By Rich Sprent
The criteria the board are imposing in their search for a new manager tells a story. It’s one that is restrictive if pragmatic. And yet if you look at the candidates spoken about it shows a plan in operation.Out go exciting coaches like Christophe Galtier and Frank De Boer. Neither have experience of the Premier League. The shopping list has thus far apparently included Rafa Benitez, David Moyes and Slaven Bilic.
All three are excellent coaches and produce similar teams. defensive minded, strong and progressive. Many won’t agree but Sam Allardyce shares their footballing principles. Replacing him however, removes the baggage of having split the fanbase so divisively. The three on the list would evolve West Ham rather than revolutionise us.
Many have quoted a West Ham way. This ain’t that. With the coaches mentioned, they all have the ability to begin a legacy. They will have the benefit of money being invested into the playing squad with the goal of year on year progression. Southampton are lauded for the way they’ve begun their legacy program.
Their next coach will have been lined up should Koeman move on. Investment in youth, players bought to fit into the system, the coaching and recruitment principles are all well stated. They appear to be the model of a progressive football club.
The shopping list criteria from the Dave’s precludes any emerging talent. No rookie bosses who may have a different view of how to play. I know that this website’s owner much admires Roberto Martinez. Roberto is an idealist and I see many comparisons to his coaching style as that of Ron Greenwood.
He is almost inflexible in his footballing principles. His players even reportedly begged him to let them play longer passes more often. Defence first is not an option for Roberto as it wasn’t for Ron. Any coach of his ilk will not be considered by the current board. That 40 point mark won’t ever be a risk for the board. This season’s target was 56pts and is still achievable.
So it appears that there is a new West Ham way being instilled with the recruitment perhaps being overseen by Tony Henry.
The Academy is being overhauled which is tough on the U21 players who may have had an outside chance of making it with the club. Sam carries the can for this but it’s something deeper. There are little risks being taken. The known targeted managers all have similar skillsets. It’s to be evolution and certainly no revolution.
As much as I would like to see us go for Eddie Howe or Christophe Galtier neither fit this new set of ideals in place for the soon to be E20 legacy. The football should improve with the investment in the squad. The dream to be self sufficient through the academy is always there. Having better players will help take that pressure off once they can break into the team.
The plan appears to be very business like. Very pragmatic. It’s to be much admired and I’m not moaning. If it’s applied then we become better year on year and should compete for Europe from next season. Thinking back to Greenwood however and the legacy does maybe lack a little soul.
In fairness, I have no real issue with a pragmatic coach – I think it’s been proven that you don’t win anything having to score four goals because the opposition has already put three past you. You get the same amount of points for winning 1-0 as 5-4. But, and I think this season has shown this, it can’t solely be about pragmatism. It’s a lot easier to get three points by trying to find a second goal than hunkering down on a single goal lead for the last half-hour. What’s needed is someone who, when the players get that one goal lead, will encourage them to continue playing the same way, rather than shutting up shop.
But this also depends on the standard of the squad. If you also have quatity players on the bench, Then it is easier to go for the 2 nd goal late on, because you can replace tired legs without weakening the team.
Why shoukd it be late on you go for the second goal?,having said that we normally need a second goal late on because we have conceded between the 60th & 80th minute while Sam has had us sat back bringing on the other team towards us as we sit deeper & deeper & we concede the equaliser for an ever familiar lead of 1-0 turning to 1-1 😉
Exactly Hammersfan,example Sams famous quote from the WBA game when they equalised.His comment after ‘We were trying too hard to score the second goal’.Enough said about BFSs philosphy on football 😉
I agree with this article and that stability should be the way forward. This being said I will reiterate what I spoke on Twitter if we don’t get 12pts from the remaining games Sam should not be given a new contract. 2pts shy of season goal with a couple results that should not have been (spuds home for example) but anything more then that is unacceptable.
‘Replacing him however, removes the baggage of having split the fanbase so divisively.’
I’m not sure you will ever completely remove it completely. Most of the managers mentioned certainly aren’t what some people would want to manage West Ham for example.
Rafa Benitez, David Moyes and Slaven Bilic ??
Moyes is apparently out now, and the other two play the defensive counter-attack game.
I remember how we all loved Curbishly for doing that. And he was one of ours!
I am not sure we all loved Curbishley for that, certainly I didn’t, his refusal to play Mascherano and at first Tevez just shows that he was the reason we required a great escape not the man that enabled it. Curbishley is another manager that plays survival football. Benitez needs a huge budget to make teams work, doesn’t have a great record with bringing young players in and plays ugly football, if you gave Allardyce the budget Benitez has had at his clubs he would probably deliver a trophy but only a cup not the league. Moyes like Allardyce has never won anything leave him in Spain he might yet evolve into a good manager but he needs more experience of different styles, Bilic of the three is at least oriented towards intelligent counter attacking football. Martinez mentioned in the article would be good fun but he has no idea about defence and until his football teams learn that they will remain as Arsene Wengers do ultimately unsuccessful because you need to be able to defend as well as attack to win leagues.
HUGH most of what you have written is correct but when I first went to live in the Valencia area Benitez was the coach at Valencia and to compare him and his playing method with BFS is insulting,his team played keep ball and never gave it away cheaply,there defence was very strong but there midfield was creative and hard working and there forwards were deadly in front of goal,but as with us his squad was thin and that is why he left the year after winning the league and European double,he wanted the club to invest but was told there was no money,
We give the ball away to cheaply,Players like Nolan would not even sit on his bench,
But with our defence and forwards he could build a great team over 2 or 3 years unlike BFS
BFS OUT
I’m not getting excited about any of them….and when did we really last unite behind our manager – Curbs, Pards, Grant, Zola, Sam etc etc it’s the West Ham way not to, shame actually, I think because we are eternal optimists and always think the good times are round the corner and the manager of the day is preventing it happening……I’ve been waiting 47 years for those good times…..fed up losing to Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and now Palace it seems.
Like I always say the only way to win with style is to get a squad of at least 20 quality players, and we are doing that gradually. It won’t be long till we beat Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea with those players.
Yeah is true dafishes,need a big pool of quality players to call on.We are short atm,too many left over from the Championship team of 4yrs ago we have to call on when we have injuries.All we need then is a manager who knows how to win with style as you put it 🙂
I’ll go with that
There’s only one golden rule you need to play by if you want success and it goes like this. When you are two goals up with fifteen minutes to play, that’s when you start playing like you are two goals down with five minutes to play.
If you do that, most of those last minute goals that slip by us wouldn’t ever occur .
The problem we have, is a manager who lacks the courage to do that, so he goes for the worst option.
If you give even a bad team enough chances, even they will score in the end.
Yeah we proved that against Sunderland saturday,a bad team will score in the end if you give them enough chances 😀
Koeman had no experience of the PL but he’s doing an excellent job. BFS has 20 years of experience of PL but his football is always the same s**t. I think we need a manager with a winning and modern mentality and I’m sure he’ll improve our play style. In my opinion managers like Klopp or De Boer would be perfect. The new stadium represents a great opportunity for players, fans but also for managers.
Klopp sounds good to me . If only…. lol
Moving to the OS should be an excellant selling point to a new manager that fancies taking on a project.To build a team to take into the OS & play in front of 54k each week.It will surely appeal to many managers.We just need to find the right one.I seriously wonder if we could even fill 54k of seats with the crap Dudley The Dinosaur has us playing.It certainly isnt going to find us new fans!
Great news about moyes ruling himself out. Another bullet dodged I wouldnt want any of the others mentioned either, especially benitez who was hated by liverpool fans and unwanted by chelsea fans. Its a democracy though and i suppose you can run a country with a minority govenment. If you had to.
Very good post Rich, its hard not to like the message, I am just not sold on Allardyce full stop. He has done very well at times, but it seems more luck than tactical genius. Then its back to lobbing the ball up to the lone striker or as Sam calls it 4-3-3.
Im in two minds about keeping allardyce too. Fact is every single club that sacked allardyce in last twenty years has gone on to be relegated. We are also currently on our longest period out of the bottom six since the last century believe it or not.
They got relegated because Newcastle were a mess anyway,bolton were coming to the end of their slight success under him with a team of golden oldies & blackburn were bought by a load of fools who know nothing about football.We will not suddenly get relegated just because Dudley The Dinosaur goes.Dont believe his brainwashing media trash.He isnt really the most Flexible,Sophisticated boss in the Prem,that is just how he sells his limited managerial skills to fool the public 😉
bfs has got to go for the sake of the club he his a turd rate manager
It’s a no brainer,we can’t carry on playing rubbish football and expect the supporters to keep paying,
If the manager can’t change which he has proved this year,if any of you out believe BFS would have not started the season without KN and AC being the first on the team sheet you are deluded,he was given 1 season to change his way and methods of playing and he has failed,why give him 1 or 2 more years to prove again he is not going to change,
The 2 Daves must bite the bullet and let him go I am sure the supporters that don’t want him to go can buy him a gold watch and even leave our club and follow him,
BFS OUT
The guy does not have the albility as a manager to improve our team.He has his way of playing football.The Dudley The Dinosaur way,it keeps team up through negative,bland football.There is no way,absolutely no way we will see decent football under him.Unless of course his pets are injured & his hand is forced like the start of the season.Even then he managed to balls up a great start to the season.Any guy who thinks it is better to stick Downing back on the wing to get Nolan in the team is clueless & just shows he will do anything to put his pets in the team.8 games to go then lets move on minus Dudley!