Bilic’s potential formations show exciting, attacking football

Slaven Bilic will need tactical variety next season in order to get the best performances out of his side. Getting the side to play a new brand of football straight away may be difficult but with the players already available and the rumoured addition of exciting new signings,West Ham may be more prepared for the season ahead than most fans think.

Take a look below at the different formations that Bilic could incorporate next season, it makes exciting viewing:

4-3-3 Premier League

Fans often complained about playing one up front under Sam Allardyce but Bilic’s Besiktas played a system with Demba Ba as the lone striker for the majority of last season.

The key to Ba getting goals was support and creativity from midfield. This West Ham side has it in abundance. If West Ham sign Payet, he will become a fundamental part of the Hammers’ midfield and will offer fantastic skill and supply in an attacking midfield role. Zarate is a player that has bags of potential but he needs the right mindset to knuckle down and produce the goods. Combining with Payet almost gives the two players a licence to roam and create opportunities for Sakho up front.

In midfield there’s Song, Noble and Obiang. Hopefully West Ham manage to sign Song from Barcelona this summer but Kouyate is of course another option that was superb for the club last season.

In defence, consistency is key and if the back four stays fit (which will hopefully include Jenkinson for another season at least), it caps off a very capable and dangerous West Ham side.

4-2-2-2 Premier League

Although Carroll did not feature too much last season, he showed signs of forming an encouraging partnership with Diafra Sakho up front. Here, the two forwards are supported by Payet and Downing. Downing performed well in a central attacking role last season and this formation certainly allows the England international to operate in that area once more. As well as attacking through the middle, Payet and Downing would provide accurate passes and crosses for the front two who are obviously very capable in the air.

Obiang, Song, Noble and Kouyate could all operate well in the two central midfield areas but this formation once again shows the attacking threat West Ham could carry next season.

4-3-1-2 Premier League

Sakho and Valencia formed a good partnership in the early stages of last season and if Bilic can rekindle the explosive attacking style that made the pair so threatening, the manager has another solid attacking option available.

Again, Payet is an increasingly important figure in terms of creativity and linking with the midfield. The likes of Kouyate, Obiang and Noble provide defensive solidarity as well as support to Payet. Width, just like last season, would be supplied by Jenkinson and Cresswell, with Payet contributing in a ‘free’ role.

4-2-3-1 Premier League

This line-up looks lethal and screams the West Ham Way. Payet, Downing and Amalfitano are all very creative players and there’s certainly the potential for players to swap positions in that particular attacking trio. They provide width, flare and goals as well as a lot of ammunition for the lone man up top which is Sakho in this case. The Senegal forward said that he wanted to aim for around 20 goals this season and with that kind of attacking midfield behind him, chances should come in abundance.

Obiang and Kouyate provide the steel and box-to-box energy that is a must in the Premier League whilst the back four would benefit from the two midfielders’ defensive awareness.

4-2-2-2 Europa League

The early rounds of the Europa League clearly requires strength in depth as well as an opportunity to introduce younger players to the first team set-up. Players like Elliot Lee, Reece Burke, Stephen Hendrie and Diego Poyet should all get the opportunity to prove themselves in the Europa League this season. Defenders Doneil Henry and Reece Oxford may also feel that they have a good chance of playing in the competition as well so there is certainly a strong amount of depth to the squad for the upcoming European campaign.

Randolph is expected to start in the Europa League fixtures whilst a balance of experience and youth in the back four should provide some solidarity.

In midfield, Poyet has shown that he has the quality to perform well in a central role and in this case, he’s alongside Nolan. The likes of Nolan, Jarvis and Maiga should get their chance to prove themselves to the new manager in the early stages of the Europa League this season. Amalfitano features to provide that extra bit of quality whilst a potential attacking pairing of Maiga and Lee is a bit of a risk but it could bring the best out of the young academy graduate. This team won’t set pulses racing by any means but it certainly resembles the squad depth that the Hammers have at the moment. More importantly, the eleven are more than capable of comfortably beating a team like FC Lusitans over two legs and that is what Bilic will want from his reserve side.

Are the potential line-ups effective ones? Are there any players that should play more regularly this season? Comment below