No future for Winston?

Sounding rather like he's channelling the Sex Pistols, Sam Allardyce predicts that Winston Reid has "no future" at West Ham. He told the press: “There is no future for Winston Reid at West Ham United at the moment because his contract finishes on 30 June. He hasn’t said he is going to sign, and he hasn’t said he isn’t, but you would err on the side that he isn’t by the feel and the look of it at this moment in time, by the knowhow in the football world I have been talking to – other managers and so forth – about the situation. So I would say it is highly unlikely that Winston is going to sign for us based on what people are saying to me.”

Big Sam also suggested that Reid might have been already enticed by overtures from agents. At least Allardyce has said there's no need to sell him now unless a huge offer of £20 million comes in. With each Premier League place worth £1, 236,000 in merit money it makes sense to keep Winston and try to finish as high as possible, have a tilt at the FA Cup and maybe even make Europe. There's also the slight chance that if Arsenal, Man United or Liverpool don't follow up their rumoured interest he might choose to stay.

Meanwhile Alex Song has been called up by Cameroon after first being omitted from their provisional squad, Kouyate has gone to Africa and Diafra Sakho may or may not go depending on his back injury. So we're presumably back to Nolan and Noble in midfield and Carroll and Valencia up front at Everton tonight.