Allardyce: No 4-4-2 unless I have best in England
At the risk of being described as a “master of stating the self-bloody evident ” to quote the wonderful John Cleese, we are never going to see 4-4-2 at Upton Park.
How do I know this? Not as a result of watching Sam Allardyce teams over too many years but from the man’s own lips today.
Friday is always a day when club managers have much to say for themselves and today it’s been situation normal at Upton Park.
Allardyce has touched on Andy Carroll’s return, Neil McDonald remaining at the club, Sepp Blatter’s edict that managers should be able to challenge a referee’s decisions during games (unsurprisingly, he likes the idea) and why he didn’t play Mo Diame in his favoured position.
You might have thought that was quite enough Sam Allardyce for one day but the significant piece of news, hidden away under a mass of words was his discussion about systems he may or may not adopt.
He was discussing the indefensible performance against Southampton and how the Hammers committed suicide.
Here’ comes the key sentences from his London Evening Standard column: “It is going to take time for everyone to settle in but by the end of the next 10 games we’ll know a lot about this squad of players, their strengths and weaknesses, which will help us adjust and improve.
“We can change systems if we need to but let me point out right now that it’s not going to be 4-4-2 unless my two strikers are the two best in English football.”
So there you have it. Allardyce need not have mentioned this at all but brought it up presumably because of vociferous fans.
What was that about getting the fans back onside? Not going too well is it!