Despite David Gold and David Sullivan’s open letter, you’d imagine – after embarrassing defeats to Nottingham Forest and Manchester City – that a loss against Cardiff City, at the weekend would’ve been the proverbial curtains for Sam Allardyce’s West Ham career.
However, we all know what happened against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side and rumours of Slaven Bilic, Harry Redknapp and Billy Davies replacing Big Sam were put on the back burner.
David Gold, speaking to the Telegraph, has revealed the reason(s) that Big Sam wasn’t sacked. Gold said: “There has been a groundswell of anti-Sam feeling, but I think it’s 50-50. If it’s 50-50, the casting vote is with the board and that’s the bottom line. If you believe that the manager has lost the dressing room, that’s a different matter.”
“But I’m a chairman that goes to the training ground every week. I see the players. I see the players before the kick-off of every game. And I’ve been around the business for 24 years. It’s not like I’ve been chairman for a few months. I’ve got to say that they are 100 per cent behind Sam. They work for him.”
“This is our job. It’s what we do for a living, me and David Sullivan. Our job is to decide whether our manager is in good shape or if he isn’t. And I think Sam is the kind of man that would turn around to you and say: ‘Look. I can’t cope with this. I’ve had enough.”
“He is not a man that is just going to come in for his pay cheque. He comes in because he believes that he can do this. And again, just like us, he has been around a long time. He has been around the block many times and he is a skilled and experienced manager. That’s what is needed.You are making a decision all the time and we believed that Sam was the man to get us out of the plight that we were in.”
“Listen, you can never say never about anything. But Sam is the man that we brought in and he has done everything we have asked of him. He got us promoted. That is what we asked of him in the first season. The second season we said keep us up and he kept us up. And the third season we said that we want to push on. But nobody said that your marquee signing will be injured for six months and no one said that Winston Reid would be out for four months.”
West Ham’s co-owner also refuted claims that the reason Allardyce is still the West Ham gaffer is because the club cannot afford to pay Sam’s compensation, Gold said: “Compensation in football terms, that is what you do. You meet your compensation. That is not the reason Sam is still manager. The reason is that we believed in the man who got us promoted and got us to 10th position last season.”
The original copy of David Gold’s quotes can be found here
They need to out him at the end of the season, even if we stay up
#COYI
To end of season no more.
It is not only our league position and yes Sam has done what is asked of him but many of us do not like his style of play, much too defensive and we drop back much too much. He plays not to lose, what many of us want is for the team to go out there to win! Just wish Sam would be more positive and attacking and then it would be fine for him to stay.
interesting that when all is going well like last year there is no mentioning that the manager should leave; ok, we have had better seasons but if the club spent more money on players during the summer we would not be panicking now! Ask anyone at the time if only signing one striker was good business when he was struggling then.
I think people tolerated the anti rubbish football to keep us up, but the West Ham way has been sacrificed for this. West Ham way being get ball down, attack and play football. Not to go away, sometimes home, to not to lose. There were rumblings last season, but as I say, people accepted it. Now the football is rubbish and we are not getting results people are unhappy. Add that to the arrogance of the man, plus the poor dealing in transfer market and the complete inability to change/adjust tactics to personal available and the contempt for fans, you don’t have someone that’s warming.
Do you know how much has been put towards buying players and wasted? Have a look, talking out your back side! It falls on managers head but West Ham have bought very badly. Who else goes into the season with no fit striker and only 3 centre backs?
Dead man walking!
SAM ALLARDYCE IS MORE THAN A MANAGER……HE IS A LEADER OF MEN ……
MARTIN ALLEN AND OWEN COYLE ARE THE ONLY 2 PEOPLE WHO CALLED THE
SITUATION CORRECTLY , THAT IS , IN WEST HAM CURRENT SITUATION WITH EXTENSIVE INJURY LIST HE WAS RIGHT TO PLAY THE KIDS ,HE DID NOT WANT TO , HE DID NOT WANT TO LOSE AT FOREST SO HEAVILY BUT THE KIDS NOT PLAYING FOR 28 DAYS TOOK ITS TOLL……SAME AS AT CITY , WHO HAD A POINT TO PROVE AS UNITED LOST THE NIGHT BEFORE, WE WERE ON THE WRONG END OF THAT…..SAM DID NOT WANT TO LOSE BUT TOOK PLAYERS OFF TO REST, READY FOR …. THE BIG ONE……SATURDAY AT CARDIFF……….WITH THE INJURIES , SUSPENSIONS , TO THESE KEY PLAYERS IMAGINE WHERE WE WOULD, BE WITHOUT SAM HOLDING IT ALL TOGETHER….WHEN WEST HAM PLAYED RECENTLY 9 OF THE STARTING 11 WERE FREE TRANSFERS………..WHEN SULLIVAN AND GOLD TOOK OVER THEY WERE OVER 100 MILLION IN DEBT…..THAT HAS BEEN REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER ALLARDYCE………..KEEP THE FAITH……..WHY DO SO MANY SEE THE BAD IN PEOPLE…IT IS MUCH MORE FUN TO SEE THE GOOD………..WE HAVE NOW GOT 9 OR 10 CLEAN SHEETS IN PREMIER LEAGUE…NO ONE EVER TALKS ABOUT THAT WITH PRIDE…..MANY WEST HAM SUPPORTERS ARE ALL DOOM AND GLOOM MERCHANTS…THE END OF THE WORLD IS NIGH TYPE…….9 OR 10 CLEAN SHEETS WHO IS THAT DOWN TO……….NO LET ME GUESS….BIG SAM……WELL WHAT A SURPRISE……..SEE THE GOOD IN THINGS…….ITS A LOT MORE FUN…..THERE ARE 11 TEAMS IN RELEGATION BATTLE…..ROB DRAPER DAILY MAIL SAID WEST HAM WILL FINISH MID TABLE…….I AGREE…….
MICHAEL …WHEN YOU SAID ‘ DEAD MAN WALKING ‘ YOU WERE OBVIOUSLY REFERRING TO WEST HAM UNITED, BEFORE SAM ALLARDYCE ARRIVED…….PREVIOUSLY THE CLUB HAD NO LEADERSHIP….WITH SAM AT THE HELM WEST HAM AS A TEAM AND CLUB WILL GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH JUST LIKE EVERTON FOR 10 YEARS UNDER DAVID MOYES……………..
Are these the same injury prone players Allardyce signed? Or the squad that is unbalanced due to some strange transfer activity? Those kids at Forest may never get over such a hammering, did himwell for the Man Citeh game, which is what he saved his best players for, not Cardiff. You know before Saturday we had only lost once in 10 games V Cardiff, so its not as good as it sounds, also, next few games, we either have bad or iffy records V opponents, pressure could mount, again
I agree businessman
I just see red everytime someone cries and whines them not playing the “West Ham way”.
Can you tell what is that “West Ham Way”?
And if you mean we should play like Spain or Man Citeh, you should do a reality check. Because no West Ham team in last 20 years has been capable to do that. Allright, Zola tried, and what happened? And another one, whinging about current owners and management “destroying our club”.
West Ham has great past, and we “won the world cup”. But that was 50 years ago, its 2014 now. Lets not forget the past, and cherish it, but we can’t live in it.
West Ham way, is getting the ball down, knocking it around and attacking. With some young players being blooded as well (rather than being lambs to the slaughter at Forest)
I see red when people back Allardyce despite all his major flaws!!! I would hate for West Ham to play the Spain way for starters as that’s boring in itself and if Man Citeh don’t win things its there own fault, they have bought everyone and can play what ever way they like.
Zola tried and it was successful until he stopped the players chipping the ball forward as an out ball. As soon as he forced them to try and play out of trouble West Ham failed. I agree, lets not forget the past either and cherish it, but you could say the same with old 1990s tactics that used to work, but now will get you last on MOTD regular and on many occasions since we came up, you will be lucky to see one half chance per half. We are set up so so defensive for some games and its boring.
Have a look at how Swansea play football mate and then you can see how playing the “West Ham Way” can bring you success with a small budget. Being a fan of a football club is about enjoyment. There is nothing enjoyable about being a West Ham fan at the moment, nothing at all.
Keep us up then get rid. Arrogant Sam shouldn’t be involved in developing West ham or our youngsters and should not be allowed to spend what little money we have on his sort of players. Total waste and look where it has got us.
Sam can only work with who he has got available. It was not for the want of attempts to sign good players that West Ham were left with only one striker in Andy Carroll at the start of this season. A striker who got injured in May who they did not expect wouldn’t recover in time for the start of the season. A lot of players wait to see what other offers come in when West Ham make an offer & have chosen clubs elsewhere. West Ham have not had the players to play West Ham’s way. If Sam had tried to play West Ham’s way with who we’ve had avavilable we’d be getting thrashed more often than not. No, Sam has played with our strengths, and our strengths have been in our defense, and until Winston got injured that was working quite well. Even with Winston getting injured West Ham have gained 9 CLEAN SHEETS. Only Man City, Chelsea & Everton have kept more clean sheets than Sam has. If Sam had the players, I’m sure he’d be more than happy to play “The West Ham Way” Even in trying to sign Traore, a 6’8″ giant of a striker, West Ham are now getting delays with his Brit work permit approval. If there’s been snags in West Ham getting who we need, you name it, we’ve had them, so with nowhere near the strike force that other teams have, Sam & the lads have done bloody well to get 9 clean sheets. There’s a lot of points in those 9 clean sheets that Sam has won for West Ham there. West Ham fans get possitive. You dwell too much in negativity. Get possitive & we will win more. West Ham’s inner circle are not going to sack Sam, so get over this & stay bloody angry for whoever our next opponents are. “Maintain The Rage” as we owe it to the players, Sam & everyone at the club to cheer our boys home this Saturday COYI!!!