Who will be the West Ham boss next season? Will their former maestro be brought in if Allardyce fails?
If West Ham United are unsuccessful in their promotion bid, we simply can’t see Sam Allardyce being given another season at Upton Park.
There is every chance they won’t either. While the Hammers have succeeded in taking the race for an automatic promotion spot to the final day, they were supposed to have it wrapped up by now.
Instead the one remaining place is in Southampton’s hands, and only an unlikely Saints loss will let West Ham back in.
Then there are the play-offs to negotiate, where anything can happen, and sides with more momentum than the Hammers will be equally determined to seize their golden chance.
So it is evenly poised, but Allardyce was brought in as a safe pair of hands, one who could get the job done, and thus far it is looking like he may fall short of the target.
It would be incredibly disappointing for all connected with the club, not least their co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan, who made sure Allardyce was well backed, and stressed the financial importance of bouncing straight back up to the Premier League.
With even more question marks over West Ham’s future location- is the Olympic Stadium a go-er at this point? And less substantial parachute payments incoming after their relegation last season, there are big challenges ahead for the Hammers if promotion is not achieved.
Many supporters had made their mind up over Allardyce before he was appointed, with complaints over his ‘direct’ style of play being voiced to the co-owners, who defended the appointment, arguing Big Sam was a pragmatic choice to get them promoted.
It is a desperate shame for Allardyce then, that his West Ham side seem to have saved their worst performances for at home in front of their own fans. They went on a streak where they could not stop drawing games they should have won, and topped it off by losing 4-2 at home to Reading.
In was this form which saw them let slip control of the automatic promotion places, when it was looking like for so long that they and Southampton had it tied up.
It may seem too early for West Ham fans to contemplate now, with all still to play for, but if they are unsuccessful should a new manager be brought in?
Allardyce has been critical of the support, and vice-versa, and a season of failure will only add fuel to the fire. The players need to take their share of the blame of course, and West Ham are not renowned for a revolving door policy of managers, although that history has changed somewhat in recent years, with Roeder, Curbishley, Pardew, Zola and Grant in charge during the past few years.
Will it be time for a new man, or will that be even more of a gamble? The temptation of former hitman Paolo di Canio, earning rave reviews for his progress with Swindon, may be tough to resist. Would it be too early for him to move up? We’ll never know unless he is given a chance.
The appointment will get West Ham fans excited again, if the club fails and needs a lift, the Italian can be the one to provide it. They’ll hope they won’t need to of course, and that Southampton slip up this weekend, but it remains a long shot.
Allardyce may just be approaching his last chance saloon, ready to go all-in on the game of luck and chance that is the play-offs.
image: © Ben Sutherland
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