And yet another good read

A steady flow of media reports have consistently asserted that Sam Allardyce will be appointed to the Hammers managerial vacancy this week.  This view appears to be reinforced by comments from Allardyce himself, who has confirmed that he will take up the post after a short family holiday.  Whilst, in contrast, the silence from the club is noteworthy.

Yet, there is also a recent report, in the Sunday Express, that suggests that the board are actually split on the appointment.  It has been reported that David Sullivan favours, the newly sacked Cardiff City manager, Dave Jones, David Gold strongly supports Allardyce’s appointment and Karen Brady wants another, improved offer to try to secure Martin O’Neill’s services.  If this is true then it would appear that Allardyce is the compromise candidate, around which the whole board will unite.

Negotiations with Sam Allardyce are certainly at an advanced stage and, barring a sudden, dramatic twist, it appears that he will be appointed.   Negotiations have apparently progressed well and it has been suggested that in addition to a c.£1m annual salary, and further c£1m bonus for achieving promotion, Allardyce has also secured agreement on apppointing his chosen N0. 2 and back room staff.  We can only speculate what the consequences of this will be for the likes of Kevin Keen ad Steve Lomas? 

There was almost universal agreement that this appointment was a key decision and that it was vital that the board got it right.  Otherwise, there could be dire consequences for the future of the club.  In appointing Allardyce, the rationale of the board is presumably that he is the best bet to achieve automatic promotion next season and stay in the PL thereafter.  In doing so, they are obviously prepared to resist the inevitable supporter backlash that will follow.  If they are wise, they will have made it clear to Allardyce that fans expectations at West Ham are different to those he may have experienced at Bolton and Blackburn.  As such, as well as bringing discipline, organisation, hard work and high tech methods to the table, his West Ham team will also have to play a passing, attacking game.

Certainly, if as been suggested,  Sam Allardyce wishes to use the West Ham post as a platform to strengthen his case as a possible successor to Fabio Capello, as England Coach, he needs to demonstrate to the FA that he can build a team with tactical sophistication and flair, as well as organisation and graft.  Who knows it could all work out rather neatly if Allardyce meets expectations and then moves on to boss the national team.  Especially, if the great entertainer, Paulo Di Canio, has successfuly served his apprenticeship at Swindon Town by that time.

Personally,  find it difficult to accept this appointment.  I would have preferred Chris Hughton or, the highly promising, Paul Lambert.  But we are where we find ourselves and, after the disasterous season we have just had, I recognise that strong leadership is required to put the serious problems right and secure promotion in a single season.  Regardless, I will be there next season (home and away).  West Ham are my club and the appointment of Sam Allardyce will not change that one jot!  If I do not like developments at the club and the footballing fayre served up then I will make my opposition clear at Upton Park, on WHTID and through other appropriate channels and platforms.  And I would strongly urge my fellow supporters to do likewise. 

I may currently be an unhappy and apprehsensive Hammer, but I remain an Hammer all the same and will always continue to be so. 

SJ.Chandos

Would be a sad to see Keen and Shaggy go, but then again we do need a massive shake up.

It would be typical though for Fat Sam to do the business for us, and when things are on the up, the FA to nick him for the England job..

I never thought i'd say this but i hope K Bradey gets her way and we get MON . Although i am quite warming to the fact of big Sam , as i think he will sort the club out.
I do agree with you jiggs would be a right piss off if it went that way.
All i want is someone who will work long term and do a decent job, someone who will bring on the youth and take the club forward. I don't wanna be the new cheets or man poo , i just want to see a team working/ playing together and putting a shift in win loose or draw.
There is a good future in this club if it's done the right way, and that means from now.
Imo it's so important to get it right now than it is later down the line. We need a good manager long term and allow him to build a strong team for years to come , not just as a quick return to the prem !

shaun of the thread wrote:I never thought i'd say this but i hope K Bradey gets her way and we get MON .

Yer on yer own there, finguck whiney irish midget. Spending good money on mediocre players year after year.

Why the hell do you think he walked from Villa? He got found out.

Told he'd have to generate his own transfer budget over and above what the board were gonna give him, didn't like it, claimed the club lacked ambition and walked.

In reality, owner looked at amount spent on players, looked at the players bought and finally realised he was being had for a mug and did something about it.

Sam Allardyce was, in reality, the best candidate for the job at West Ham.

I'm glad he got it

Hmm,not sure that was the real reason to him leaving villa. Well not from what i pick up from some villa fans around here, most would of had him back in a flash. I personally think he is a good proven manager at all levels and can get players playing. Thats what we need at our club at the moment.
I'm not saying big Sam won't sort it out as i think he will and probs do a good job of it.

All i want is stable well run club with a good board manager and players who want to play here. Not someone to either use us as a stepping stone to bigger things or just to bleed us dry and leave us worse off.
We need to build for long term and not just for quick return to the prem. As said before i hope Sam is the man ! to take us forward.

Also what was sams reasons for havin so many clubs since his bolton days ?

shaun of the thread wrote:Hmm,not sure that was the real reason to him leaving villa. Well not from what i pick up from some villa fans around here, most would of had him back in a flash.

Randy Lerner(sp) told O'Neil he needed to reduce the wage bill and had to generate his own transfer funds. That is a fact. O'Neil left claiming that because they wouldn't back him in the transfer market, the club lacked ambition. That is a documented fact.

shaun of the thread wrote:I personally think he is a good proven manager at all levels and can get players playing. Thats what we need at our club at the moment.

Prove it. His record, isn't all that. The Leicester side he got promoted with wasn't his, he inherited it. As soon as the money ran out he walked and went to Celtic. With the money he had available to him to spend, my mum could have won what he did in a 2 club league. When the money ran out, he walked. At Villa he spent vast amounts of money on mediocre players that really didn't improve the team that much. They were a top 10th - 6th club, when he left, guess what, they were worse off financially and were still a top 10th - 6th place club.

shaun of the thread wrote:I'm not saying big Sam won't sort it out as i think he will and probs do a good job of it.

He'll do a better job as he's used to working on a very limited budget and has a proved track record of being able to attract quality players to an unfashionable club. Also has a knack of finding the odd diamond among the shit field of overseas players.

shaun of the thread wrote:All i want is stable well run club with a good board manager and players who want to play here. Not someone to either use us as a stepping stone to bigger things or just to bleed us dry and leave us worse off.
We need to build for long term and not just for quick return to the prem. As said before i hope Sam is the man ! to take us forward.

Agreed

shaun of the thread wrote:Also what was Sams reasons for havin so many clubs since his bolton days ?

The reasons Sam sites are changes in ownership. When new owners came in, they clearly didn't want him and got rid as soon as they were able to. Sam has gone on record as saying that one of the reasons he signed on for this job was that the owners displayed a longing to be here for the long haul.

I wouldn't read too much into Sam only being given a 2 year contract either. If we get promoted this year and we build on that and finish mid table the year after, I would expect Sam to be offered another slightly longer term deal.

If we miss out on promotion next season, just, but have shown the will and desire to do better, and do better the season after, I would expect an extension to be offered.

Only if we're still in the Championship in 2 years time will a new manager be saught.