Dimitri Payet as West Ham
Along with Stoke City, Sam Allardyce’s West Ham took the first steps last summer in rethinking their playing style. Though never as fundamentalist as Pulis’ side, Allardyce preferred a physical style of play built around the long ball. There’s of course nothing wrong with that style in and of itself – Manchester United found some success with the long ball last season, and Tottenham could be poised to next – but it’s often demonized for being ‘unattractive’. The West Ham board demanded a change, and Allardyce proved surprisingly capable of delivering.
West Ham surprised for the first half of the season before falling off considerably due to injury and fatigue after the New Year. That initial success was due to a handful of decidedly left-field signings – among them Barcelona’s Alex Song and French second division striker Diafra Sakho – as well as some repositioning of existing players. The most dramatic of the latter was Stewart Downing’s shift from winger to central playmaker.
Downing was brought in initially to West Ham to be the primary provider of one of Allardyce’s mainstay tactics: crosses. Indeed, when the team’s fortunes began to decline last season, it was crosses Big Sam turned to. West Ham ended up making more crosses than almost any other Premier League side last season.
That slump, and Allaydyce resorting to old tactics in response, resulted in the West Ham board parting ways with him after the season concluded. The appointment of Slaven Bilić was due to herald a return to the tactics that served West Ham so well in the beginning of last season. In a way, then, it’s strange that Bilićs first major transfer move was for Marseilles’ Dimitri Payet.
Payet had a career season with Marcelo Bielsa’s side last season, scoring seven times and providing a league-high 17 assists. A significant amount of the latter came from crosses despite the fact that Payet is nominally a central attacking midfielder. Bilić could field the Frenchman in that role again or, perhaps, have him take up a position slightly wider to the right.
It’s a move that could reflect a concession toward one of team’s existing strengths. This West Ham team is, after all, still largely the result of four years of Sam Allardyce. It makes sense for Bilić to bring in a team that can play to that style while also preparing for the future. In Payet he’s found a versatile veteran to help smooth that transition.
Next: Yohan Cabaye at Crystal Palace