Slaven Bilic’s three best games as West Ham manager

The Hope: Blackburn 1 – 5 West Ham (FA Cup)

So with two apparent underdog matches up first, I think this match underlines the genuine hope and excitement that Bilic brought to West Ham in his first season. Whilst there was an outside chance of Champions League football on offer, what was beginning to feel like a possibility was the first silverware for the club. In the fourth round, we had beaten Liverpool 2-1 in a midweek replay at Upton Park thanks to an injury-time Angelo Ogbonna header (which was also my last game at the Boleyn), and with the tie away to Blackburn there was a sense we could get deep into the competition.

So with a 4-3-3 formation that had Michail Antonio lining up at right-back, West Ham was set up to attack. Something that came back to bite us when Blackburn took the lead after 20 minutes, despite it looking like a match the Hammers would be able to control. But Bilic, rather than trying to chop and change, showed faith in the setup and the players as they were. He could be seen on the sideline urging people to play smart with the ball and get it to feet. And without having to do much except for getting the side to believe in the setup, Slaven oversaw both the team and the fans begin to think this might be their year.

By half time, goals from Victor Moses and Payet had the Hammers up and the game looked ours to lose. When, 10 minutes after the restart, Blackburn went down to 10 men, the floodgates began to open. Payet was moving up and down the pitch with ease, creating chances and looking dangerous at every turn. A rare Emmanuel Emenike goal put us 3-1 up before some cynical defending from Kouyate took it to a 10 man apiece match. But here Payet created another goal for Emenike before racing half the pitch himself to slot past the keeper from the edge of the area to wrap up a complete performance and a place in the 6th round.

Bilic had his flaws as a manager, but he did know how to get the most from key players, and what he would have to do to control various parts of the pitch. Three different formations for the matches, and 3 strong wins. In his first season, he had ideas and trusted the ability of his players to play against the big guns, but he became more and more stuck in his ways as his tenure wore on. For me, these three games are a great encapsulation of his best parts, and why I will always remember his time at the club fondly.