Will West Ham need the services of their former boss?
Sam Allardyce was a prudent appointment by West Ham in 2011 when they found themselves in the Championship.
Tasked with getting the side promoted, he accomplished his goal, and led the side back to mid-table comfort in the Premier League.
Yet he was never a great fit at the Hammers stylistically, and the board felt Allardyce had taken West Ham as far as he could.
Now 18 months after firing him, Allardyce is exactly the type of manager they need after a woeful start to the season.
West Ham find themselves unexpectedly in the thick of a relegation battle. They sit in 17th position just one point off the drop zone, and three points off 20th placed Swansea.
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The weekend’s loss to Arsenal was an embarrassing performance, with Slaven Bilic’s side looking lost as they were hammered 5-1.
The root of their problems lie with two issues, poor transfer dealings in the summer and a failure to get to grips with leaving Upton Park to play their home games at the Olympic Stadium.
The latter of these is harder to deal with, but with the transfer window coming up, West Ham do not have long to act if they decide they need a new manager.
As tough as it may be to consider, the club may have to contemplate sounding out Sam Allardyce to save them once again.
Former England manager Sam Allardyce
Allardyce has never been relegated as a Premier League manager, and it is hard to imagine that this would change if he took over at West Ham.
If he got a call from one of Gold, Sullivan or Brady, Allardyce may simply laugh down the phone in response, but if the trio can put egos aside, they may realise that with a 60,000 seater stadium to fill – relegation would be utterly disastrous.
Allardyce is the best in the business at preventing this fate, and might be exactly what they need if results do not improve fast.
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