Learn to appreciate the new direction

My overriding memory of the last Premiership fixture at Upton Park is the crowd bellowing out: ‘Andy Carroll, we want you to stay!’ Jeremy Nicholas (rather embarrassingly) asked the fans to get behind the cause to keep Andy but in truth it was not needed. It seemed every supporter was desperate for the big man to put pen to paper on a permanent deal.

There is great irony in the fact that the chant desperately aiming to persuade Carroll to remain at West Ham was in the same tune as the dreaded ‘we play on the floor’ drone which was so commonly sung by those disgruntled with Sam Allardyce.

Allardyce must be left scratching his head when fickle supporters express displeasure with his style of football, yet sing the praises of the forward who epitomises his tactics. The fact is; if you’re a fan of Andy Carroll then you are inevitably a fan of Sam Allardyce.

If Allardyce and Kevin Nolan were not at the club, a pairing who a section of supporters take issue with, then the England international forward would not be at West Ham United. It is as simple as that.

I think it was obvious that Carroll was left unfulfilled by his time at Liverpool and would’ve liked to have proved doubters wrong. But in a World Cup year, he made the correct decision to join a club with whom he is already settled, who will base their team around him and, vitally, who will play a style of football to suit him perfectly.

Personally I have no problem with Allardyce’s style. It is, of course, direct at times, but with an asset like Carroll it would be foolish to not to utilise his aerial presence.

We should be proud to be one of few clubs preserving the dying breed of the old-fashioned English centre forward rather than internationalising ourselves like everyone else in an effort to become yet another cheap imitation of Barcelona.

With the signing of another England international in Stewart Downing secured, we can now look forward to the prospect of two top established wingers supplying the delivery to our number nine. Surely we don’t have to be ashamed of having an appreciation of that?

I am quite surprised at the amount of supporters who aren’t happy with the Downing signing. The wide-man has been to a World Cup with England and undoubtedly we would’ve all loved to have snapped him up during his time at Middlesbrough and Aston Villa. Two average years does not mean he will not return to great form.

Unsurprisingly there was no such disapproval at the signing of Joe Cole. Cole was arguably a much poorer signing than Downing – he does not really fit into our current tactics, is older and was extremely injury-prone and out-of-form when we signed him.

Understandably the affection and nostalgia surrounding Cole provoked a reaction of sheer delight but, regardless of personal attachments and feelings, Downing will be a far more useful player to us than Cole this season.

Another fresh player in the squad is Ravel Morrison. Although he joined some time ago, his lack of action in a West Ham shirt and high appraisal gives him the intrigue and excitement of a big new signing.

Six goals in pre-season could show that Morrison is finally ready to fulfil the potential which was suggested when Sir Alex Ferguson said he was one of the best players he had ever seen. I am dubious to trust Morrison with his track-record and attitude problem, but he could be very useful if given the chance.

Apparently Allardyce has rejected several loan offers, including one from Birmingham who he was on loan with last year, and so it seems Morrison is finally ready to step into the first-team and prove whether he can make it at the highest level.

Morrison looks to be a fantastic player, and his skill was undeniable at the Pacos de Ferreira home friendly, but we can’t place too much responsibility on the shoulders of a young man who has proved he is liable to get a rush of blood to the head at any moment.

It is interesting that all the players mentioned in this article thus far are English. The English core at West Ham United is undeniably one of the strongest in the league now and something I’m sure all fans will welcome.

Of course it is great to have the exotic foreigner, we have certainly fallen for a few of them over recent years with the likes of Paolo Di Canio and Carlos Tevez, but as an English fan I think it definitely gives you a greater intimacy with the squad when they are of the same nationality.

The sense that they understand the club and its culture is invaluable and something I think will help drive us forward this season to an improved Premiership position and hopefully an impressive cup run.

And, as mentioned, it is a World Cup year. Who’s to say we won’t have another three Lions in Brazil in the Summer? Exciting times are ahead, I hope the persistent moaners can recognise that and embrace the direction we are moving in.

Follow me on Twitter @RichMaher93

Mourinho; Moyes; Allardyce

I have an embarrassing image in my mind of Jeremy Nicholas innocently cueing a rapturous round of applause for Sam Allardyce’s new contract this afternoon and instead being met with a disgruntled mixture of jeers, boos and of course, a number of justified cheers.

As Allardyce’s second term in charge reaches a climax, it is fair to say he still hasn’t won the support of everyone. That is despite an immediate return to the Premier League, a trip to Wembley and a mid-table finish in the top flight.

Much like you are probably bewilderedly wondering why Manchester City have dismissed Roberto Mancini just one season after he snatched the league title from the red half of Manchester, plenty of football fans will be scratching their heads for as to why any Hammer could legitimately oppose Allardyce’s reign.

Whilst I am not arguing Allardyce is an inflated, northern reincarnation of Pep Guardiola, I do think that to suggest his style of football is far different from plenty of other successful coaches is a myth.

Last Saturday we were beaten comprehensively. Allardyce himself admitted that the players looked distracted and has also stressed the need to improve away from home next year. Thus we should hold back on whining about away form and give Sam a chance to rectify it over the Summer. After all it was our home form which was criticised last year and our away form celebrated. Some people have short memories.

Apparently Saturday’s game was one of Everton’s best performances of the season, undoubtedly sparked by the emotional exit of David Moyes who will succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.

Moyes’ eleven years at Everton are considered successful because they were stable. He has managed to operate on a tight budget and still wedge the club firmly in amongst the top seven. If Allardyce has already broke into the top ten in one year (assuming we hold on to that place today) then what makes you think he cannot replicate Moyes’ success?

It is also important to remember that Moyes has been criticised in the past for similar to reasons to why Allardyce has been. Brendan Rodgers, Steven Gerrard and even Ferguson himself, the man who recommended Moyes as his heir, have labelled Everton long-ball merchants.

With reference to Marouane Fellaini in Manchester United’s game against Everton this very season, Ferguson argued “it was just difficult to handle him when they were knocking these balls up to him. He is a handful, a big, tall, gangly lad, and they just lumped the ball forward to him, that's all they did”. Sound familiar?

Fortunately for Moyes, these jibes have been brushed off whereas for Allardyce, the label has stuck like fluff to Velcro. This is probably because Moyes has become somewhat of a media darling for the longevity of his time at Everton whereas Allardyce will always be 

Moyes' new 'image' at Man U

associated with an unfashionable Bolton Wanderers team.

When questioned about these criticisms back in November, Moyes was unfazed. He argued that “we are beginning to compete better against most of the top clubs now so that’s perhaps why these things are being said. I’d sooner get that, them having a dig, than people being nice about us because we’ve lost”.

Moyes makes a valid point. West Ham went through a stage of being continually praised under Gianfranco Zola, and whilst it was flattering, we were a far weaker and unstable outfit back then. You must first become hard to beat in the Premiership to earn the right to attack with fluidity.

Anyone who saw Everton against us last Saturday, or at their best during the season, must admit that they play an attractive style of football, and most importantly a successful brand of football. However they set up for games very similarly to us.

They have a solid back four, two deep-lying central midfielders, two wingers, one striker and a goal scorer sitting just behind him in the form of Fellaini (our Kevin Nolan). The only difference between us and Everton is that Moyes has had the time to acquire quality players and to have them play with each other regularly.

Allardyce is in a fantastic position to do the same. In Andy Carroll we already have a superior target-man to Victor Anichebe; if we can hold on to him we can work on improving our squad to a similar standard.

As useful as Joey O’Brien has been this season, Leighton Baines is obviously a better attacking force. Similarly a goal-scoring winger in the form of Kevin Mirallas was the difference between the sides on Saturday, he is far better than Ricardo Vaz Te.

Allardyce has admitted “we need better players” despite the fact that the squad is already strong. If we support him and give him time to upgrade the team in a similar manner to how Moyes has, we could be rewarded with a team regularly competing in the top-half of the league.

Allardyce is perhaps in a better situation than Moyes was as he has greater funding, the prospect of a large new stadium and the attraction of London which is likely to appeal to some transfer targets.

Another coach likely to be plying his trade amongst the Premiership’s elite next year is managerial superstar Jose Mourinho. Unlike Allardyce, when you think of Mourinho, you do not think of the long-ball, you think of trophies, a fashionable foreigner and ‘the special one’.

When compared to English coaches, Mourinho’s career has been rather fortunate. It was Mourinho’s short success at União de Leiria, a side now in the Portuguese third division, along with his charisma, which convinced Porto to appoint him.



The English equivalent of Porto would have undoubtedly looked abroad for their manager whereas Portugese coaches have a greater chance of managing the major clubs in their home nation. With just one year’s managerial experience Mourinho got the Porto job; Allardyce had four smaller jobs before his eight-year spell at Bolton but he was still inevitably leapfrogged by foreign coaches for the top jobs.

In reality it is the image of Mourinho which makes him so attractive to employers. He is charismatic, lovingly arrogant and above all a winner. In just two years at Porto, Mourinho was fortunate enough to inherit a good group of players and dominate the Champions League in a particularly weak year. Porto eventually overcame a distinctly average Monaco in the final and the rest is history.

I am not trying to criticise Mourinho. I am just pointing out the opportunities he has had in his career are because of his image and his nationality. If he was a somewhat overweight, Worcestershire-born bloke named Sam I suspect his career would’ve panned out extremely differently.

Mourinho is actually extremely similar to Allardyce in terms of tactics. He is a pragmatist and his teams are predominantly reactive rather than proactive, even when they do include the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo as opposed to Kevin Nolan.

His favoured 4-2-3-1 is similar to the way Allardyce lines up as it can smoothly transform into a 4-4-1-1, a 4-5-1 or a 4-2-1-3. These rapid transitions are the reason that 4-4-2 is rarer in modern football; it is simply too rigid to adjust quickly when a team wish to change the emphasis and speed of the game.

If Allardyce hadn’t been alienated from so many other coaches via his reputation, perhaps he would be better appreciated like Moyes. The fact is that Allardyce has become an iconic image within the game, but he represents everything which has become unfashionable.

Allardyce represents the antithesis of the stylish manager, but in reality he may not be so different. We should appreciate finishing the season in tenth position in the capable hands of Allardyce and I hope next season is another one of many stable, successful campaigns under his guidance.

 

Follow me on Twitter @RichMaher93