Sam and Winston’s positions may be linked

I’ve just come off the phone from an old pro who posed a very interesting question: “Is Winston Reid’s reluctance to sign a new deal linked to the uncertainty surrounding Sam Allardyce’s position?”

It’s a scenario that’s worth considering although all the sounds coming out of the club are that the central defender is determined to study every option available before finally deciding what he wants to do.

He has Europe on his mind and with both Manchester United and Arsenal looking in need of a decent central defender he’s clearly not going to be rushed into putting pen to paper.

However, despite having been offered around £60k a week (and that is the correct figure – not the reported £75k), other issues enter may enter a players mind.

And this former Hammers player said: “Winston’s coming to the end of a deal as is the manager and the defender may be wondering what happens if he signs and a new manager doesn’t fancy him.” Fair point!

Personally, I don’t believe the two positions are linked or that Winston and Sam are joined at the hip. But I reckon it may be an idea to sort future the managerial positions out by offering one year rolling deals.

Top players coming out of contract then know that the boss’ position is as safe as it can get so long as he is doing the business and it makes the pay off cheaper if things do go very wrong.

Meanwhile, the talking goes on!