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Green Street Hammers
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Slaven Bilic’s three best games as West Ham manager

By Scott Johnson

TOPSHOT - West Ham United's Croatian manager Slaven Bilic watches during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Swansea City at The Boleyn Ground in Upton Park, in east London on May 7, 2016. / AFP / Ian Kington / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - West Ham United's Croatian manager Slaven Bilic watches during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Swansea City at The Boleyn Ground in Upton Park, in east London on May 7, 2016. / AFP / Ian Kington / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images) /
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For most West Ham fans under 30, Slaven Bilic is going to be their favourite Hammers manager. His first season was full of the joy the club had been without in many years.

Unfortunately, we know how it all ended up, with Bilic failing to keep the momentum up and with some very suspect moves in the transfer market. But then this is West Ham, so those two things are to be expected. However, for our final season at the Boleyn, Bilic was the one leading us towards the potential European road. And there were three key matches that for me, were his best in charge.

Quick disclaimer, whilst the final match at the Boleyn was probably the most significant during the time, I don’t know if that can count as his special day. The whole club was up for it, and the players bullied themselves back to win that 3-2.  But out of his 109 matches in charge of the Hammers, there are others to celebrate his approach to the game, and hopefully, these bring back some fond memories for you Hammers.

Opening Day: Arsenal 0 – 2 West Ham

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 09: Slaven Bilic manager of West Ham United speaks with Reece Oxford of West Ham United during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on August 9, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 09: Slaven Bilic manager of West Ham United speaks with Reece Oxford of West Ham United during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on August 9, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images) /

If you’ve just taken over management of a club that you used to play at, you’ve just been knocked out of Europe at the qualifying stages and now your opening game of the Premier League is away at Arsenal, you might be tempted to shut up shop. You know, try and play 5 at the back and nick it on a set-piece. Well, that didn’t account for the guts of Slaven Bilic.

Handing 16-year-old Reece Oxford a first Premier League start and giving him the simple task of keeping the (then) prolific creator Mesut Ozil quiet whilst going with two strikers in the form of Mauro Zarate and Diafra Sakho to keep the Arsenal defence on their toes. It also helped that it signalled a first Premier League start for a somewhat unknown Dimitri Payet. Basically, everyone looked at this lineup and thought, fair play, we’re giving it a go, but we know Arsenal will take it home in the end.

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But for 90 minutes, West Ham proved everyone wrong. Whilst Arsenal did have their chances, Spanish stopper Adrian kept them at bay without the need for much of the spectacular. And at the other end, the Irons capitalised on two goalkeeping errors from the usually reliable Petr Cech to take themselves to an unexpected 2-0 victory at the Emirates. Cheick Kouyate beat the Czech keeper to a Payet freekick, before a long-range effort from Zarate caught Cech out at his near post to take the Hammers two clear.

Whilst the roundup sounds like a smash and grab, the game was indicative of what Bilic had to bring. Here was a perfect game to set up to defend, but he was there to play football. Oxford proved to be the perfect counter to Ozil, and Payet was given a free role to take on who he fancied. He regularly took it past Arsenal players with ease, sitting a few of their defence down at times, as you can see from these oddly edited highlights of the game. But for Bilic, it was a sign of the season that was to be, and what he could get out of this squad.