5 Things Slaven Needs to Get Sorted Before Watford

West Ham have had a mixed start to the Premier League, but cannot be too disheartened. The games they have lose have been to top teams away from home, and they won the first home game. However there are a few things that need ironing out. These performances have been far from perfect.

West Ham’s Formation

I’m a big fan of adjusting to your opponents strengths, but not as dramatically as Bilic did last week. The drastic change in formation kept us on the back foot and the personnel could not compete.

People will shout about how professional footballers shouldn’t have an issue, they should be able to adapt. To an extent I agree. However to expect people to learn defensive positions and attacking methods straight away against top opposition is bordering on foolish, I can’t remember the last time West Ham played with three centre backs.

Antonio looked confused every time he picked up the ball. Everyone was looking around expecting to see players in certain areas but they weren’t there. It felt like a truly disjointed performance. The change in formation (and removal of Valencia) changed the game massively. Bilic needs to understand a change is possible, but only slightly from game to game. Players will always a certain role, and getting specialists in will be able to change that.

For Watford we have to revert to type. The 4-2-3-1 that served us so well last season should come into play, and hopefully there’s no fish out of water in that game, because the second match at home is a must win at this stage of the season.

Next: Centre Back Pairing