It's hard to feel much affection for West Ham, likeable Slaven Bilic was not even owners' first choice

It is easy to like Slaven Bilic. It is hard to feel much affection for his team.

West Ham are a mess. They lack organisation, application and artistry. The crisis in the East End shows no sign of abating. It has made their manager’s departure inevitable. If the Hammers continue this way relegation is a real possibility.

Watching Bilic on the sidelines at the London Stadium and listening to him in the aftermath of yet another disappointing result, it’s hard to remember how much excitement the Croat generated a mere 18 months ago. The 49-year-old turned West Ham’s long, potentially tedious goodbye to Upton Park into an uplifting experience.

Those raucous final few games at the Boleyn Ground were the signature moments of Bilic’s time in charge. The 1-0 victory over Tottenham will remain in the collective memory for a long time. The 3-2 win over Manchester United on the last night at the ground was the stuff of legend.

Bilic’s greatest gift to West Ham was to take them into their new stadium on a tide of optimism.

The new era has not lived up to expectations. Bilic must take his share of blame for the failure to build on his first season. His tactics have appeared rudimentary and confusing. He has looked lost and ineffectual in that huge, empty technical area at the London Stadium.

Others must take a share of the blame, too. The relationship between the manager and the co-owners, David Gold and David Sullivan, was never entirely comfortable. Bilic was not their first choice.

In turn, some of the players the Croat was presented with would not have been the manager’s first option if he had the decisive voice in recruitment. From the start there was a disconnect between boardroom policy and Bilic’s views on transfer targets.

Some of the squad have let their boss down. This season they have been sloppy across the pitch. It is almost unfair to single anyone out for criticism. Few West Ham players have emerged with much credit in this campaign.

Manuel Lanzini seems distracted. His frustration with team-mates has been palpable. Against Liverpool on Saturday he rolled a ball crossfield, expecting a colleague to be in the space. No one was near and the away team were able to launch a counter-attack. Lanzini threw up his arms in frustration and trudged back instead of chasing Liverpool’s break. If the Argentine is supposed to be the man who makes the team tick, he was setting a poor example.

He is not the only one. Much was made of Michail Antonio squandering possession near the Crystal Palace goal in the 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park. The 27-year-old’s error allowed the home team to snatch a 107th-minute equalizer.

Yet the calamitous sequence of events that led to West Ham dropping two points was very much a team effort. Leading by a goal with seconds left away from home, four of Bilic’s men were in and around the opposition penalty area.

When Palace poured forward, the Hammers’ defence were outmanned and out of position. Even then, they had Wilfried Zaha trapped in a blind alley in the 18-yard box. The winger was allowed to turn and shoot in a manner that should embarrass a Premier League defensive unit.

West Ham’s marking has been slack and they have not pressed the opposition. They have made life easy for rival sides. Teams love to come and play at the London Stadium. They relish the room Bilic’s side allow them and the atmosphere in the stadium means coming to the East End is no longer a fearsome experience.

David Moyes is the man likeliest to inherit this mess. His name will not inspire West Ham fans.

The Scot’s reputation has been damaged by his post-Everton career. The 54-year-old could not turn down Old Trafford’s approaches in 2013 but the job was too big for him.

It was not just Moyes. Two managers on, United are still trying to restore the equilibrium that departed with Sir Alex Ferguson.

Moyes’s inability to save Sunderland is a bigger concern but he took that job on condition that there was money available for reinforcements in January. That cash never materialised.

West Ham is the perfect place for a manager to rebuild his stature. The club should not be in danger of going down. There are goals in the team and talent in the squad. They need organisation and belief.

Most of all, they require a different voice. Somewhere along the way, the players stopped listening to Bilic. It will take a new man to get West Ham back on track.