Spurs consider a Green choice

It has emerged that Tottenham Hotspur are looking into the possibility of signing West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green as a replacement for the ageing Brad Friedel; and they could get him for free.

The experienced Friedel, who turns 41 in May, has had an impressive debut season at Spurs as the club have forced their way into title contention, but being eight years younger, Green could be a more viable option in the long-term. Tottenham are looking to solidify their position amongst the English elite and therefore want to add to a group of players who can mature together over the next few years.

This could prove to be an attractive option for Green who has seen his former Hammers team-mate, Scott Parker make the same move and become a Tottenham favourite. Parker has been highly-praised for his performances this season, which have helped to make Spurs strong contenders to qualify for the Champions League, a meteoric rise considering he was playing in England’s second tier at the start of the season.

Although Green’s track-record suggests a strong loyalty, having only played for Norwich City and the Hammers, he may wish to test himself at the highest level before retirement. Green, unlike Ben Foster and Paul Robinson, has also expressed a desire to remain involved on the international stage and a move to White Hart Lane could only strengthen his cause. Since his infamous error against the USA at the World Cup, Green’s credibility as England’s keeper has greatly eroded, but whilst he is highly unlikely to displace Joe Hart, he could be a worthy understudy.

If these reasons for a move away were not enough, West Ham are playing hardball over a contract extension to the one which expires in the Summer. Determined not to make the same mistakes as previous regimes, David Sullivan and David Gold are hoping to secure promotion to the Premier League before offering one of their highest-earners a new deal.

Although this seems sensible at first-glance, it could risk losing one of West Ham’s best and long-serving players who would be invaluable to surviving relegation if they were to be promoted next season. Reliable goalkeepers are notoriously hard to identify, even Manchester United have struggled, and Green has certainly proved to be one of the talented few, despite his high-profile mistake.

Contract laws are such that Green could freely speak to Tottenham in the summer, or be offered a move by a European club from now with relation to a free transfer in July. With Monaco also apparently interested in Green, this possibility could not be out of the question.

However, a move to Tottenham seems to be much more likely as it would require little adjustment or relocation and would give Green the opportunity to play at the highest level of European football. Hammers’ fans will be hoping their owners decide to tie him down quickly or they will risk losing yet another star to their bitter rivals.

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Hammers make ambitious bid for Kalou

With rumours circulating that West Ham’s move for Nikica Jelavic may have fizzled out, Sam Allardyce has been quick to turn his attentions to yet another high-profile forward; this time in the form of Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou.

It has emerged that Allardyce has proposed a loan deal for the Ivory Coast international, currently at the African Cup of Nations, in order to help boost his attacking options for the remainder of the promotion campaign.

With offers for lesser-known strikers such as Jordan Rhodes already apparently rejected, it seems a rather ambitious attempt, however it delivers a clear statement of intent to the rest of the league, similarly to how the purchase of Kevin Nolan did in the summer.

Allardyce has not baulked at the prospect of bringing high-profile names to less glamorous clubs in the past, managing to lure Youri Djorkaeff, Jay-Jay Okocha and Nicholas Anelka to the Reebok Arena to play for Bolton. Despite West Ham arguably being a bigger club, the lack of Premier League football to offer is likely to repel players of Kalou’s status.

Although it is an admirable effort, which apparently also featured a cheeky enquiry with regards to Florent Malouda, it is highly unlikely to be completed. Although Chelsea would perhaps not be averse to seeing the pair leave, with the arrival of Juan Mata and return of a more mature Daniel Sturridge dramatically reducing the roles of the duo at Stamford Bridge, they are unlikely to accept.

Kalou has rejected a slightly more seductive offer from Olympiakos in the past in comparison to plying his trade in the unforgiving second tier of English football, and with Arsene Wenger a known admirer, he is likely to hold out for a transfer to a team playing at a similar level to his current employers.

A player of Kalou’s mould is certainly needed and would provide a great option to either pair with one of our larger strikers, or to deploy down the wing to add some much need flair, pace and width to our game.

It won’t come as a surprise that Kalou is not likely to join but ‘Big Sam’ must be commended for his efforts and ambition. But with less than a week remaining of the transfer window, it may be time to identify some more realistic targets in order to bolster our front-line.

Follow me on Twitter @RichMaher93

West Ham v Nottingham Forest Preview

Nottingham Forest, similarly to us, had a new, high-profile manager in place at the time of our last meeting, in the form of Steve McClaren, a man who had apparently recently rejected the position to be our boss (for the second time) and had beaten our own Sam Allardyce to the England post, which eventually destroyed his national reputation just a few years earlier. It’s fair to say that a resounding 4-1 victory was rather satisfying.

Steve McClaren quickly abandoned Forest and embarrassingly scuttled back to Holland after more dismal results, a country in which it is inevitable that he is held in a higher-regard considering the joke he has become to the English fans and media. His impressive grasp of the Dutch accent is also cited as a key reason for his return to FC Twente.

In contrast to McClaren’s retreat, Allardyce has managed to stabilise West Ham’s situation and has led us to the pinnacle of the Championship alongside this year’s enemy, Southampton. However, fans have fashionably continued to criticise his style of play, despite its arguable success, and still want more. The increasingly irritating notion of the ‘the West Ham way’ is continually used as an argument to suggest Allardyce is not suited to guide us to success.

In my nine years as a season-ticket holder, I have never seen this so-called ‘West Ham way’ in action, perhaps with the exception of a brief period under Gianfranco Zola, but this arguably represented the Italian’s ideology rather than some kind of natural style of football which inhabits Upton Park. It’s often flattering to hear this myth in the media but when our own fans become deluded into believing it, it can cause some discontent.

Admittedly, our victories since the Forest game have rarely been so emphatic, but they are still victories; something we’ve been unable to produce consistently for many years. Even Alan Pardew’s team that got promoted was infamous for its inability to turn draws into wins.

Brendan Rodgers’ Swansea City are the latest club to grab the imagination of the Premier League leading to sycophantic stories and reports about their style of play covering every back page and every pundit’s script. It’s certainly a proud moment for the club, as it was for us when we captured the attention of everyone back in 2006 and for that brief success with Zola; however, we now know from experience that it never lasts long.

Blackpool were the equivalent of Swansea of last year and look where they are now. Realistically, Swansea have a better chance of surviving this season than Ian Holloway’s Tangerines did last term, but it won’t be long until the Welsh side hit hard times. With Allardyce in charge, it’s possible that we won’t become the team that has everyone drooling over passing statistics, but we are also unlikely to come crashing down as Blackpool did, and as Swansea will.

This pessimistic view does not begrudge the Swans of their time in the limelight, it’s always nice to have that team who romantically rise to the top against all the odds and beat the likes of Arsenal. In fact, this January has been a very romantic month for English football, especially considering the lack of major transfer activity; it has seen the return of Thierry Henry to Arsenal, who glamorously netted the winner on his debut, and also Paul Scholes to Manchester United who likewise scored upon his return.

It makes a change for West Ham to be exempt from this coverage. The past decade has seen relegations, promotions, takeovers, three trips to the Millennium Stadium, the signings of international superstars and the departure of Tony Carr’s golden age. The less extravagant nature of the modern West Ham can be seen as a little boring and depressing, but you can be sure that if we keep up these consistent modest victories we’ll be back in the headlines for the right reasons, and back in the Premier League.

You may despise Stoke for their style of football but I’m sure you would accept being 8th in the Premiership at the moment and that is the impressive position in which they currently stand. With Allardyce in charge, there is no reason that we cannot match this gradual success, and perhaps build on it with a little more swagger than the Potters.

The likes of Youri Djorkaeff, Nicholas Anelka and Jay-Jay Okocha were added to the solid foundations of Allardyce’s Bolton team and gave it the flair and exuberance which led to a League Cup final, Europe and becoming a regular member of the Premier League. It is only since Owen Coyle has tried to dismantle Sam’s foundations in exchange for more attractive football that Bolton seem to be losing their grasp on Premier League status. Coyle’s Bolton are yet another team who the media were briefly in awe of last season and have dumped now that their ‘open and expansive attack’ has predictably turned into a weak and frail defence.

I have no doubt that Allardyce is looking to add that flair to our squad in this transfer window, and that he will continue to do so in transfer windows to come, in which we will hopefully have Premiership football to offer. But Allardyce’s management is built on a solid base, and that means 1-0 victories are Sam’s plan for his first season in charge and his struggle to get us out of the second tier. An addition of quick and skilful players this month would certainly help to give us the edge of champions and make us a more attractive side to watch; but if we trudge to another one goal victory today, I for one will be more than happy.