West Ham Only Getting Better As Season Progresses As Lanzini And Others Make Their Mark

West Ham Only Getting Better As Season Progresses As Lanzini And Others Make Their Mark

Despite all that happened and how star man Dimitri Payet treated the club with the circumstances of his departure, you’ll find it tough to seek out a West Ham fan who would say that they wouldn’t rather he was still happily plying his trade in east London.

The French playmaker who, having told manager Slaven Bilic that he never wanted to play for the club again, had endured a slow first half of the season compared to last term’s displays before heading back to Ligue 1 in a £25m move to Marseille.

In the wake of his leaving, Bilic brought in proven Premier League talent in Robert Snodgrass, something he has since emphasised as crucial after the disappointing form of all the foreign additions over the summer window.

The Scotland international had the daunting task of filling the boots of one of the most technically gifted midfielders the Premier League has seen in recent years, however, those around him seem to have also taken on the responsibility alongside their new teammate.



Tricky playmaker Manuel Lanzini was looking to provide the show stopping moments in their draw with West Brom at the weekend, with his long range effort thundering off the bar to fall at the feet of Sofiane Feghouli for the Hammers equaliser, before another superb shot from 25 yards found the back of the net for what looked to be a winner.

In losing their attacking focal point, Bilic’s side have morphed into a more cohesive and unpredictable attacking force and, should they continue the performances shown in the win over Southampton and the second half against Tony Pulis’ side when they travel to Watford and host leaders Chelsea over the next few weeks, the Frenchman could well be a distant memory.

Andy Carroll’s tremendous goal against Crystal Palace, which somewhat controversially pipped Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud’s scorpion kick to the Premier League Goal of the Month award, gave the London Stadium faithful a miraculous memory at their new home, one to surpass the Payet goal against Middlesbrough earlier in the campaign and one that, rather quickly, has taken the place of the now Marseille man’s mural outside the ground.

Despite Carroll not being involved in Saturday’s draw, the front line still looked convincing enough to know that, with or without their main striker, they can get on without the flair and creativity that Payet would bring to any side and, with two weeks off to work on their performances, the Hammers look set to march on a erase all memory of the exiled France international from their fans’ minds.