What was being billed as a momentous season for West Ham United proved to be a stressful one for coach Slaven Bilic as his side fell short of expectations and finished just outside the top half of the league table. Having clinched a Europa League spot for a second successive season by finishing seventh, West Ham were hoping to mark their move to their brand new home by pushing for a place in the top six once again this season.
The campaign began on a promising note as an excellent display in their first competitive game at the London Stadium helped them overcome Domzale's challenge in the third qualifying round of the Europa League. However they were dumped out of the competition once again by Astra while a run of just three wins from their opening 15 games meant that West Ham were struggling in the bottom end of the league table as pressure increased on Bilic to set things right.
It was not until December that West Ham finally hit a consistent run of form, with six wins from nine games helping them pull clear of the relegation zone and sit near the top half of the table though a poor end to the campaign meant that West Ham finished 11th in the league table.
Bilic had a number of problems to deal with over the course of the campaign, with Dimitri Payet's transfer saga proving to be an unwanted distraction for Bilic and though the club did manage to hold on to the player until the transfer window shut, he was not able to replicate his form from the previous campaign before he was finally sold in the winter transfer window. Injuries also disrupted the campaign, with Andy Carroll managing to make just 15 starts while record signing Andre Ayew spent the first half of the season on the sidelines and West Ham limped to the end of the season, with as many as half of their first team squad on the sidelines ahead of the final game.
West Ham had been busy participants in the transfer window but barring Manuel Lanzini, none of the new arrivals were able to cement their place in the starting lineup and Bilic will have to get it right this summer, with a reliable goal scorer top of the list, if they are to challenge for a European qualification spot next season.
