With one goal and the pass that set up another, Dimitri Payet salvaged a point that West Ham did not see coming, yet in reflection manager Slaven Bilic spoke of Payet not merely as the man who saved this game but as a symbol of a changing landscape in English football.
Bilic sees Payet’s long-term commitment to the club last week as underlining his belief that the gap between the established elite and the rest is narrowing rapidly. He is convinced that Leicester City’s tilt at the Premier League title is not a freak event and that the old order will soon find other clubs breathing down their necks, seventh-placed West Ham among them.
“I’m not talking about resilience or physical presence or fitness [as the reason], because all Premier League clubs have those characteristics,” Bilic said. “But every club now is able to bring in quality because of the money from TV rights.
“Look at how much Norwich spent in the last transfer window – it gives smaller clubs the chance to improve and close that gap to the big guns. It’s not only us – you have Leicester, the best example in Europe. They are not where they are because of team spirit, it’s because they have quality players.”
West Ham’s ability to attract a player of Payet’s technical ability, sign him for £10.7 million from Marseille, and now tie him to a 5½-year £125,000-a-week contract proves the point, Bilic says. “We were first to react when he became available and it was almost a surprise – not that we got him, but that we could do it that quick.”
Payet’s goal and the one he set up for Mark Noble, the captain, came in the space of two minutes, nullifying goals for Norwich from Robbie Brady and Wes Hoolahan, West Ham’s recovery defying the effects of their 120-minute FA Cup replay with Liverpool in midweek.
“This kind of performance gives us hope that it will be a very different end to the season from last year,” Bilic said, referring to the way West Ham plummeted to 12th last season. “No way will we put the season to bed now – we have no right to do that and it will not happen.”
- Telegraph