Liverpool could break Hammers' hearts

‘Big Sam Allardyce’ has made a great start to the Premiership era of his reign at West Ham. But he is not the only man who has already made a ‘big’ impact at Upton Park this season. Unfortunately, I have made the mistake of falling in love with Andy Carroll.

If any of you had the misfortune of tuning in to Sky Sports ‘Goals on Sunday’ featuring Allardyce himself, you would’ve heard the regretful confirmation that it is a distinct possibility that Carroll can be recalled by Liverpool in January.

We must applaud David Sullivan and David Gold for their ambition and determination to bring Andy to the club, but it appears that the deal is not as ‘watertight’ as it was first described. Insiders had previously claimed that Carroll could be ours for a figure of around £18 million at any point during the year, and also suggested that the transfer of Carroll was an offer exclusively available to West Ham United; however it has become clear that we could lose the player far quicker than the time it took to bring him to the club.

This clarity on the issue is just one example of what will become a repetitive battle of our owners’ claret and blue tinted eyes and desperation to please the fans, versus Allardyce’s cynical, frank realism.

Whilst Gold and Sullivan would have you believe that Carroll was in awe of West Ham United as soon as he opened the door of his customised Range Rover and looked up at the castle-like exterior of the Boleyn Ground, Allardyce has admitted that Carroll was reluctant to leave Liverpool and is only really here in an effort to get some first-team football and capture Brendan Rodgers’ attention.

As supporters we must not judge Carroll too harshly for this attitude. We’re all huge fans of West Ham and believe all our players should love the club as much as we do, but what we must remember is that he moved from his boyhood team Newcastle to join Liverpool, in a deal which made him the most expensive British footballer in history.

Even the most biased amongst us can accept that Liverpool is a great football club with a massive fan base who are dedicated to their club in a similar way to we are. They may not be experiencing their most successful period at the moment, but Carroll would obviously love to become a part of Liverpool’s illustrious history and, understandably, does not wanted to be judged as a failure.

Liverpool are currently struggling just outside the relegation zone whilst we are enjoying life back in the Premier League in 8th position. Whilst this could be seen as a reason for Carroll to want to stay at West Ham, I think it is vital that Liverpool overtake us soon or the pressure will mount on Rodgers and he, or his replacement, will quickly give in to pressure to call for Carroll to return to Anfield in a blaze of glory.

Rodgers’ football ideology could not be more different from Allardyce’s practicality; his idealistic playing style evidently has no room for what is perceived to be a 6ft 3” powerhouse. And that’s exactly why we need Rodgers’ homage to Barcelona to work and convince everyone, including Liverpool’s owners, that the old-fashioned centre forward is becoming extinct in the modern game, paving the way for Carroll to join permanently.

The appointment of Rodgers suggests that Fenway Sports Group subscribe to his ‘project’ and will give him the time necessary to transform Liverpool into a vibrant, free-flowing, attacking side. However they have far less commitment to Rodgers than they did to Kenny Dalglish in terms of risking alienating the fans, and so the fact that they sacked Dalglish may worry Rodgers.

Carroll could easily be brought back as a stop-gap plan to pick up some points before Rodgers’ next major transfer window. If Rodgers is fired then it is likely a more results-based manager will replace him, such as Harry Redknapp, and they would be certain to bring Carroll back in a heartbeat.

A brilliant forward is something that West Ham have not been particularly blessed with in recent years. Paolo Di Canio and Carlos Tevez are the only two amazing players who spring to mind; for the rest of the time we have had to settle for decent strikers who are confined to rare moments of quality such as Bobby Zamora, Dean Ashton and, in the current day, Carlton Cole.

Although Cole is certainly a likeable figure, undoubtedly committed to West Ham United and is not as useless as some would have you believe, the gulf in class between him and Carroll was shocking against Fulham.

Carroll controlled absolutely everything in the advanced positions of the pitch; he won almost everything in the air with ease, against a strong competitor in the form of Brede Hangeland, and showed an awareness when placing the ball which suggested he had been nurtured in that team for years when, in fact, he had minimal training time and was thrown into his debut in a reckless attempt to reconcile an embarrassing defeat at Swansea.

Anyone who tries to suggest that Carroll is a one-dimensional lump is talking absolute nonsense. I honestly believe he is one of the best players we have had in our squad for many years. Allardyce’s determination to force a deal through must be commended and I’m sure we are all relishing the thought of Matt Jarvis’ much-talked about cross completion statistics coming to fruition with Carroll providing the target.

He may not emit the same exoticism as the likes of Tevez did, and his towering frame and scruffy image complete with greasy pony tail does him absolutely no favours in terms of fitting in with the popular sleek, fashionable footballer stereotype of the moment (Cristiano Ronaldo, Cesc Fabregas, Fernando Torres etc.) but Carroll is a special player.

He may be unavailable today but we are still extremely lucky to have him considering we are in our infancy during this spell as a Premiership club. He completes what is one of the most competitive squads we have had in recent years and we could be in store for a solid campaign back in the top flight, especially if we maintain our 100% home record today against Sunderland.

Let’s hope Liverpool can also kick-start a successful season against Manchester United on Sunday as it could help us to hold on to a 23 year-old who is integral to fulfilling our dreams, as opposed to, predictably, seeing them fade and die.

Follow me on Twitter @RichMaher93

West Ham fans must accept Allardyce and stop trying to run the club

After another frustrating game at Upton Park, the fans are yet again reaching for the throat of Sam Allardyce and calls for his head are relentless. David Gold and David Sullivan must maintain their support of Allardyce until the end of the season and beyond if we are ever to gain promotion; bowing to fan-power will achieve nothing for West Ham United.

Hammers fans continue to label our contract with Allardyce as a Faustian pact, suggesting we have sold our soul to Allardyce and the long-ball, deeming him incompatible with the mystical ‘West Ham way’ which is constantly referenced. As much as he denies it, there is no doubt that Allardyce’s style is unattractive, but if it gets us promotion, it’s success will speak for itself. If it doesn’t, West Ham are in a very precarious situation.

Paolo Di Canio’s romantic relationship with West Ham means he will be continually linked with the manager’s job until the day he dies. As a huge admirer of Di Canio, his image is still plastered across my bedroom wall, I would love to see him manage us successfully in the future. But he must prove himself in management first or his spell could end in disaster; and six months at Swindon is not sufficient.

A successful season for Di Canio and one that sees us remain in the Championship under Allardyce will see the board under more pressure than ever to appoint him as our manager. We must hope that they do not give in to this pressure in an effort to support their image as supporters of the club who are ‘in touch with the fans’.

This situation has arisen at many clubs before, Newcastle United are one in particular who are often compared to us in terms of the loyalty of their vocal fans. Newcastle fans took issue with Allardyce’s style of play and forced him out after ferociously protesting to chairman Mike Ashley. Ashley eventually submitted and, by popular demand, appointed club legend Kevin Keegan as Allardyce’s replacement.

Keegan’s return saw the club go without a win for his first eight games and he eventually survived three games less than Allardyce with an inferior record. Keegan’s rapport with the fans meant that his resignation created further tensions between the fans and Ashley in an already strained relationship.

Keegan’s departure sparked turmoil at the club and a lack of managerial stability saw them in the depths of a relegation battle. Ashley yet again looked to appease the fans by appointing Newcastle hero, but completely inexperienced manager, Alan Shearer to the club. The script was written for Shearer to drag the magpies to safety in a blaze of glory, however realism intervened and Newcastle were subsequently relegated with Shearer winning only one of his eight-game stint.

Of course the relationship between Newcastle and Shearer remains mostly intact, but his short managerial period is certainly an embarrassing tarnish on his story with the club. There is nothing to say something similar wouldn’t happen to Di Canio; it would certainly be a depressing picture to see the supporters who had previously worshipped him, reluctantly wishing for him to leave.

Since Shearer, Ashley has asserted his authority at Newcastle and they are now reaping the rewards. After backing Chris Hughton for the entirety of their campaign in the Championship, Newcastle were promoted as champions. Following promotion, Ashley ruthlessly disposed of Hughton and surprisingly replaced him with Alan Pardew, a familiar face at Upton Park.

Pardew’s appointment was met with howls of protest from whining supporters, but this time Ashley remained faithful to his decision and Pardew has remained in charge ever since. Newcastle currently sit fifth in the Premier League and are challenging for a Champions League spot with a minute budget compared to those around them.

Who’s to say that if Newcastle hadn’t decided to stick with Allardyce in the first place, they wouldn’t have met this stage much sooner? Admittedly, we can all agree that Pardew’s team was far more exciting to watch, but Allardyce’s record at the likes of Bolton Wanderers suggests that he could’ve been successful at Newcastle, and he can be successful at West Ham.

As much as we reflect on Pardew’s reign at West Ham with nostalgia, we must remember that in his first year with us he failed to gain promotion, and in his second we scraped into the play-offs with a win at Watford on the final day of the season. His team never really threatened automatic promotion, and so Allardyce has surpassed him in that department.

If we don’t finish in the top two spots, we fall back into the play-offs and have a better chance of winning it now than the last time we did. So as supporters of West Ham, surely we must stick with Allardyce until the end of the season at the very least.

This is not to say that Allardyce is completely innocent, if he is to ever be fully accepted at West Ham he must learn to treat the supporters with a little more respect and take responsibility for poor performances. At the end of a disappointing game we don’t want to be bombarded with statistics of how much possession we had in the opposition’s half and we certainly don’t want to be told that we’re “talking b***ocks”.

The relationship between Allardyce and the fans is certainly going to have to take some compromise from both parties but if we can do this there is no reason as to why a successful era is not in store for West Ham. I have no doubt that a run of form will silence many of the more fickle critics, but those resolute anti-Allardycians will have to accept that he is our manager and, to be honest, is doing a decent job.

Our dire home record in comparison to our fantastic away form is no coincidence; Upton Park can become very hostile as soon as a fruitless long-ball is cannoned towards Carlton Cole. Perhaps a little more acceptance of Allardyce could change this and transform the Boleyn Ground into the fortress it should be.

These tactics are not forever, Allardyce is not forever; Swansea are the exception to the style of play which gets teams promoted from the Championship, those who want to do it quickly generally play a direct style. Once we return to becoming a secure Premiership side we can consider attractive football.

You are probably laughing at the expense of Liverpool at the moment. An undeniably great club, who appointed club legend ‘King Kenny’ Dalglish, spent a great deal of money and are now sitting in eighth position, one space below their arch-rivals Everton who have stuck by their manager for ten years. Don’t laugh too loudly, as the more you try to run the club, the more likely it is that West Ham United will suffer a similar plight.

Follow me on Twitter @RichMaher93