical managers...
But it will count for nothing if we dont have a great season,be a case of "next - hop on board!!"

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312 users have voted.

Like i said in another post,as much as i feel at the moment its a bit too early to talk of sacking slav,its a results business & a dodgy first few months & he will be out the door...
Good point you make about not feeling too sorry for them,they are hardly destitute when a job ends....

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218 users have voted.

Slav is a good guy, he represents West Ham in a good way unlike the last bloke, but if we start the season unfit and undercooked like last season he will have learnt nothing, only time will tell on that one.

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332 users have voted.
asheshammer's picture

Like most of you, I hate the "lowering expectations" talk of "unless we're perfect we can't beat team X." I hated it most when Zola descended into darkness, lost his smile, and nervously rotated golf balls (or ping pong balls or something) in his hand. You knew at that moment that this likeable guy who started out well, and could (for a while) get the best out of players, had been crushed into submission by the "reality" of the big time. But once crushed, you don't get up. Allardyce, much as I hated his anti-football at the end, was never crushed like this. He sometimes couldn't be arsed to put in an effort against City (in the Cup for example), but he was always arrogant as hell, and if he thought he could nick a point, he would do it with relish. For me the biggest problem with Allardici was that he played too cautiously against weak opposition. Slave now has the look of someone who has been crushed. Not as bad a Zola, but he just doesn't any longer have any of that cagey, snappy, honest bravura that he used to have in his first season. He seems to lack enthusiasm, and seems not to be putting in the time required to figure out a way to beat teams. Worst of all he is now wearing GLASSES! How dare he!

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341 users have voted.

Perhaps Slav is too nice? Nice guys finish last? Both cliches but I suppose you have got to be a tough bar steward and ruthless to go anywhere in this business.

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228 users have voted.
hammergirl's picture

were shoddy...yes it was man utd away but to basically play for a draw from the off was never going to work...Arthur was poor arnautavic could not cross a ball for toffee today the midfield was well shocking..yes I know we have injuries but come on that is no excuse for that kind of display.

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276 users have voted.
harrythehammers's picture

Our problem second half was that we didnt have a midfield. Looked better when rice came on but most of the others had given up by then

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242 users have voted.

For all people saying Noble needs to be dropped etc... Obiang, Fernandes and Ayew basically left Noble to cover the entire midfield.

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307 users have voted.

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