After sprinting out the blocks to sit fifth after seven games, West Ham are currently staring down the barrel of a Premier League relegation battle in 17th place.
The Hammers are winless in their last seven games, amassing just two points and conceding 16 goals. Manuel Pellegrini is under tremendous pressure to keep his job, with potential for the Chilean to swiftly follow the same path as his predecessors.
In 2015 the fans turned on Sam Allardyce blaming his style of effective yet attritional football, causing him to receive the sack, two years later with monumental relegation pressure on his shoulders, Slaven Bilic suffered the same fate.
Despite David Moyes steering the ship well away from relegation to land a 13th place finish, he was not offered a contract for the following season, and Pellegrini was appointed.
Based on that evidence it appears the club is operating on roughly a two to three-year cycle, for a managers first season with new tactics and training methods the players buy-in and perform.
But that quickly changes the following year ultimately leading to vast fluctuations in performances and results. Pellegrini is currently falling foul to this sequence, but there are other circumstances which may also explain why the drop in form has been quite so bad.
Goalkeeper Łukasz Fabianski’s injury coincided with the beginning of their wretched run, and it is no coincidence. His replacement Roberto Jimenez has been labelled by the Daily Mail as possibly the worst keeper since Massimo Taibi, after conceding seven goals in seven appearances.
While the goalkeeping dilemma is slightly out of the manager’s control, he has not been entirely blameless. Everyone was aware that Jack Wilshire was a gamble based on his injury history and handing him a three-year deal has been a disastrous piece of business; a decision that both Pellegrini and owners David Sullivan and David Gold must share responsibility for.
The former Manchester City boss has also failed to address the shocking lack of balance within the side, and while the attack should rival any other Europa League hopefuls, Mark Noble cannot be expected to do an entire midfield’s legwork.
The myriad of issues at the London Stadium are more profound than their 66-year old manager, but his recruitment has come into question. So far this season Sebastian Haller has not lived up to expectations, scoring just once in his last ten games, while Felipe Anderson is also misfiring having not scored, and without an assist in his previous six games.
After spending much of his career at the other end of the table to where West Ham currently sit, Pellegrini appears out of his depth in his current standing. It is unlikely the Hammers could appoint a manager with more European experience, but they are currently embroiled in a different fight.
Dispensing Pellegrini of his £7m a year contract would be incredibly costly, but if their situation does not improve, it is a decision the owners may be forced to make, with the Premier League-winning coach currently sitting in the firing line as the man responsible for the East London side’s demise despite initial promise in the 2019/20 campaign.
