Firstly, there is no doubt that whatever reaction Sam Allardyce gets on Saturday won’t bother him. I’m sure he knows he won’t get a rapturous reception, but whether good or bad, he is more concerned about the football being played than West Ham fans allegiance to his legacy at the club.
Sunderland need points. West Ham are facing their most straight forward fixture before facing Tottenham, Chelsea and Everton. It is must win for both sides, but for now the attention remains on Sam Allardyce and it’s fair to say that no one knows quite which way the West Ham fans are going to go. There are mixed opinions at the Boleyn Ground. Not too many believe Allardyce was fantastic, but I think we can all admit he wasn’t anything like a disaster.
The main reason Allardyce deserves a decent reception is that he delivered when we needed him to.
He joined a club in turmoil, he has recently admitted that West Ham United was in a right state when he took over as manager. Believe him or not, it makes sense. We had just been relegated, and Allardyce was put in place to provide stability, play attractive football and get us promoted.
Two out of three isn’t bad.
Come the end of the season, a Wembley victory saw us on our way back to where we belong. It wasn’t massively attractive football, but it got the job done and gave fans a reason to start believing in the club again.
Sam Allardyce’s task didn’t end there. He had to make West Ham a Premier League club again, and keep us there. It’s where we needed to be, and 10th 13th and 12th in three seasons isn’t bad going. He delivered, making us a stable Premier League club again.
The football wasn’t what so many fans craved for, but it was effective. Lots of teams come up from The Championship and think they can play attractive passing football against the top teams, they usually end up back in The Championship before long. Allardyce knows how to get results over a season and that is why he was the right man for the job.
Gold and Sullivan could have acted the year before, when some West Ham fans grew tired and thought a change was necessary. But last season seemed to suit everyone including Allardyce. He grew frustrated with fans, and vice versa. It was mutual in Allardyce’s eyes, even if that wasn’t how everyone else saw it.
West Ham appreciated Allardyce for long spells, and he did the same for the club and fans. This is why we shouldn’t boo him, there was and should remain a mutual respect between the club and our former manager. We appreciate him for delivering when we needed him to, and he will respect the club in return.
Asking for stylish football and results was a bridge too far for Sam Allardyce at West Ham. But booing him will be ineffective, he won’t care, but slightly disrespectful to a man who has been one of our better managers over the past decade.
Us West Ham fans should remember, if we boo him at the start and throughout, we shouldn’t be surprised to see him doing a Mourinho esque sprint down the touchline celebrating if Sunderland do score.
Let’s show him respect, and get behind the team instead. COYI
