February shows West Ham were right to stick with Sam

Article by e-West Ham Correspondent Brandon Freeman

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At a time where Premier League Chairman seemed to be trigger happy, with changes of personnel at West Brom, Fulham, Swansea and Cardiff, it would have been no surprise for West Ham to have sacked Sam Allardyce, especially due to our mauling at Nottingham Forest and a 9-0 aggregate humiliation to Manchester City in the Capital One Cup.

However, given the debilitating list of injuries to first team players the owners kept their nerve, believing that a return to first team action for players such as Winton Reid and Andy Carroll would usher in a period of success for the hammers. They were right.

Although I have always been a big fan of Big Sam, having taken over at a club which looked in peril following relegation to the Championship and dragging them straight back up, even I was beginning to lose patience with the lacklustre performances that set us into freefall in the league. The fact that we had put all of our eggs in one basket with the signing of Andy Carroll reflected very badly upon those in charge of player recruitment and the questionable performances of key players such as Mobido Maiga and Kevin Nolan lead many fans, me included, to believe that Sam had lost the dressing room and that some of our players were not up for the fight.

Despite this, the return of first team players has given the team, and fans, a new found confidence that has enabled us to turn our season completely around, picking up full points in the month that was going to either make or break our Premier League status. Although credit for this recent run of form has to go to the players and management, some thanks must be given to the board for bucking the recent trend of other Chairman in the league of sacking managers when their team is in trouble.

Although I am still not totally convinced that Big Sam’s direct style is what West Ham should be adopting, it is undeniable that it gets results when the whole team pulls in the same direction. Our 3-1 win over Southampton being the best example of this unity the squad has, as coming from a goal down to win shows the grit and determination that Sam had instilled in the last few weeks having previously taken just one point from losing positions in the league.

Despite the fact that a large proportion of Hammers fans dislike the style of play Big Sam brings to West Ham, it gives us much needed stability in the Premier League and should provide the ideal platform for our move to the Olympic Stadium.

Do you believe that sticking with Big Sam and his style of play will be right for West Ham in the long term?

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