da cassino online： West Ham’s poor start to the season has overshadowed an impressive transfer window from the east London club, righting many of the wrongs from last summer, but it remains to be seen if the Hammers have recruited in the right departments.
What they did – Strengthened the Starting XI
da betcris： Last summer, West Ham fell into the age-old trap of virtually every mid-table side that finds itself competing in the Europa League, going for depth rather than quality in the transfer market. Fittingly of that common misgiving, the Hammers didn’t even make the tournament proper, leaving Slaven Bilic with an over-inflated squad, a whole raft of players without any Premier League experience and almost too many options to decide what his best starting XI actually was.
Fast forward twelve months, however, and all four of West Ham’s signings have clearly been acquired to improve the starting XI. Joe Hart is an instant upgrade on Adrian, Pablo Zabaleta addresses the long-standing gap at right-back, Marko Arnautovic enhances the forward line and Javier Hernandez represents the calibre of star-studded striker the Irons’ board have struggled to bring in ever since they bought the club. That’s four players with vast Premier League and international experience who, on paper at least, drastically raise the quality of West Ham’s first XI.
The Hammers also deserve a noteworthy mention on the outward front too, bringing in transfer fees for four players they originally signed for nothing or in Ashley Fletcher’s case, a compensation fee. The decision to once again loan out Reece Oxford has divided opinion, however.
What they didn’t do – Address the Underbelly
Whether it’s a criticism that Bilic or his players should answer for remains a subject of great debate, but it’s unquestionably true that the Hammers have a disturbing knack of conceding quite frankly rubbish goals. Whether it’s poor marking at corners, giving away soft penalties, conceding possession in dangerous areas or quite simply chaotic disorganisation between the defence and deep midfield, the Irons are very often the architects of their own downfall, guilty of basic mistakes.
It feels as if West Ham need another defensive leader to organise those around him but bizarrely, Bilic ruled out any centre-back signings with more than a week of the transfer window still to go. Jose Fonte will have to be depended on, to some degree, until January at the earliest. Perhaps more crucially, the Hammers also missed out on William Carvalho, a signing who would’ve added much-needed protection in front of the defence and really beefed up a midfield that now looks like the starting XI’s weakest link following the four summer arrivals.
With Bilic’s job on the line and shambolic defending an underlying cause, failing to obtain Carvalho’s services could well be the difference between sacked and survival for the Irons’ under-fire manager.