W
whufaninpeace
Guest
West Ham fan in peace (as the name implies),
I just wanted to write here to give you a West Ham fan's opinion on Big Sam, to give you the full story on his time at West Ham, and how I believe he will be one of the better managers you've ever had. This will be a lengthy post, so to avoid wasting your time, if you don't feel like reading the whole thing, the highlights are in bold.
First my opinion on BS. When he was appointed, there were a lot of reservations from the West Ham faithful, due to his perceived image. I was reluctant, but I knew he was what was needed at the time. The owners gave him all of the tools he needed to succeed, including a huge budget, and the pick of his captain, Kevin Nolan. To Allardyce's credit (which he deserves a ton of), he came in immediately, cleared out the deadwood, changed the ethos of the club from a dejected and broken group of individuals, to a confident and united squad, and brought in practically an entirely new squad. What he achieved in his first two seasons with West Ham was nothing short of exceptional. Every West Ham fan I know is extremely grateful for what he has done for this club. He took us from the doom and gloom of the Avram Grant season, to a decent mid table premier league side. For that, the reasonable West Ham fans (not the minority hiding behind their computer screens) are eternally grateful. Who knows where we would be without him right now, and that playoff final vs Blackpool will go down as one of my favorite memories ever.
The reason things started to change, was due to the severe change in our form last season. I know some of it was due to the fact that he more than likely knew he wouldn't be in a job come season's end, but don't fall into the trap created by his friends in the media and believe that he was treated poorly by the owners. Some of the fans, yes, but the owners did nothing wrong. The problem we had with the side was that our early season form, and the way we were playing was spectacular. No West Ham fans were booing Allardyce during this time, and we had all believed he had turned a corner and could push on from his typical style of play. However, we were playing this way because of the absence of Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll due to injury. We were able to inject pace into the side and worked a high press, which worked wonderfully. Also, I am in no way slagging off the two players, as Kevin Nolan was vital in uniting our squad, and was a useful player in his first two seasons, and Andy Carroll is unplayable on his day. Once these two were back and (barely) fit, Allardyce proceeded to take out the spine of the squad that was doing so well, abandon the 4-4-2 that had Sakho and Valencia unplayable, Downing unstoppable at the tip of the diamond, and revert to his 4-5-1 with long balls over Big Andy's head, and a reliance on set pieces, and Downing shunted out on the wing. It was so disheartening to watch. We then only won 3 games for the rest of the season, playing football that was, to be frank, turgid at best. We knew that we had a squad capable of playing some good football, but it just wasn't happening.
The booing of the win vs Hull: I wasn't there that game, but I had quite a few (reasonable) mates who were. Every time I hear about the booing, it seems the number of fans booing has increased a considerable amount. It was only a few hundred who booed. The reason the boos were heard is because the rest of the fans were still in shock with how the game went. We were completely played off the park by an awful Hull side playing with 10 men, and only won due to a scrappy OG and a red card/penalty decision. I remember thinking at the final whistle, "How the f*** did we win that?!". It was truly awful, and I definitely didn't find myself applauding, but I would never boo a win, and the fans who did should be ashamed.
The media perceived West Ham fans' delusion/the West Ham way: There seems to be a belief from some other fans and the media that we coined "The West Ham Way", that we demand our manager to play that way, and that we expect to be a top 4 team. Most West Ham fans are realistic and are perfectly happy with competing in the top half of the table. With the new stadium move coming up, that may change in the next 2-5 years, but for now we are perfectly happy with top half, and ecstatic at where we are at the moment. There is no set "West Ham Way". What we like our teams to do is work hard, and have a belief that they can go out there and win every game. There is no set style, and we are perfectly fine with our team mixing in the occasional direct ball forward with the passing style and quick press.
I just wanted to write here to give you a West Ham fan's opinion on Big Sam, to give you the full story on his time at West Ham, and how I believe he will be one of the better managers you've ever had. This will be a lengthy post, so to avoid wasting your time, if you don't feel like reading the whole thing, the highlights are in bold.
First my opinion on BS. When he was appointed, there were a lot of reservations from the West Ham faithful, due to his perceived image. I was reluctant, but I knew he was what was needed at the time. The owners gave him all of the tools he needed to succeed, including a huge budget, and the pick of his captain, Kevin Nolan. To Allardyce's credit (which he deserves a ton of), he came in immediately, cleared out the deadwood, changed the ethos of the club from a dejected and broken group of individuals, to a confident and united squad, and brought in practically an entirely new squad. What he achieved in his first two seasons with West Ham was nothing short of exceptional. Every West Ham fan I know is extremely grateful for what he has done for this club. He took us from the doom and gloom of the Avram Grant season, to a decent mid table premier league side. For that, the reasonable West Ham fans (not the minority hiding behind their computer screens) are eternally grateful. Who knows where we would be without him right now, and that playoff final vs Blackpool will go down as one of my favorite memories ever.
The reason things started to change, was due to the severe change in our form last season. I know some of it was due to the fact that he more than likely knew he wouldn't be in a job come season's end, but don't fall into the trap created by his friends in the media and believe that he was treated poorly by the owners. Some of the fans, yes, but the owners did nothing wrong. The problem we had with the side was that our early season form, and the way we were playing was spectacular. No West Ham fans were booing Allardyce during this time, and we had all believed he had turned a corner and could push on from his typical style of play. However, we were playing this way because of the absence of Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll due to injury. We were able to inject pace into the side and worked a high press, which worked wonderfully. Also, I am in no way slagging off the two players, as Kevin Nolan was vital in uniting our squad, and was a useful player in his first two seasons, and Andy Carroll is unplayable on his day. Once these two were back and (barely) fit, Allardyce proceeded to take out the spine of the squad that was doing so well, abandon the 4-4-2 that had Sakho and Valencia unplayable, Downing unstoppable at the tip of the diamond, and revert to his 4-5-1 with long balls over Big Andy's head, and a reliance on set pieces, and Downing shunted out on the wing. It was so disheartening to watch. We then only won 3 games for the rest of the season, playing football that was, to be frank, turgid at best. We knew that we had a squad capable of playing some good football, but it just wasn't happening.
The booing of the win vs Hull: I wasn't there that game, but I had quite a few (reasonable) mates who were. Every time I hear about the booing, it seems the number of fans booing has increased a considerable amount. It was only a few hundred who booed. The reason the boos were heard is because the rest of the fans were still in shock with how the game went. We were completely played off the park by an awful Hull side playing with 10 men, and only won due to a scrappy OG and a red card/penalty decision. I remember thinking at the final whistle, "How the f*** did we win that?!". It was truly awful, and I definitely didn't find myself applauding, but I would never boo a win, and the fans who did should be ashamed.
The media perceived West Ham fans' delusion/the West Ham way: There seems to be a belief from some other fans and the media that we coined "The West Ham Way", that we demand our manager to play that way, and that we expect to be a top 4 team. Most West Ham fans are realistic and are perfectly happy with competing in the top half of the table. With the new stadium move coming up, that may change in the next 2-5 years, but for now we are perfectly happy with top half, and ecstatic at where we are at the moment. There is no set "West Ham Way". What we like our teams to do is work hard, and have a belief that they can go out there and win every game. There is no set style, and we are perfectly fine with our team mixing in the occasional direct ball forward with the passing style and quick press.
