Signing older players like Ambrosini could be the way forward for Allardyce’s West Ham

A minority of West Ham fans have expressed some dismay with Sam Allardyce’s transfer policy after rumours emerged that AC Milan veteran Massimo Ambrosini is in London for talks with the Hammers.

In his recent interview with the Mirror, David Sullivan spoke glowingly of Allardyce, arguing that ‘he is intelligent, he prolongs careers and he is brilliant in terms of maximising players’ potential’. Prolonging the careers of older players thus seems to be an attribute which makes Allardyce a valuable asset for Sullivan and co-owner David Gold.

The prospective Ambrosini deal is not one which is out of character for Allardyce. The man affectionately known as ‘Big Sam’ has taken a number of international superstars and squeezed a few extra years out of their careers at the highest level.

Jay-Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff, Gary Speed, Fernando Hierro and Ivan Campo are just a few footballers who were entering the twilight of their careers when Allardyce utilised them at Bolton Wanderers.

Many Irons supporters also doubted Allardyce’s choice to rely on 38 year-old Juusi Jääskeläinen for the first season back in the Premiership following Robert Green’s departure but have gone on to be proved wrong by the Fin who was eventually voted runner-up Hammer of the Year ahead of the likes of Andy Carroll, Momo Diame and Mark Noble.

Although his image may be moulded into that of an old-fashioned, unforgiving ‘gaffer’, Allardyce is famed for his focus on fitness and the cutting edge technology he uses to maintain this. Just recently West Ham were featured of ‘Sky Sports News’ for their use of an ice chamber to aid muscle recovery.



Allardyce and aging players can thus have a great relationship. They can use him to prolong their careers and he can use them to add quality and depth to his squad.

Another important factor for Allardyce, and of course the owners, is that he is extremely unlikely to pay for these players despite the competitive market. Razvan Rat, the recent acquisition from Shakhtar Donetsk, came on a free transfer, as will Ambrosini if the deal is completed.

Saving money on players like these to fill out the squad allows Allardyce to spend large bulks of his transfer budget on quality players for the first eleven, who also have re-sale value. If Allardyce wanted to spend £6-7 million on additional centre-midfielders and left-backs with no experience of the Premier League, there is no way a £16 million deal for Andy Carroll could be financed, especially with the new Financial Fair Play regulations.

The intent shown by West Ham and Allardyce to sign Carroll proves that they are not manipulating supporters by sexing up the signings of over-aged ‘has-beens’. As an English striker under the age of twenty-five, Carroll is in the most expensive bracket of footballers. If fans worry that Allardyce is creating a short-term team of OAPs they need only look at the genuine ambition shown to get Carroll permanently.

Additionally, the experience, attitude and aura of a multi-Champions League winner in the squad who has played over 300 times for one of the world’s biggest clubs can only be positive for a team like West Ham. In order to grow as a club it is important to have experienced winners amongst the ranks and whilst West Ham linger in the mid-table zone, they will need to accept those coming towards the end of their careers.

How any football fan can moan about having a few aging players in the squad on the back of Sir Alex Ferguson’s legacy at Manchester United is beyond belief. Ferguson continued to use the likes of Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs well into their thirties and persistently won trophy after trophy. Many of Ferguson’s veterans will continue to be utilised by David Moyes.

Also, Ferguson wasn’t shy to bring in aging players in order to strengthen his squad with quality and experience at a low price. Henrik Larsson was drafted into his title-winning squad of 2007 at the ripe age of 36. Ferguson even wanted Larsson to continue at Old Trafford but due to family promises in Sweden, the former Celtic and Barcelona striker felt obliged to leave.

Finally, some West Ham fans are often desperate to hang on to their proud reputation with regards to producing young players in Tony Carr’s academy and therefore scoff at the idea of an older recruit getting first-team chances ahead of youth players.

If Allardyce and the staff around him felt that a player was good enough to step up into the first-team, there is no doubt that he would get the chance. Why would Allardyce waste any of his budget on a player if he had a younger, hungrier version sitting in the reserves for free?

Signing older players will actually benefit the youth players at West Ham. Not only do they gain from the experience of a man with a magnificent career behind him, but there is a place in the squad with a nearing expiry date which they could step into.

Short-term options therefore actually give enough time for young players to develop and show whether they will make the cut. For all we know, Allardyce could have big plans for the likes of Ravel Morrison next season. By bringing in Ambrosini, he provides a young midfielder like Morrison with a role model, competition and someone who plays in the same position, which can relieve the sense of pressure on a young footballer who is likely to burn out if he is heavily relied on for 38 games a season.

Similarly, Ambrosini is unlikely to be able to play two games in one week so he would benefit from having a young protégée to take over for certain fixtures in what will inevitably be a congested schedule. It is a win-win situation for everyone. If West Ham had a decent youth prospect but signed a 25 year-old midfielder in his position, the chances the unproven youngster would play are likely to be far more limited.

Therefore signings like Ambrosini should be looked at very positively. Moreno Roggi, Ambrosini’s agent, confirmed that there is an offer on the table for West Ham. Let’s hope all parties agree as contrary to popular thought, this is a forward-thinking decision rather than one rooted in the past.

Follow me on Twitter @RichMaher93

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.