da wazamba： It’s been a confusing season for West Ham fans. The optimism of a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League last season, the consequential European football at a new stadium and a significant spending spree last summer quickly washed away as a slow start to the campaign lead into Dimitri Payet’s demands to leave the club in January.

da fezbet： That counter-intuitively appeared to revive the Hammers’ fortunes on the pitch, only for Slaven Bilic’s side to undergo a seven-game winless streak in the top flight, losing five and breeding fears of a last-minute relegation scrap, until the east Londoners beat Swansea at their new home last Saturday – a result that not only moved them clearer of the drop zone but pushed the Welsh outfit closer towards the Championship.

One of the real heroes of the 1-0 win was right-back Sam Byram, his telling moment being a last-minute tackle to stop a low cross that was celebrated as passionately as a goal by his team-mates. However, here’s the real head-scratcher; West Ham have been without a resident No.2 all season – undoubtedly a factor in their poor results – yet Byram has been available for 19 matchdays but started less than half.

Accordingly, we asked West Ham fans earlier this week whether the 23-year-old should have played more this season and the result of our exclusive poll was a resounding yes with 92% of the vote. Bilic may want to take note for West Ham’s trip to Sunderland this weekend.

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