Green Street Hammers
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Bilic substitution choice disrupted West Ham flow

By Scott Johnson

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 23: Michail Antonio of West Ham United receives treatment from the medical team during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at London Stadium on September 23, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 23: Michail Antonio of West Ham United receives treatment from the medical team during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at London Stadium on September 23, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images) /
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Slaven Bilic set his West Ham team up really well to counter Spurs on Saturday. But after 20 minutes he made a huge mistake.

For the first twenty minutes it’s not unfair of me to say West Ham were the better side. They were taking the game to Spurs and looked to be set up very well to push them back. If Arnautovic had got his shot away they may have even had a goal to show for it.

However after 20 minutes Antonio went down injured. As such Bilic had a big decision to make about who to bring on, especially given the side were on top. At this point he made a huge mistake. And I’m not the only one who thinks it.

More from Green Street Hammers - West Ham

System First

When a system is working against a top team, you have to keep to it. Chopping and changing it just to fit certain players in doesn’t work, unless the players you have on the pitch already can accommodate the system. When Bilic pointed to Carroll and got him onto the pitch, it was obvious what was going to happen.

Despite Chicharito doing well occupying the middle of the park with two wide men supporting him, Carroll took the central role. Then, as per the previous games, we resorted to long balls up towards Carroll. The system was changed completely and Chicharito and Arnautovic were put out of the game.

If he had put on Ayew instead of Carroll, the system would have remained the same. Whilst I don’t think Ayew is as good as Antonio, he does offer problems to the defence. Plus the home side would not have been able to start lumping the ball forward. All this ended up doing was recycling the ball back to Spurs on a regular basis, even with Carroll winning the ball on a regular basis.

Next: Bilic should rethink his tactics at West Ham

Bilic made an error that he has made before. Remember when he took Payet off whilst we were winning at White Hart Lane? Simple changes that affect the flow of the team and change the offensive outlets can have massive impacts on the result. Bilic could have come away victorious if he’d made a different decision.

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