It is frustrating to know that Payet will be out injured for 3 months considering his brilliant start to the season. Payet so far this season has been our best player, he has shown his flare and awareness on many occasions.
The West Ham team will be without the French international and therefore Bilic will quite possibly alter the formation and perhaps the system we play. Ultimately, without Dimitri Payet, we won’t be as creative but we still have a strong squad which can deliver.
Bilic will now look to the impressive Manuel Lanzini as the team’s main creative playmaker.
If the Argentinian can continue to perform well, I see no reason as to why the club cannot maintain the current league position. Other players will also have to step up, and hopefully with the return of Alex Song, West Ham can continue to impress and win games. However, Payet so far has been so influential, the system will change and that will mean that more of the attacking players will have a responsibility to assist and score goals.
Manuel Lanzini could adopt more of a central role in Payet’s absence
In a team without Payet, West Ham might start to be slightly more direct. I am not suggesting that we start kicking the ball up to Sakho or Carroll to flick on, but without the club’s most creative player, inevitably the ball will be passed forward quicker and will find the striker early because there isn’t necessarily the confident vision and skill of Payet.
Furthermore, the formation may or may not be tinkered with by Bilic. If the Croatian sticks with the 4-2-3-1 formation, the only positive of Payet’s absence could be the introduction of promising winger Michail Antonio.
However, Bilic might experiment with other formations to see what works best for the team and the young playmaker Lanzini. I only mention the Argentinian attacking midfielder because he might play better with 2 strikers rather than one, and Bilic will clearly want to help West Ham’s next most creative and skilful player after Payet.
The West Ham team without Payet is difficult to imagine, and considering we only bought him in the summer it demonstrates how influential he has been. West Ham will now have to very clinical, as we probably won’t get as many chances now, so it is crucial that we take them.
The attackers like Sakho, Carroll, Zarate and Jelavic will have to take chances when they come by because otherwise we will drop down the league table very quickly.
The coaching staff need to also make sure that the team without Payet aren’t demoralised and weak. Teams will now feel that without our star player we are weaker, and might be disheartened.
The players must continue to fight and try for the team because at the end of the day, if the team go out and try their absolute hardest whilst showing commitment and passion, we as fans cannot ask for any more. The psychological mind set of the team will be crucial to the team’s success or failure, the player’s will be aware of what fans and the media say, if they respond negatively then the club will in due course suffer.
Ultimately, the West Ham team without Dimitri Payet lacks skill and creativity. However if Lanzini can step up as well as the rest of the players, we can still do well because we have a decent squad. We as fans must try not to be too negative as otherwise that negativity might transcend onto the players.
With the return of Alex Song, we can only hope that he will play to the extremely high levels we know he can. The strength in depth of this West Ham squad will really be tested now but let’s not allow one injury to ruin the club’s last season at the Boleyn ground.
The tackle was from behind, with both feet off the ground ! Should have been a straight red with a FA charge of violent.conduct. Your right Lanzini and Song can both fill the void left by Payets injury.