Sam Allardyce is a man under constant pressure from West Ham United fans and press. I like to think of myself as a bit of a realist and see that Allardyce and his staff have achieved everything thrown at them and I believe that a top half finish this season would be a good achievement and, as a lot of readers know, I am often a supporter of the Dudley born man.
When Big Sam joined the club three and bit years ago, with his cold sore on his lip, his mission was clear and simple. The Hammers board even placed his five point plan on the club website.
He joined a club in dire nick with a squad full of driftwood and egos, including one of the worst captains in recent West Ham history Matthew Upson. He streamlined the squad magnificently, and brought in one of the coups in Championship football history, signing Kevin Nolan from Premier League Newcastle United.
As we all know, his first objective was promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt. We had our ups and downs that season with a month of draws after the New Year, which dropped the Hammers outside of the top two for the first time. But for a freak surge from Reading I firmly believe the Irons would have secured automatic promotion. In hindsight though a day out at Wembley and a Play- Off final win was a perfect day for the claret and blue army.
So, step one complete.
The website stated that year two for Sam Allardyce was ‘survival mode’ for the Hammers. He exceeded those expectations, turning the Boleyn into a fortress guiding the East End club to a solid tenth in the league with a memorable 3-1 win over Chelsea to boot in a season that saw the Hammers easily reach their expectations.
Step two complete.
Last season, and Sam Allardyce’s third year as manager of West Ham United, and the season where the West Ham faithful started to doubt Allardyce for the first time. This in large part maybe down to delusion and over expectation from fans, who had seen the club come an unexpected tenth place the season before. The realists, however, know all about ‘second season syndrome’ and I will fully admit but for that magical month of February I suspect the Hammers may well have been plying their trade in the Championship this season.
The football may have been turgid and dire at times, but this is a club who played a large part of the season without a striker and without a proper back four. It was tough at times to watch, but I doubt the Hammers fans will ever forget those three wins over Spurs.
Mercifully that month saved West Ham United and Sam Allardyce’s skin, just. His role at the club came under great scrutiny with rumours that David Sullivan wanted him out of the club. In truth though, he has passed his objective of stabilising the Hammers top-flight status.
Now in his fourth season at West Ham and in the stage of ‘pushing on’ he has started magnificently sitting pretty in seventh place. So is Sam Allardyce finally starting to win the doubters over?
So far this season the football has been much easier on the eye, beating Liverpool hands down, and pushing Manchester United all the way at Old Trafford. He has brought in players who try and play football the right way; Mauro Zarate, Aaron Cresswell, Carl Jenkinson, Cheikhou Kouyate and man of the moment Diafra Sakho to name a few.
The positivity is oozing at the Boleyn and the Hammers are thriving under it. Out of the seven games, the Irons have only failed to impress on one occasion against Southampton. Yet, as you search through the social media site ‘Twitter’ the Big Sam Out brigade is still in full flow.
With some ‘fans’ betting against the Hammers on a regular basis I often wonder what these fans see. Recently I figured this out, and they see what they want to see. They want nothing more than failure for Sam Allardyce. Those fans are the same fans that boo club captain Kevin Nolan when entering the field of play against QPR. Pathetic and embarrassing, it is time to support the club during this positive time, because lets face it these times are few and far between in recent times.
My message to the claret and blue army is to get behind the team, and Sam Allardyce, as this is a positive time as we head into the Olympic Stadium. It is time to enjoy watching West Ham again, lets unite at one and get behind the boys and continue to prove why we are the best fans in the world, because I for one am starting to doubt that statement.
Come on you Irons!
Tweet me @Bowdenwhu
Would you agree that it would be frustrating to see Nolan take his place in the starting line up on Saturday though? Would send the wrong message to the team and fans. He needs to continue getting sub appearances until he earns his place back. That’s the last peice of the jigsaw for those on the fence with Big Sam I feel. A willingness to progress the team no matter who is in the 11
Good article also!
Matt – It all depends on who is available, but for me with everyone fit the midfield is Kouyate, Song, Noble, Downing, Valencia and Sakho up front, we have Amalfitano who can step in aswell as Jarvis and Zarate – Nolan should struggle to get on the pitch, even as a bench option, we have Song and Noble who can captain the side, we also have Caroll to come back who can be a great option for a 3 up front scenario and if we deploy 2 wingers as a tactic – Vaz Te and CCole should have been out of Upton Park in the summer, neither are good enough for this squad even as cover.