Green Street Hammers
Fansided

Why West Ham can be better without Payet

By Scott Johnson

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Pedro Obiang of West Ham United (C) celebrates scoring his sides second goal with his team mates during the Premier League match between Southampton and West Ham United at St Mary's Stadium on February 4, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Pedro Obiang of West Ham United (C) celebrates scoring his sides second goal with his team mates during the Premier League match between Southampton and West Ham United at St Mary's Stadium on February 4, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

When West Ham announced they were selling  Dimitri Payet, it seemed like the end of an era. But Slaven Bilic should look forward. He can create a new look side out of a bad situation.

It might sound like the ramblings of a drunken fan down the pub, but hear me out. West Ham could achieve what football managers all over the world crave. They have sold their biggest player, biggest ego and arguably their biggest talent. But as a side they will be more dangerous to play against.

Obviously there will be little bits of magic that will be impossible to replace. There is no-one in the squad who could replicate Payet’s wonder goal against Boro. There are very few who would even get close to replicating his free kick heroics from last year. But what the squad may lose in magic, they will make up for in variation and understanding.

More from Green Street Hammers - West Ham

A new attack

With Payet in the attack, the opposition knew who the main source of goals was going to be. If the opposition could stifle Payet, chances are they’d be doing pretty well in terms of stifling West Ham.

But without him, Man City game aside, the attack in recent matches has looked balanced. With the opposition having to treat all threats equally, ball movement across the pitch has exposed spaces and allowed the attackers to get through on goal. You only have to look at Andy Carroll’s goal against Southampton to see the advantage of spreading the defence.

And with the addition of Snodgrass into the side, there isn’t much of a change in regards to set pieces. Yes they’re now left footed instead of right, but the quality in indirect set pieces will not fall. In fact, many fans wanted Cresswell to take some of the set pieces and let Payet focus on the direct ones.

Next: Why is Carroll so underrated?

But one of the biggest advantages could be psychological. When a superstar is in the team everyone else knows they’re playing second fiddle. Without Dimitri Payet, everyone now believes they can shine even if some of the others in the side aren’t. The side no longer depends on the form of one sulking Frenchman.