A lot of stories have been finding their way into the press claiming that Sam Allardyce is on his way out at West Ham. Yesterday's Daily Mirror ran the story as its back page lead, claiming Big Sam was on the brink of leaving after disputes with David Sullivan, while in the Standard Ken Dyer wrote: "Still though, there is apparent disharmony and the elephant that is Allardyce's future remains firmly in the room." While the Daily Telegraph claimed that West Ham are looking to David Moyes and Slaven Bilic as possible successors. Sullivan and Gold have always said that they review the managerial situation at the end of each season, but with West Ham in the top eight the silence over a new contract is bound to attract speculation.
Much of the problem appears to be transfer policy, with Sullivan claiming the credit for signing Diafra Sakho and also said to be behind the signing of the loaned-out Mauro Zarate. Now it seems Sullivan has instigated a move for former Paris St Germain striker Nene, who might be the most expensive signing we ever make if it loses us a manager. Do we buy by committee like Liverpool, does the chairman buy the players or is the manager in charge of recruitment? It seems extraordinary the club has no clear strategy in place on transfers.
SHOULD HE STAY OR SHOULD HE GO?
In my view it would be a mistake to change the manager at this stage. There's a certain section of fans who will never take to Allardyce, mainly on the grounds that he's sometimes arrogant, a bit podgy, sounds northern and has a reputation for direct football. But he's achieved all he's been asked to do and I can't think of many other managers who could have performed a better job. He rebuilt the side and achieved promotion at the first attempt, something few teams do. If he hadn't, we could be where Bolton and Wigan are now, at the bottom end of the Championship.
West Ham then consolidated with Premier League finishes of tenth and thirteenth. Yes, the football was poor at times last season, but this season Big Sam's more than fulfilled his brief. We've recruited new players, played two up front and entertained with a midfield diamond, beating Man City and Liverpool and outplaying Man United in the process. We've even seen West Ham in the top four. His PR has improved too, with no more ear-cupping and even words of praise for the fans. Allardyce also has another commodity; he is the second most experienced manager in the Premier League. Another factor in his favour is that most of the players seem to respect him and, barring the WBA debacle, the team spirit has looked the best it's been in years.
Had we got rid of Allardyce last season his replacement would probably have been Malky Mackay, and look what sort of trouble that might have left us in. He's not perfect, but tellingly, fans of other teams all seem to think the West Ham board would be making a big mistake getting rid of Big Sam. We don't want to end a fine season with self-inflicted wounds. Sort it out, Mr Sullivan and Mr Gold.
21 comments:
he's going you're wasting your time
Bullshit article.Allardyce is rubbish and anti west ham.We need to out him
I hope bilic is already on board, or another foreward thinking manager as I can't take much more of this rubbish footy. Pop over for a chat....http://westhamforum.boards.net/
A pro-Allardyce piece that does not mention the elephant on the pitch i.e. Nolan. Switching him to play tip of the diamond in place of Downing has brought Sam's crediblity into question. On the plus side I am making loads of money towards next year's season ticket by backing our opponents whenever he and Noble start. Other teams have figured us out but Allardici has done nothing to combat it.
Be careful what you wish for West Ham's anti sam brigade, how many times have we been relegated playing 'pretty football' And just who out there and available knows more than Sam. I have moments of doubt, but I just don't see any better alternatives out there, so lets get behind big sam, or things may look very different in 12 months time.
Just no pleasing some fans, I for one would like to keep Sam but Nolan has to go and apparently he will be gone in the summer. Zarate wasn't fit and hence why he wasn't being played and if he is that good why aren't we seeing more of him at QPR and even HR had mentioned about his fitness. It's been our best season and we're still not happy! Sam is the highest British manager in the PL and even if we get a Champions League spot people will still be calling for his head.
Sam Marmite, you either Love him or hate him.My view is Sam has taken very good money from WHU,HE has made good money for his friends and agent friends.He is not a stupid man and Has achieved his targets,but that said he has never put himself out to bond with the club and supporters.I feel he has an agenda not in harmony with the Board,Club and supporters.A change would be welcome as Sam's biase to play unfit and out of form players Nolan and CARROLL ahead of players fit and on form Valencia, Sakho and Noble causes me to form this opinion. Ravel, Zarate and Maiga have all suffered this fate, will Nene be the next?
'Allardyce has achieved everything asked of him', how many more times will we hear this comment? We scraped out of the Championship and have clung on to Premier League existence by the skin of our b*llocks purely because there were some seriously bad teams below us. Do you really think we would have started the season with 2 up front if AC had been fit, of course we wouldn't, Allardyce reverts to type at every opportunity and Nolan...don't even go there. I'm amazed how many Hammers fans hold Allardyce in such high regard. Time for a change, we'll never progress if we continue to live in fear of what might happen without this bloke, he's managed to cultivate an incredible reputation without achieving a great deal.
his job is done and his tenure has come to an end. thanks and best regards
Lots wanted Lyall Out, we got Macari. Lots wanted Curbs out because he only kept us 10th. Sack Zola, get Grant. We've been up and down like tower bridge for too long. Another 2 or 3 years for Sam.
West Ham United...more like West Ham DIVIDED!
Half the fans can't stand our current manager, while the other half are split between those who rate him and (mostly) those who are scared of what will happen if he leaves. Our fans are very much split and that has created a toxic environment throughout the entire club. The disturbing scenes after the match last Sunday will only worsen if this indifference is allowed to continue.
We're not the same club we were 4 years ago...we're on the way up. The manager who helped us along the way is the same manager who is now unfortunately holding us back! We have the opportunity to push on and Mr Allardyce is no longer the right man for the job that lies ahead!
Saying that, it would be pointless to change him for the same or worse. The man who replaces him should be an upgrade of Mr Allardyce; that someone will need the full support from ALL of the fans as well as from ALL of the board members. Great things can be achieved by making the right appointment but this will come at a great cost. My main concern is this...can the club afford to do this right now?...Then again...can it afford not to?
The most important objective here, above all else, is that we become the world famous West Ham UNITED once again ...COYI
Heading for our best league position for 30 years. Of course...great idea to sack the manager! so we bring in some one new and it all goes badly wrong - then relegated next season and open the new stadium with a home fixture v Doncaster Rovers. attendance 21,300. In other words..Allerdyce has done an outstanding job and should carry on.
Agree with most posts on here. He has done what has been asked of him but despite him not because. I hate to say this as I didn't want him to start with but know that we needed him. In the championship we were lacking confidence and team spirit but he got us up. (JUST) With that team and squad we should have walked back into the Prem and I could have got us in the play off's. First year back we were an unknown quantity and won games ugly, very ugly but that was not the point we needed to stay there. Last year is best forgotten outside of our nightmares. However this year was a chance to consolidate which we did but I defy any of Sam's supporters to say that we would have had the success we had at the start of the season had we of had a fit AC and Nolan. We would have all been saying Sakho who or Maiga MK2 as he would have been used in the same role as Maiga was. He wasn't a bad player just in my opinion mis managed. We had a lot of success with 2 forwards and a diamond formation with Downing spearheading that from his usual ineffective role out wide so it wasn't tactical genius on Allardyces part it was thrust upon him by circumstance. So we get to the time where AC and Nolan are back so he changes a winning formula to accommodate both and shunts Downing out wide, low and behold we start a slide and have games where we go 1 up against inferior opposition and defend a lead for over 30 mins which we don't do and end up with a draw dropping 2 points so many times or just a draw in general. Draws with Hull, Stoke, Aston Villa, Sunderland, West Brom and Swansea all of which were winnable if we actually attacked (AV we just couldn't score granted) but that to me is a possible 12 points dropped!!!!! I know I am going to get slated for that but look at their respective league positions and how we started the year and tell me we shouldn't have had at least 6 of those 12 points? I just think he is a dinosaur in his approach, his tactics are strange at best and his substitutions are usually going completely defensive or swapping almost like for like so do very little if anything. Time for a change and Bilic would be my choice and please don't sprout the Prem experience as did Wenger, Jose, Koeman, Laudrup when they came in? A decent manager will be a decent manager no matter what league they manage in.
Well, Big Sam certainly divides opinion among West Ham fans! I agree Nolan has to go and surely even BS must realise this after WBA, but let's also remember his goals did help take us up, so initially he did his job before age caught up with him. Sam might have got a bit lucky in hitting on the diamond formation through injuries, but that happens in football and no-one credited him with getting unlucky with injuries last season, every defeat was said to be his fault. A good point from Long Suffering Fan: "It would be pointless to change him for the same or worse. The man who replaces him should be an upgrade of Mr Allardyce; that someone will need the full support from ALL of the fans as well as from ALL of the board members. "
Well said mj!
Lots of these so called Diehard West Ham supporters Booed and wanted the great John Lyall out, oblivious to the fact that he had been hampered for years by lack of investment.
Most of our anti Big Sam supporters are like babies with a gripe and not sure why, but whine and moan about anything. Such supporters need to be ignored for the greater good. A fine recent example is the way they treated Mr Sullivan, one of the men who saved this club from oblivion.
This club is like a child that has only just started walking, with some supporters feeling that the club is ready to take on the likes of the top three!!!
Reality check, cool your jets and be grateful for this work in progress!
Big Sam for 2-3 more years, to disappoint the deluded!
BFS is a total , large , waste of space . There is no plan B and not really much of a plan A . Playing Noble and Nolan together is a terrible mistake . Perhaps getting away with carrying one of these donkeys is possible but both , no way . Downing was playing well at tip of diamond so lets shove him out on the wing to make room fof afore mentioned donkies . Rubbish .
Sam has done what was asked of him but he has taken us as far as he can go, I wouldn't mind keeping him for another season but his putting Nolan in the team every week is an absolute joke!!Nolan did well for us too but its time for he and fatty to pack their bags, without AC and Nolan we were third and playing great football!!! Fatty is just too one dimensional
Makes me laugh, have a good front half of a season and BFS is the bees knees. Lets face facts, because they are garingly obvious for those that care to look, Carroll was unavailable, as to was Nolan for a period. Basically he was forced into a system that turned out baring fruit. As soon as Carroll returned so did the negative and direct football and along with that the pooer performances and results. Dont believe me, then take a look for yourselves. BFS just cant help himself, he totally screwed up the system by reverting to his own personal one, and in doing so moved Downing from his preferred position where he shone to a more ineffectual one, and why? so he could accomodate his darling Nolan and Carroll which highlights his claim to fame far better than what we enjoyed pre christmas. He was asked to give us more entertaining football, granted he has, but i didnt expect only a cameo appearance. It, to me is like giving the chairmen the finger, cause injuries have not always been a good excuse.
BFS Out
What a load of bollocks that was, should of saved your time writing it and wasting my time reading it
Can we just get to the new stadium before gambling on staying up? Then we will be in a better position and the Sam haters can have their gamble......
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