Another point that the Spanners conveniently overlook it the fact that they had a settled manager, whereas we were starting out our first campaign with our 4th manager in 3 seasons. Poch is settled, now, whereas the Spanners are have a new manager, one not experienced in the Prem. They'll do well not to get relegated, next season.
I think that Bilic has his work cut out for him this season, to be honest. West Ham fans will be expecting a better brand of football than they got under Allardyce and he'll have an uphill battle to deliver it. A top half finish and a decent cup run or two would be a very good start to his career with them, in my opinion. The Europa League puts a strain on any team's season and the added qualifiers make this even more of an issue. He needs to strengthen the squad to help deal with it, but the loss of Song and Jenkinson sets them back before they've started. If they're brought in on permanent deals, then West Ham will be spending money to stand still and will have less to spend elsewhere. More loans may be needed to bridge the gaps, as the academy seems to have dried up somewhat. I expect Bilic to have the backing of the supporters from the start and far more goodwill than his predecessor. A transition of style might make things difficult for him, though.
I can see the Spanners getting absolutely mullered in Europe, and the demoralization seriously affecting their league form. They could only get within 17 points of us last season, and they didn't have the distraction of the European campaign, which we did. They're not even good enough to be in the Europa, having got there by default! Next season will teach every single Spanner out there just how far behind the might Spurs they really are!
This not be fair (?). We play in Europe year in year out and we don't often get mullered. As long as we don't come up against Real Madrid very often.
Bullshit. You clearly didn't see the games. We were better in both games - despite playing a second team in the games. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30333974 Tottenham Hotspur 13 Vorm 02 Walker (Capoue - 76' ) 04 Kaboul 06 Chiriches 03 Rose 25 Stambouli 08 Paulinho (Lennon - 70' ) 17 Townsend 19 Dembélé 22 Chadli 09 Soldado (Lamela - 69' ) http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29449205 Tottenham Hotspur 01 Lloris 15 Dier 06 Chiriches Booked 21 Fazio Booked 33 Davies Booked 08 Paulinho (Lennon - 60' ) 25 Stambouli (Dembélé - 65' ) 42 Bentaleb Booked 17 Townsend 18 Kane 09 Soldado (Adebayor - 79' )
Ok then. This is from the BBC Report: "Both Besiktas frontmen were a constant menace for Tottenham, who were lucky not to lose to Slaven Bilic's Turkish side." Full report here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29449205
I know, I posted the link first. Fact is that they needed a lucky last minute goal to get a draw, so all the stats in the world don't change that. And I repeat this was a much weakened team, Europa wasn't top priority for us, given qualification was quite straightforward. See how you feel about it after the several qualification games you'll need to get to where we are. When is your first game - this week is it?
I'll be surprised if the Spanners make it through the pre-qualification. After all, they'll be coming up against all those other non-deserving sides that got in through the back door by default, and even though some of those are the equivalent of the likes of Wigan and Bury, the Spanners will be sorely tested.
Besiktas were better than us at WHL and worse in Turkey, which is a bit odd given the results. We should have seen the game out at home after taking the lead, but Chiriches was poor all night and it cost us. The farce in Turkey was an embarrassment to our hosts, being played on a dire pitch and having the lights go out twice when we were on top. Bilic came out ahead overall, but he was facing weakened teams in both games. Hard to tell anything from that, frankly. Winning cup games against a side resting players doesn't say anything about how he'll do in the league.
Sort of. They have just about enough players to do so, but the standard in some positions wouldn't be very good. They only have one right-back at the moment, for example. It's Andy O'Brien.
