It was an exciting time for West Ham as they waved goodbye to the unpopular Sam Allarydce and welcome former player and cult hero Slaven Bilic as the new manager. With that being the last season at Upton Park ahead of a move to the Olympic Stadium, it was always going to be a special season for the Hammers. Bilic immediately seemed to buy into the fabric of the club and knew what was expected of him. There was some good signings made in the summer and none more so than the utterly Dimitri Payet, the lead assist-maker in Europe in the past two seasons, who arrived in a cut-price deal from Olympic Marseille. The team actually had a bit of a false start as they surprisingly went out of Europe very early after a loss to Romanian side Astra Giurgiu. They seemed to be in a bit of a chaotic state at the start of the league campaign but pulled off a very surprise 2:0 away win at Arsenal, sitting deep and making the most of their chances. They pulled off upsets away at Liverpool and Manchester City in the next month or so too and developed into a team adept to playing against the top sides. The more run-of-the-mill games were proving trickier for a side that was set up to play on the counter and utilise the pace and dead-ball prowess of their players. But West Ham were were certainly one of the leading sides in the league and continued to good results as big rivals Chelsea were downed at Upton Park. Bilic was playing a strict 4-2-3-1 but the likes of Manuel Lazini and Payet were proving the bit ion magic and flair a muscular side. It was a good mix and West Ham were proving very hard to beat. Indeed, they went on a quite stunning run of two losses in 23 games from November to April and were firmly in the race for the top-four places. The injuries of a few of their big players at times disrupted them but the spirit of the squad remained unflinching and Bilic was getting close to maximum from his players. They had a particularly good start of March as Tottenham were beaten in a heated local derby clash and then the Hammers came back from the dead to stun Everton for a 3:2 away win. It was all going really well for the East London side but they began to drop too many points from winning positions as they lost pace in the battle for the fourth spot. Indeed, they drew four games in a row when being ahead during a run in March and April, and that being against some of the best sides in the league. Meanwhile, they made it to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and had a big replay at home against Manchester United. Yet they came up short in a 2:1 home loss and their dreams of silverware were ended. There was still some chance of sneaking the fourth place but a hugely disappointing 4:1 loss to Swansea with a week left ended their chances and they had to settle for the Europa League only. There was still time for the grand send-off to Upton Park as Manchester United were beaten 3:2 in a brilliant contest. It was the defining game of the season for this West Ham side and their future looks immensely promising as they have the capacity for some big signings to add to an already pretty accomplished squad, along with a shiny new stadium to play on.
