Manuel Pellegrini is starting to be questioned by West Ham United fans for the first time in his Hammers tenure.
West Ham fans wanted to see progression after ending last term in good form with a nice blend of substance and style.
There have been no signs to suggest the Hammers will challenge for a European spot this season, though.
It is still early days of course.
Anti-Pellegrini theme grows
But that has not stopped some supporters from gathering evidence to feed a growing anti-Pellegrini rhetoric.
The experienced Chilean is certainly not perfect. But to suggest he is the problem is almost farcical.
In the summer penny-pinching co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold handed Pellegrini just £35million to spend net.
The truth is Pellegrini needed a lot more.
Yes the owners splashed out around £90million net when they first brought him into the club.
Penny pinching owners the real culprits
But the former Real Madrid and Manchester City boss was forced to wheel and deal his way to six new signings.
Two of those were goalkeepers on free transfers. And another two Albian Ajeti and Goncalo Cardoso will struggle to get anywhere near the first team anytime soon.
Of course West Ham don’t want to be signing swathes of new players every window.
But until Pellegrini has the squad he wants and needs then how can he be judged.
Anyone who has watched West Ham over the last few years knows the club desperately needs a quality left-back and a quality right-back.
By the same token a quality box-to-box defensive-minded midfielder has been necessary since Cheikhou Kouyate’s performances started to wane.
Still not Pellegrini’s squad
Sullivan and Gold did not back their man, though, and Pellegrini was forced to make do with what he has in those positions.
His squad still contains players from the Sam Allardyce era.
Many felt the ‘big splurge’ last year would be a one-off.
And so it has proved. Indeed the spending of several other middle to lower tier Premier League clubs since then has showed that West Ham’s £100million spend wasn’t actually that earth-shattering after all.
Sullivan and Gold have tried to cut corners for years when it comes to strikers.
This summer they were forced to pay the going rate for Sebastien Haller.
But the duo – who were forced to completely change their ownership style and policies after angry protests 18 months ago – failed to loosen the purse strings to ensure goals are kept out at the other end.
And Pellegrini cannot be blamed for that.
If you hire a top manager you must give him the funds to put his own team together.
Only then can he truly be judged.
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