Former West Ham midfielder justified in his criticism of Big Sam?

Kick-off is fast approaching, and not only will it be a return to football for West Ham, but we’ll also have a reunion of sorts as we face former West Ham midfielder Mohamed Diame in his first game for his new club Hull City.

It’s set to be a great clash for the two teams, but it’s also going to be an interesting match for Sam Allardyce and Mohamed Diame after the two have revealed in interviews that there’s not a lot of love lost between them.

Shortly after his transfer to Hull went through, Diame went public with some criticisms of his time at West Ham. He bemoaned being “shunted around all the different positions” and stated that he “should have left West Ham a long time ago.” Whilst I understand his frustrations about playing out of position, he probably would have gained a little more sympathy from me had he not followed it by saying that because he wasn’t being played in position, he wasn’t able to maneuverer a move to a “club that is high in the Premier League table.”  Burn.

As a general rule of thumb, good players are supposed to help to move their club higher up in the Premier League table, but I’m just going to leave that one there.

Sam Allardyce has responded to Diame’s complaints by saying “It’s Mo’s opinion, isn’t it? He had two seasons with us. We expected him to improve on his first season and he did not go on as far as we expected from there on” and that “Mo would have continued to play in centre midfield had his performances continued to be as good as his first season.”

I don’t say this often, but I agree with Allardyce in this instance. Diame wasn’t the same player last year. We rarely saw him stay on past the 60 – 70 minute mark last season, and he didn’t play with a passion for the game in the majority of last season’s games. Allardyce argued that Diame “dropped himself” and I agree with him. The flashes of genius, brilliant as they were when we saw them, were far too few and far between.

When we head to Hull on Sunday, Mohamed Diame is likely to start for the Hull City Tigers – but which Mo-Mo will show-show up? The talented midfielder we grew to love, or the lacklustre sulker who resented not playing for a top six side?

I have no doubt that Diame will be buoyed by the enthusiasm of moving to a new club where he can play in what is apparently the only position he’s any good in, and he’d love the chance to rub a few goals in Allardyce’s face. He will have a great game, and it may lead West Ham fans to rue ever letting him go, but make no mistake –we would not see that performance if he were to have been out there in a West Ham shirt.

His heart just wasn’t in it anymore, and we just don’t have room on our roster for anyone who isn’t passionately committed to their career at Upton Park. Good luck in your future Mohamed, but I do hope you’re awful on Monday night.

How do you think Diame will get on against us at Hull? Were his comments in the press justified? Will he ever get that coveted move to a top six side? Tell us your thoughts below.