West Ham United continue to be linked with a whole host of strikers while Hammer’s Co-Chairman David Gold has come out defending Allardyce’s style of play and West Ham’s former number 9 Carlton Cole looks set for a French adventure.
David Gold has launched a defence of West Ham manager Sam Allardyce’s tactics and style of football suggesting Big Sam is unfairly labelled a long ball merchant and has hit all the targets the club have set him.
Gold, speaking to ESPN about Sam’s tactics said:
He still gets criticism for the style of football he promotes, but I believe that is because he got a reputation for playing long-ball football a long time ago and that has been hard for him to kick.
Does a Sam Allardyce team play a more direct style than Barcelona? Yes they do, but that is true of a majority of teams all over the world.
You will get the purists like Roberto Martinez and Arsene Wenger, who will go to their grave telling their teams to pass the ball, but they are in the minority.
All I can say is I have seen a lot of football at Upton Park in my lifetime and some of the best and most exciting football I’ve ever witnessed has been played over the last couple of seasons, from a Sam Allardyce team. I’m sure many West Ham fans will agree with me on that.
Gold also reveals that Allardyce hit all the targets he was set by the club:
We gave Sam two tasks when we hired him a couple of years ago and he has succeeded on both of those impressively, Gold added. One was to get us back into the Premier League and he did that, even if it was by the skin of our teeth.
His second task was to keep us in the Premier League and he did that with some comfort last season by securing us a tenth-placed finish, which was a fine achievement for a team that had been promoted the year before.
I think under the circumstances with which Allardyce took over the West Ham hot seat he has done a fantastic job, sometimes the football has been dire but I can also say I have seen some fantastic stuff at The Boleyn which will only improve with the better quality players we bring in.
If you would have given me the option of West Ham gaining instant promotion and a 10th place finish in their first season back in the The Premiership I would have snapped your hand off, so well done Sam and the owners who backed him.
Is this deal happening? Not got a Kalou!
West Ham continue to be linked with former Chelsea player Salomon Kalou who is now plying his trade in France with Lille.
Allardyce already confirmed his liking for the player but any deal appeared to be on the rocks with Kalou wanting a more central role rather than the right-wing position that he would most likely be utilized in.
The Daily Mail though report that the deal could well be back on with a £2.6 million fee being mooted.
However, with Maiga showing some good form in pre-season I can’t see Kalou getting his wish of starting up front so maybe he is now willing to play on the right to get back to The Premier League.
Cole in possible French adventure
Carlton Cole, who I thought would stay in The Premier League with Crystal Palace and Hull both possible destinations, has now been reported as being in talks with French outfit St Etienne.
Cole, who was a loyal servant to West Ham has been without a club since being released by The Hammer’s in the summer.
Good luck to Carlton then if this is true, maybe he will find a change of scenery will help him find his scoring boots.
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