Manuel Pellegrini’s tenure in charge of West ham had been coming to an end for a prolonged period, and it was the case of when rather than if he would be sacked. That time came at the weekend after a sorry defeat to a Leicester City side who had made nine changes. But reflecting upon the former Premier League winner’s time in charge of the Hammers it is reasonably clear to see where things went wrong. In both, his seasons at the London Stadium Pellegrini broke the club’s transfer record, and neither player fully lived up to their billing.
Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller were recruited to take West Ham to the next level. But instead of climbing up the ladder the club currently finds themselves a rung or two below where they began under the Chilean. Things started brightly last season, and when Anderson finished the campaign on nine goals and four assists, that appeared a perfect platform from which to springboard to the levels of the Premier League elite, but this season has provided a stark contrast.
After 16 appearances the Brazilian winger is yet to register another goal in the English top-flight. At the same time, he has matched last term’s contributions for assists, but it does not make up for the overall lack of goalscoring influence. With Marko Arnautovic shipped off to China, Anderson was the highest-scoring member of the squad remaining. However, the increased responsibility on the winger for goals has been misplaced as he is on course to fail to find the back of the net in a season for the first time since 2013/14.
Meanwhile, the man bought to replace the wantaway Austrian has also struggled to adapt. It seems bonkers at this stage in the season West Ham were so determined to spend a club-record £45m in the summer on Haller. At 25 he should be approaching the prime of his career, but he has found the back of the net a third less than last season and with nine times fewer league assists. Though it is worth questioning West Ham’s recruitment as before last season the striker had never hit double figures in Europe’s top five leagues for goals.
Ultimately that falls with Pellegrini, and it is one of the main factors he is not at the helm. He was the man who oversaw Anderson and Haller’s introduction to Premier League life and so far, this season both have let the Chilean down. For that reason, it was only a matter of time before Pellegrini was handed his P45 to depart the realms of East London.
