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Have West Ham United Got Their Summer Business Wrong?

West Ham's Slaven Bilic

After an entertaining campaign last time around, Slaven Bilic’s West Ham United are struggling to find positivity this season in the domestic league. They were thrown out of the Europa League at the qualifying stage and have just not been able to find any kind of consistency in their game this season. They currently sit in the 17th place in the points table, with just 10 points from 10 games and the pressure is mounting by the day on the manager to take them back into the top half of the table. There are a few reasons why the Hammers have been mediocre this season but many seem to believe that the summer transfer business from the manager is at fault for this downfall.

With almost every team in the league spending big on transfer targets, Slaven Bilic also managed to rope in some decent players in the summer transfer window. Andre Ayew, Alvaro Arbeloa, Sofiane Feghouli, Havard Nordtveit and Simone Zaza are a few of the players that joined the club in the offseason but if the first 10 games of the season are anything to go by, none of the players purchased in the summer have made the Hammers a better outfit.

Slaven Bilic is a manager who loves his team to stay solid at the back and wait for mistakes to pounce on them during a game. However, this season, they have not been able to sit back and defend and are in need of players who can break defenses and score goals consistently for the side. But the Hammers were dealt a huge blow early in the season after summer signing Ayew picked up a nasty injury. Andy Carroll has also failed to keep himself fit while Simone Zaza has failed to make any kind of an impact on the squad.

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None of the 13 players that have come into the side in the summer have been able to break into the first team at the club, leaving the side with a similar set up from the previous season. Bilic showed confidence in his squad in the summer and bought a number of people who would act as a back up when needed, especially in a season that could have seen them play in Europe. However, 10 games into the new season, he has not been able to confidently use any of the new players and has stuck to a similar starting XI from the previous season, but trying different combinations and personnel in different positions.

The manager could be held responsible for his failure to add any quality to his first team but just 10 games into the new season, it would be harsh to term every player a disappointment. There are a couple who will return from injury stronger while a few are just starting to adjust to the conditions in the country. Surely Bilic will hope that most his summer signings come to life in the later parts of the season.

Do you think Bilic was wrong in his transfer dealings in the summer?