Would West Ham have been better off keeping Sam Allardyce?

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Sam Allardyce left West Ham in 2015 and has since managed Sunderland, England and current club Crystal Palace.

Crystal Palace are in fine form under Sam Allardyce

Victory over Liverpool at the weekend was Crystal Palace’s sixth win from their last eight games. Only Tottenham have picked up more points over that same period. Three points at Anfield saw the Eagles soar to 12th in the Premier League, just two points behind Southampton, and virtually assured them of survival. Perhaps more significantly, the win saw Sam Allardyce’s men leapfrog his former side West Ham United in the Premier League table.

Now seems like as good a time as any then to ask, would West Ham have been better off hanging on to Big Sam? The 62-year-old performed miracles at Sunderland last season and after a shaky start, he is now getting some incredible results for Crystal Palace. Few expected Palace to go down once they appointed Allardyce, but home defeats to Swansea City and Sunderland early in his reign raised a few questions ahead of a tricky run-in. The 2016 FA Cup finalists have made a mockery of those concerns though, beating Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in April alone.

When West Ham finished seventh in the Premier League in Slaven Bilic’s first season in charge of the Hammers, many felt the club’s decision – which had been supported by many fans – not to offer Sam Allardyce a new contract had been vindicated. West Ham fans had repeatedly been told to be ‘careful what you wish for’ when pushing for Allardyce’s departure, but Bilic’s success appeared to show they had been right to back change.

Slaven Bilic’s West Ham side are now below Allardyce’s Crystal Palace in the Premier League

Almost twelve months on and the picture isn’t quite so clear. The brightest light of Bilic’s first season, Dimitri Payet, is gone. The defensive stability implemented by Big Sam has been decimated. Numerous Bilic signings have flopped enormously, some at considerable expense, and the club’s current best performers were largely brought to the club by Allardyce. Multiple chinks have appeared in Bilic’s armor, and some have even called for his dismissal.

Back in October 2015, Sam Allardyce warned Slaven Bilic that West Ham fans would turn against him if he failed to implement both winning and entertaining football. When wishing the Croatian good luck in the role he had vacated, Big Sam added, “he will need it”.

What looked like bitterness last season amid the Hammers success, now appears to be coming true. Whether Bilic’s football is currently entertaining is up for debate, but he certainly hasn’t been doing a great deal of winning. The club have only won one game more than strugglers Hull City and Swansea City this season, and sit just 7 points clear of the relegation zone, albeit without any genuine concerns of dropping out of the Premier League.