You would probably agree, but the season so far has flown by.

It was only a matter of months ago that former manager Sam Allardyce was guiding West Ham to mid table security after an incredibly bright start to last season, but then it all came to an end when the Christmas decorations came down.

This season has seen many changes that has resulted in drama in all departments.

Currently lying in a respectable eighth position in the table, Slaven Bilic has made a decent impact at the club he used to play for.

With over a quarter of the season gone and the festive period just beginning, here is a breakdown report of how West Ham have fared so far…

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THE PLAYERS

On the back of a busy summer of transfer incomings because of a much anticipated good run in the Europa League that never materialised, strength in depth is something that the Hammers can boast highly.

As the likes of defender Angelo Ogbonna, Pedro Obiang and Victor Moses have made a good contribution to the team, the two summer additions that have impressed the most have obviously been Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini.

Payet, the £10m signing from French outfit from Marseille, has been a revelation for West Ham with many likening him to a certain Carlos Tevez, scoring five times with just as many assists.

Meanwhile, Lanzini arrived from UAE club Al Jaziri with every Hammers fan saying ‘who is this kid?’ However, everyone knows who he is now, showing off incredible flair and work ethic as well as notching four goals in the process.

Elsewhere, Mark Noble has handled himself in reasonable fashion after being made captain at the start of the season, despite in recent weeks coming under criticism for the first time in his career.

Current Hammer of the Year Aaron Cresswell has again performed solidly (take note Roy Hodgson), Mauro Zarate looks like he has resurrected his career at Upton Park while Winston Reid has been immense as ever.
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THE MANAGER

After replacing Sam Allardyce in the summer, former Besiktas and Croatia national team coach Slaven Bilic has been accepted by the fans.

Most notably, the fans have warmed to the Croatian changing the team’s playing style, from long ball to patient passing, as well as hiring fans favourite and good friend Julian Dicks as his right hand man.

His constant stream of instructions on the touchline is much preferred by the Hammers faithful, rather than Big Sam lounging in the dugout with his chewing gum.

Once more, hiring the likes of Edin Terzic and Nikola Jurcevic as assistant coaches, both who have worked for some big clubs in Europe in the past, such as Borussia Dortmund and Spartak Moscow, is great for the club.
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KEY MATCHES

West Ham have only failed to score twice so far this season and one of them was a 0-0 draw away at Manchester United which should’ve been three points at Old Trafford.

Nevertheless, the talking point of West Ham’s season has been the away scalp’s against the top teams in the league. The opening day 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal where 16-year-old Reece Oxford put £40m German superstar Mesut Ozil in his back pocket.

A 3-0 win against Liverpool at Anfield meant a first win on their turf in over 50 years, while a magnificent win against current Premier League title favourites Manchester City meant we were the first team in Premier league history to win at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City in the same season, and that was only six games into the season.

A 2-1 home win against London rivals Chelsea at an extremely loud and atmospheric ground put a smile on many associated with West Ham.

However, there have been four defeats so far and extremely poor performances against newly promoted AFC Bournemouth, Watford and Tottenham Hotspur have brought West ham back down to earth after some excellent triumphs.
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THE PROBLEMS

One of the major problems has been significant injuries to key players. The likes of Diafra Sakho, Payet, Moses and Lanzini are not expected to feature until at least the New year because of long term injuries, while the likes of Andy Carroll and Ogbonna have also suffered niggles that have disrupted their season.

Most have been unlucky injuries on a matchday and overly aggressive tackles from the opposition, some have been through training, Lanzini and Reid are prime examples.

This exploits a couple of questions, are Bilic’s training methods too intense, is the state of the training pitch causing problems for the players or do the medical staff at west ham need to improve?

Furthermore, despite the majority of the squad performing admirably, on loan right back Carl Jenkinson and striker Andy Carroll have not performed to the standard they’re capable of.

Jenkinson has not been the same as last year where the reason why Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger quoted £15m for the England U21 international was because he had his best spell in his footballing career.

Meanwhile, Carroll has been non-existent in some games, especially against Spurs while he has also made mistakes costing the Hammers dearly (Watford away springs to mind immediately).
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OVERALL

Despite the occasional bad performance, Bilic has built a strong team capable of finishing high in the table.

All of the summer recruits have settled comfortably in East London, with experienced players such as Noble, Reid, Cresswell and James Tomkins helping them do that by showing them what they are expected of in a claret and blue shirt.

However, the injury curse has to stop at some point, even if it means Bilic tweaking training sessions, while Jenkinson and Carroll have to improve for the Hammers to move up the table.

Grade: B+

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