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holyhandgrenade 5:25 Fri Feb 27
West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Good piece and gets across how finely poised this relationship is. I hope we have a good run-in, BFS stays and we all live happily ever after... :-)


http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/feb/27/west-ham-david-sullivan-sam-allardyce-power-struggle

David Sullivan was relaxed, brimming with characteristic conviction and in the mood to give himself a pat on the back. It was Christmas time, West Ham United were fifth in the Premier League before the derby visit of Arsenal and the club’s co-chairman was larging it on the sofa of Sky TV’s Soccer AM show.

“The longer you are in the game and the longer you’ve had the manager, you get involved more and more,” Sullivan said. “Because when you see your money wasted year after year, you think: ‘I could do as good as that.’

“And you really can, you know. I know that sounds daft but if you’ve had 20 years of buying players, seeing money spent … they’re not geniuses, managers.”

It is not difficult to imagine how that went down with Sam Allardyce, Sullivan’s current manager and another man who is not known for being a shy and retiring type. Two weeks ago Allardyce said there was no more sophisticated coach in the league than him. In short he was furious. It is never a good look to have your employer suggest you are little more than an interchangeable patsy.

On 18 January, after Allardyce’s team had beaten Hull City 3-0 at Upton Park, he was asked a general question about the club’s improvement this season. “There’s one thing to realise – recruitment is everything in the world of football,” Allardyce said. “You recruit well, you become a great manager. Our recruitment this year has been fantastic. It’s the best I’ve had in my entire career.”

Allardyce meant it. From back to front, Carl Jenkinson, Aaron Cresswell, Alex Song, Cheikhou Kouyaté, Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia have made important contributions. But at the same time it was hard not to wonder whether Allardyce was seeking to make some sort of coded point to Sullivan.

Here is the conflict at the heart of West Ham: the power struggle between the two men who control the football side of the club. Sullivan believes the improvement is down to him, specifically his decision to take responsibility for player transfers. Allardyce clearly is not having any of that but the upshot is he remains unclear over his continued employment.

Allardyce is out of contract at the end of the season and Sullivan will decide then, and not before, whether to keep him. Perhaps he is showing Allardyce who is boss but it is a remarkable situation given how the season has gone so far. West Ham have already hit all of their pre-season targets – they are eighth and safe, the stadium is sold out and they are playing better football. But the Sullivan-Allardyce dynamic is the fly in the ointment.

Sullivan, who talks and reacts like a fan, has not forgotten Allardyce’s infamous ear-cupping gesture at the Upton Park crowd after the win over Hull last March or how he felt at the end of last season when the team had limped home in 13th place, with 40 points and 40 goals. Sullivan gave vent to his emotions at a commercial dinner in which he stunned attendees, including the players, by laying into them and Allardyce in a speech. The feeling persists that Allardyce is far from being Sullivan’s ideal manager, that theirs is a marriage of mere convenience.

West Ham cannot countenance a relegation as they prepare to enter the Olympic Stadium in 2016-17 – and reap the incredible riches which that will bring – and Allardyce is surely the man to preserve their status even if it might not always be an aesthetic feast.

The uneasy situation has led to rumours and manoeuvring, with the Besiktas manager, Slaven Bilic, being linked as a potential successor to Allardyce. The charismatic Croatian, who is a former West Ham playing favourite, ticks a lot of boxes.

It was also interesting to hear well-connected figures within the game seeking to push Allardyce’s credentials for the Aston Villa job after Paul Lambert’s sacking this month and before Tim Sherwood’s appointment. For the record Villa were not keen.

Song and Sakho have been the biggest successes of the Upton Park recruitment drive of last summer and, during his Soccer AM appearance, Sullivan made it clear that he was central to the deals, particularly the one for Sakho.

“If the manager wants a player that you particularly like … for example, Alex Song, then you go the extra mile because you love the player and you break your wage limits and your budgets,” Sullivan said. “I chose Sakho, for my sins. I was recommended to him by Karren Brady’s brother [in December 2013] and we followed him.

“Sam hadn’t got a target that he wanted so I said: ‘As much as you don’t want Sakho, I want him, so let’s take him.’ And he said: ‘All right then.’ I think had he got someone else he wouldn’t have taken him and Sakho wouldn’t be a West Ham player.”

Sullivan has admitted Sakho, who played at Metz in the French second division last season and had been the club’s fall-back option behind Connor Wickham – who could not be prised away from Sunderland – was a “complete gamble.”

Some you win, some you lose. West Ham, for example, lost with Modibo Maïga who they signed from Sochaux in 2012 for £4.7m. There are similarities between the strikers but whereas Maïga flopped at West Ham, Sakho has thrived. He has scored 11 goals so far and the £3.5m fee has come to look like a bargain.

The margins are fine at the highest level and they certainly were for Allardyce at the end of last season when Sullivan chaired a board meeting to discuss whether to sack him. In the end, West Ham retained him for three key reasons.

There was the lack of a compelling alternative – Steve McClaren was the best name they came up with – the fact that Allardyce had not lost the dressing room and the financial implications of dismissing him.

It would have cost the club £2.5m to pay up the final year on his contract and a further £1.5m for his backroom staff, plus the money for a new manager and coaching team.

It is extremely difficult to second-guess Sullivan, to read the ongoing battle between his head and his heart. The former knows results are the most important thing while the latter wonders whether the grass could be greener with a different manager. Dare he roll the dice with the Olympic Stadium move looming?

Sullivan has noted how eight of West Ham’s final nine matches are against teams that are placed 10th and below in the table. He believes they are winnable, that a strong finish is there for the taking.

Allardyce faces another day of reckoning.

Hammer and Pickle 1:13 Sat Feb 28
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Hull it was.

Brucies_Star_Prize 12:36 Sat Feb 28
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Hammer and Pickle 11:06 Sat Feb 28

It's actually actually 9 points from 9 games and we didn't play Stoke (we beat Hull). That isn't relegation form in itself but when you consider that 6 of those 9 games were against teams above us in the league it helps provide some context.

You could just as easily argue that our form in the 11 games prior to Chelsea was 'championship winning' but that would be equally dishonest.

*passes over the Żołądkova Gorzka*

Na zdrowie

WHU(Exeter) 12:24 Sat Feb 28
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Makes football management sound a right doddle.

Have to wonder why they're employing the 13th(?) highest paid one in football.

threesixty 11:24 Sat Feb 28
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Do you stay with a girl with huge tits and gives great head but winds you up all the time? Sometimes you gotta let em go for your own sanity!

Hammer and Pickle 11:06 Sat Feb 28
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

8 points out of a possible 27 and only one win (Stoke).

Oh and try shots of chilled vodka with pickled Bismarck herrings under a dollop of sour cream - soon put a bit of lead in your pencil.

Brucies_Star_Prize 10:57 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Hammer and Pickle 10:16 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Relegation form?

Put the vodka away mate.

KingandPaynter 10:48 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

If BFS stays it will never be happy ever after - his ego is detrimental to West Ham United FC and the multi-million £ future of the club....

Every week he shows how stupid that ego is either in tactics or stuff he spouts in interviews 'most sophisticated manager in the PL' for example. Harry Kane is better than Rooney days before we play Spurs which bigs up the Spurs player who dives for a Penalty in the dying secs - wish he'd just shut the fuck up and manage the team without Nolan and let Valencia/Sahko fly for us.

BUT HE WON'T DO THAT !!


holyhandgrenade 5:25 Fri Feb 27
West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power
Good piece and gets across how finely poised this relationship is. I hope we have a good run-in, BFS stays and we all live happily ever after... :-)

Balto 10:47 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

The question to ask ourselves is: do players get better working with Allardyce? I would answer no. But I'm biased.

Ignoring the man for a moment, the qualifications, experience and capabilities required of a modern Premier League Manager have changed radically over the last ten years.

If I were DG & DS I would create a spereadsheet of what they are looking for and see who fits the bill.

I think tactical flexibility is key and BFS is very rigid. Crossing balls to center halves isn't a way forward and we seem to have found alternative by accident - which is worrying.

Hermit Road 10:21 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Jenkinson isn't a find, he's played in and acquited himself well in the Champions League for Arsenal. Cresswell was voted the best left back in the championship last year so was hardly an unknown.

Two fantastic signings no doubt, but they weren't exactly hidden gems.

Hammer and Pickle 10:16 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Crassus mate, it's been relegation form since the Chelsea game.

Leaving aside the club politics of who has the real say-so on transfers, Allardyce has found himself with real talent at his disposal this season. Yes the squad is on the thin side, but so has been the inclination to use it to its full potential. And this is where it has all gone tits up, hasn't it. Instead of using the talent it's been about the reliance on Nolan and Carroll/Cole and a truly cavalier approach to other players' football abilities (the Zarate loan, Amalfitano benched, Downing out of position out wide, Noble under clear instructions to stay back, Song looking like he couldn't give a toss).
Sorry he's really, really old school and that means the "boys" do what they are told and play to his instructions.

That simply is not going to work with these new players.

Alex V 10:12 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

>>> Particuarly given we should have had another 4 pts from those

Not in my opinion - I think we rode our luck in all three.

Crassus 9:39 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

ajc

Not entirely true that

Draws against Man Utd, home; Soton and Spurs away say otherwise

Particuarly given we should have had another 4 pts from those

ajc123 9:29 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Comma that was what Sullivan said he wanted. Nothing to do with where I think we are.
We've shown that this squad can compete and we should have capitalised on the fortunate coming together of Sakho, Valencia, etc. We haven't and now when we should be challenging and difficult to beat we're struggling.

, 9:21 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Curbishley should not be on that list.

Balto 9:11 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

This will be BFS's last Premier League appointment unless he gets another Championship side to take up.

Think of all those promotion managers who couldn't manage to maintain that momentum in the top tier. Nigel Adkins, Ian Holloway, Tony Mowbray, Chris Hughton, Peter Reid, Alan Curbishley, Neil Warnock, Danny Wilson, Harry Redknapp (with QPR), Billy Davis, Mick McCarthy, Paul Jewell and so on.

The top tier of clubs in the PL is littered with managers who have had international experience, are multi-lingual and are computer literate.

Joe C 9:11 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

Absolutely an article written and published by a Sullivan acolyte.

Nothing wrong with that of course, but I'm unsurprisied by the posters that claim to love the article.

And WHOicidal maniac is right, Jenkinson and Cresswell are the finds of the season. Cresswell in particular

the exile 9:05 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

H & P - fucking well hope you're right.

Hammer and Pickle 8:22 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

That's an interesting one Crassus, as I have a feeling that, like Curbishley, he may not be awash with offers after all.

Crassus 8:19 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

I think it is all irrelevent, as the manager has a choice too and in the wider market his currency will never be higher, nor his earning capacity

I firmly believe he will walk elsewhere and achieve whatever target is set, be that stay up or get promotion. He will be at a struggler or a big side wanting in on the PL cash

And in reality that will likely be best for all concerned

, 7:50 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

To me this article is full of holes. It expresses opinions that are flawed such as calling Song and Sakho successes when the rest of us know that Cresswell and Jenkinson have by their overall play also contributed significantly to our performances.

I'm interested too in ajc's post in that he seriously thinks that we've got a top six squad when self evidently we have not. By all means criticise BFS [ and his haters shop around for the least little reson to find fault ] but for goodness sake to base opinions on reality.

I'm not one to be much in thrall with pundits but I do not remember any one of them tipping WHU for a top six place. For that matter neither did any of this Board's sensible posters.

BTW, I voted for BFS not to have his contract renewed.

Balto 6:55 Fri Feb 27
Re: West Ham’s marriage of convenience threatened by struggle for power

ajc123

I think BFS could argue that some of our recruiting has been last minute loan deals compared to other clubs purchasing outright. But basing your entire attacking strategy on Andy Carroll being picked out by Jarvis running up and down the wing has clearly not paid off.

Andy Carroll's body clearly can not sustain this style of play. His ankles and knees have given out and modern defneders know how to deal with it. On his day he is unplayable but they are few and far between. Fellaini isn't having much luck with this in a ManU shirt either.

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