Former West Ham boss Slaven Bilic returned to the London Stadium with Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup fourth round and escaped with a 1-0 victory, despite being a man down for the final 18 minutes.
It was the first time the Croat had faced his former side since his dismissal in 2017, and his return and subsequent victory was a shocking reminder of the Hammers stagnation during that period. Despite being a division below, the visitors held their nerve to pull off a win, even though David Moyes named a strong starting eleven.
In spite of naming an almost completely full-strength side, the West Ham boss made three half time substitutions, virtually admitting that his squad has been nowhere near the level required to progress in the tie. Blame should not be laid at Moyes’ feet for naming the wrong eleven from the off, as the only player who has not appeared regularly in the Premier League for the Hammers this season was striker Albian Ajeti.
Further damning evidence that West Ham were utterly below the level expected of them is that it took until the 90th minute for them to register a shot on target, as Declan Rice failed to test the West Brom keeper. His long-range strike was never likely to threaten the West Brom goal seriously and it highlighted just how woeful the Premier League side were with regards to creating clear cut chances.
It will have embarrassed the home support that the visitors were able to overcome the feeble Hammers resistance, despite the Baggies naming a line up with eight changes from their Championship loss to Stoke City. Losing Semi Ajayi to a red card for the final 12 minutes led to some West Ham dominance but they could still not break the visiting resistance.
Overall, Bilic’s return is a stark indicator of how little has changed at the London Stadium since his dismissal three years ago. Despite increasing the level of investment since Bilic was at the helm, his return and subsequent victory was a reminder that West Ham are stagnant and at risk of being sucked down into the Championship if things don’t change soon.
