Early doors

Pre-season has not even begun yet, but in my judgement the club has made the right decision in letting Sam Allardyce go, and in replacing him with Slaven Bilic.

I feel that Sam had to go, and I also feel that Bilic was the best candidate that was realistically available. The decision to let Sam depart and to replace him with Bilic, is a risk. But life is a risk, albeit preferably a calculated one.

Staying with Allardyce would ALSO have been a risk, even if he had never taken a team down before. There is always a first time. The facts are that we were not just in relegation form, but bottom of the league form since January.

Fulham found out what can happen if you stick with a manager who has a poor second half of the season. They stuck with Martin Jol initially after a poor finish to the previous campaign and ended up starting the next season poorly, sacking Jol and ultimately going down. Had they replaced Jol before the new season started, perhaps things would have turned out differently.

People point to Allardyce as being a safe pair of hands. I have my doubts . I think we would have been at risk of relegation had Sam been given a new deal, even if it was a short term one.

To my mind, a black cloud has been lifted from the club. Things had simply gone too sour between Sam and EVERYBODY connected to the club. The owners, the fans, and even some of the players. Some players spoke out in Sam’s defence, but I have doubts how heartfelt those comments were.

Allardyce is a man who thinks that he is always right and is rarely willing to take responsibility or be accountable for failure. It’s always the fault of injuries, referees, players, the fans or unsympathetic owners. He’s a man out of time, from a bygone era. Football has moved on, especially in the Premier League.

Can he still do a job somewhere? Perhaps , and if it were in the Championship, probably. But West Ham have outgrown his attitude, his personality and his approach to both football and frankly, life.

In the end I feel that the man’s arrogance finally caught up with him. You can get away with it if you re sitting in fourth place. Not if you’re sliding miserably down to 12th. The truth is, if the players really wanted him to stay, their feelings would have been reflected in performances and results on the pitch.

Downing and Song were a shadow of themselves in the second half of the season. Even Jenkinson and Cresswell performed less admirably in the back end of the season, even if they had good seasons overall. Valencia looked bereft of confidence. Amalfitano looked frozen out, as did Nene and Cole. Zarate was abandoned. Only Reid and Kouyate really seemed to have what I would call a strong second half of the season.

People will point to injuries, particularly those to Carroll and Sakho and one or of our centre backs. But all clubs have injuries and the good ones have players and managers who step up to the plate when the going gets tough.

Good managers are able to motivate their squads to battle through periods where key players are missing to injury. Allardyce never looked like motivating our squad in the second half of the season. On the contrary, players looked absolutely lacking in motivation, seeming not to care whether we reached 50 points or finished in the top half of the table or not.

Sam playing out his disagreement with the owners in public was completely inappropriate and served the club no good at all. Dirty laundry should remain private.

In terms of attracting good new players to the club, even with the prospect of the OS, it was always going to be a big ask for Allardyce given the unattractive style of his football and his tendency to stick with his favourites at the expense of other more deserving players.

Finally, you can't live your life in fear. People point to the curse of Allardyce leaving – that whatever he club he left went down afterwards . Are we supposed to be held to ransom to that?

To employ him for the next 20 years for fear of going down if we don't? If he was such a good manager , perhaps clubs wouldn't have gone down after he left, because he would have left them better prepared. Yes it was a risk to let Sam depart. But I think it is a risk that we had to take. And I will say that even if we go down this coming season.

As for the new 'kid' on the block, is it a risky appointment? Yes, of course it is.

He has no Premier League experience, didn t do brilliantly in Russia and although he did well in Turkey, could have done better. But I still back the appointment. None of the so-called big names bandied about were ever realistic options and one or two who might have been had no Premier League experience either. So Bilic is the best of who was genuinely available.

He did achieve some success with Croatia and in Turkey. He clearly has an affection for the club, having played for us, albeit briefly. He’s younger than Allardyce and seemingly a better man manager, even if he may not be an absolute tactical genius. But I think being able to relate to and motivate players is critical, and I feel that Bilic will do that.

I also suspect that he will get on with the fans, which will be a breath of fresh air. It goes without saying that the football we play under Bilic will be a bit easier on the eye. I think it speaks volumes as well that despite rumors to the contrary, Carroll seems in no rush to go to Newcastle or anywhere else. Under Bilic , I suspect everyone will be given a fair chance , including players like Zarate and Amalifitano.

I also like that Bilic was a defender himself, so he will also take on board the importance of being solid at the back and trying to keep clean sheets and not just attractive football and entertainment. I feel that Bilic will attempt to strike a good balance between playing attacking football and defending well - something that in my estimation, Sam was unable to do.

In no way do I expect smooth sailing the first year, although I do expect a slight improvement both in terms of league position and points earned. Much will depend on how much of a toll a long season takes on us, with a squad that still might lack depth even with new signings.

I expect the football that we play will be unquestionably better to watch, and that our frailty towards the end of matches will be addressed in some fashion. But it will take time for new players to bed in and frankly, for the new manager to bed in. But I am cautiously optimistic for this coming season, if not looking for any miraculous move up the table.

I actually don't think it's such a bad thing to being playing away to Arsenal at the start of the season. It will focus minds and sometimes the big boys aren't at their sparkling best on day one.

The first four games will be an interesting test. Two winnable ones at home and two challenging ones away. But I suspect we will know a lot after those initial four games, even if it will still be early doors.

It’s difficult to operate in any walk of life under a cloud and I feel that a cloud has been lifted with the resolution of our managerial situation. I think that we will get to where we want to be, gradually, and of course not without ups and downs. But I think that the journey will be better than it has been in recent years. Which is important.

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