Can Big Sam be trusted with a big budget?

I’m a huge fan of the job Sam Allardyce has done at Upton Park since arriving in June 2011. We were a complete mess at that time after the chaotic relegation season under Avram Grant and after gaining promotion straight away in the first year, he guided us to a highly respectable 10^th place last season in the Premier League. Included in his tenure have been some exciting and memorable games, including brilliant wins over our fiercest (and most loathed) rivals in Millwall, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Yet observing his transfer activity at the club, it dosen’t really seem to me that he’s the best at choosing the right players when he’s got a lot of money to spend. This to me raises question marks as to whether he would necessarily be the right man to potentially take us to the next level, which I hope we will be in a position to do in the next few years when we have greater financial muscle once our move to the Olympic Stadium eventually takes place.

Rather, he appears to be better at getting the most out of players already at the club or signings that are either cheap or on loan. He never had a huge budget at Bolton Wanderers yet pulled off some fantastic free and loan signings. The impact of the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff, Ivan Campo and Nicolas Anelka were immense, and eventually took a club the size of Bolton to an incredible 6^th place finish in the Premier League. His persuasive powers to get those types of players to sign for Bolton has to be admired too, when there must have been many other suitors. In addition, his development of players in the ranks such as Kevin Davies and a young Kevin Nolan was superb, and they unexpectedly became top class players.

Likewise at West Ham, his most effective signings so far for me have come in the form of free or cheap transfers. Firstly of course there was Kevin Nolan, who arrived for what many regarded as a relatively cheap 4 million, considering the season he had just had with Newcastle United in the Premier League. Whilst not always being the most effective on the pitch, he has always chipped in with vital goals and most importantly of all he has been a brilliant captain, helping forge a unity and spirit in the team that I’ve rarely seen at West Ham before.

Joey O’Brien arrived on a free, and has always been reliable and dependable when called upon. Guy Demel likewise, despite his early injury problems. Matt Taylor from Bolton was a good signing for a couple of million pounds, and played a huge part in our promotion from the Championship. In the January window of his first season in charge, Allardyce then pulled off a double masterstroke. Ricardo Vaz Te, for £500,000 was in unbelievable goal scoring form in the 2^nd half of our Championship campaign and of course scored the winner in the play-off final that year. He has also done well for us in the Premier League years in my view. That window also saw the signing of potential superstar Ravel Morrison from Manchester United in a cut price deal. We now appear to be reaping the rewards from this.

Into the Premier League and it has been much the same story. Jussi Jaaskelainen was signed on a free and has since been in fine form for us. Then came Mohamed Diame, another free transfer who has been an excellent acquisition to our midfield, including some stunning performances last season; he has been a fans favourite since. James Collins only cost a couple of million from Aston Villa, and has contributed hugely to our good defensive record in the Premier League alongside Winston Reid and James Tomkins at the heart of our defence. Finally to the transfer window just gone and the signing of left back Razvan Rat on a free transfer, who has made a good start to his West Ham career.

I also feel that many average players who Allardyce inherited at West Ham have developed into really good ones under his stewardship. Winston Reid must have been wondering what he was doing here after his first season in which he was scarcely used, and even then not in his correct position. However Allardyce saw something in him, and in my opinion he has since become one of the best defenders in the Premier League. Likewise, Tomkins, who, although not used as frequently last season has become a much better player. The improvement in Mark Noble since the arrival of Allardyce has been a joy to behold. Finally given a clear role in the team, sitting in front of the back four, he really has blossomed into a top class holding midfielder, pulling the strings in the team. It is really these sorts of players that have been the base and spine of our team since Allardyce’s arrival.

However, despite the great job Allardyce has done with little or no money, when it has come to spending big, the signings haven’t been as effective so far. Matt Jarvis looks good sometimes, but often seems to fade out of games and hasn’t produced nearly enough goals via assists or shots himself. He certainly hasn’t justified his 10 million plus price tag. Modibo Maiga at 5 million pounds has probably been the biggest waste of money of them all, really producing nothing in his time at the Hammers apart from a wonder goal against Southampton. He looks likely to be sold for a knock down fee in the next window.

I think Stewart Downing is in many ways a good signing for the club at a 5 million fee, but was it the wisest move to spend the rest of our budget on a winger when we so desperately needed another quality striker? Finally, the marquee signing of Andy Carroll for an eventual 17.5 million hasn’t worked out so far, although it is still early days. I’m just hoping he dosen’t turn out to be another Dyer or Ashton with regard to injury problems or else questions will be raised about the sum of money spent that instead could have gone on 2 or 3 quality strikers. Overall I would raise the point that out of all those signings which have cost a combined 42.5 million, we should be getting a lot more for our money than we currently are. Especially when you consider how effective our much cheaper signings have been under Big Sam.

Allardyce has proved many times throughout his managerial career how much of a brilliant operator he is on a shoestring budget. However doubts remain about his effectiveness when he is in charge of large sums of money. Therefore as good a job as he has done in his time at West Ham, would he be the best option for the future, once we have moved into the Olympic Stadium and are potentially reaping the financial benefits of the move? I hope so, but I think he needs to spend more wisely than he has been thus far to prove that he is the right man in that situation.