Hard sell: Allardyce knows convincing players to join a relegation battle will be tough
West Ham's transfer window task almost impossible admits relegation-threatened Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce has claimed signing players in January is virtually impossible with West Ham in the bottom three.
The Hammers' boss revealed Dutch defender Johnny Heitinga had agreed to join their relegation fight, before opting to stay on the Everton sidelines.
With only 14 fit first-team players, Big Sam will send out kids from his Under-21 team in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Those young stars are also set to play in the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at Manchester City on Wednesday and then in the Premier League, unless new players are brought in soon.
Joleon Lescott, Asamoah Gyan and Nikica Jelavic remain on the wish-list, but Allardyce said: “I knew it was going to be nearly impossible anyway in this window.
"As always, the window is an impossible scenario to deal with. To have to work in it under the circumstances we have makes it even more difficult - you have got players who will look around and say, ‘Do I want to go to a team in the bottom three? Do I want to go for that fight?’
“Perhaps some of them will say, ‘No. I might as well stay and play the odd game’. You just keep searching and looking.”
Allardyce met Heitinga after Wednesday’s defeat to Fulham and thought he had struck a deal.
“I don’t know what changed his mind,” said the frustrated Irons boss. “By the following morning he’d had a change of heart and decided it wasn’t for him. Did he call me direct? No.”
Allardyce was remarkably upbeat on Friday - and revealed spending time with his grandchildren had lifted his mood.
But he was less keen to talk about the future of his captain and double red-card villain Kevin Nolan, or the nature of his talks with the club’s owners.
“I speak to the board all the time but what I say to them has nothing to do with you,” he snapped. “If it was a crisis position we were in, they would sack me. The situation is that we are talking about bringing in new players to this football club and overcome the injuries we have go.”
Allardyce said he was considering stripping Nolan of the captaincy after his Fulham sending off, but “I haven’t made that decision yet.”
What crisis? West Ham boss Sam Allardyce insists all is well at Upton Park
Sam Allardyce: I would have been sacked if there was a crisis at West Ham
Sam Allardyce has claimed he would already have been sacked if there was a real crisis at Upton Park.
The West Ham boss saw his injury-hit team slip into the bottom three after picking up only two points in December and will field U21 players for Sunday's FA Cup tie at Championship side Nottingham Forest.
But asked if he had been given a vote of confidence by the club's owners, Big Sam said: "I talk to the board members all the time but what I say to the board has got nothing to do with you.
"If it were a crisis position, they would come and sack me. The position is that we are talking about bringing in new players to the club and trying to overcome the injury problems that we have got.
"In terms of support from David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady - at the moment when they are talking to me it is about positive action to try and get us ourselves out of the situation which I am very grateful for."
With West Ham also facing a Capital One Cup semi-final at against Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City next week, Allardyce admitted the FA Cup is not a priority.
"There is no change in my point of view - it is a fabulous competition, it has got great history and tradition," he said.
"But if you are in a position where we are with the injuries that we have, then there is only one major priority at this football club at all levels, and when I say all levels that is from the owners all the way down, lies with the Barclays Premier League and that won't ever change for any football club irrespective of where they are.
"The FA Cup has got great history and tradition but at this stage of the season, when we face the third round on the back of a heavy, heavy, heavy schedule, then it becomes less of a priority to all the other competitions you are involved with, especially if you have got three days later, like I have, a semi-final against Manchester City up at the Etihad Stadium."
New boy: Provided he can get a work permit, Lacina Traore will join West Ham on loan
In and out: Traore signed for Monaco from Anzhi but has been immediately loaned out
Tall order: Traore, at 6ft 8in, is not a man to be messed with and West Ham will hope they leads them to safety
EXCLUSIVE: West Ham set to snap up £16m beanpole striker Traore on loan from Monaco
West Ham have agreed a deal to sign 6ft 8in striker Lacina Traore on loan.
The Ivory Coast centre forward has moved to Monaco from Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala but the French club will send him straight out on loan until the summer and the player has agreed to join the Hammers.
The £16million-rated striker will travel to London for a medical but West Ham must await a work permit hearing before he can be declared officially theirs.
Traore has played for FC Cluj, Kuban Krasnodar and Anzhi with clubs spending over £26m in transfer fees on the 23-year-old since he broke onto the scene in 2008 with African side Stade Abidjan.
He has figured against Liverpool - against who he scored a superb lob in November 2012 - and Tottenham in European competition over recent seasons and was a target for Mark Hughes while he was manager at Fulham.
He scored 13 goals in 29 games for Anzhi and has four in seven internationals for the Ivory Coast.
West Ham badly need something to spark their league season into life and manager Sam Allardyce will hope Traore brings goals.
video of said beanpole
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Back in business: Andy Carroll has returned to first-team training having been sidelined since the summer with a heel problem
Keeping watch: Carroll's return will be monitored closely by West Ham's medical team
White move: The sight of the white-booted Carroll back in action is sure to cheer Hammers fans
Going for goal: Carroll closes in on the target only to be denied by the goalkeeper
Beard we go: Carroll sports some thick facial hair on his return
Making his point: Carroll will be hoping to help drag the Hammers clear of the relegation zone
On the run: Carroll is joined by Joe Cole for a light jog with the ball
Having a ball: Carroll spent time in Belgium in a bid to aid his recovery from his heel injury
On song: Carroll scored seven times during his loan spell at West Ham last season
No go: John Heitinga (right) turned down the chance to sign for West Ham
Big Andy's back! At last, some good news for Allardyce as record signing returns to first-team training after seven-month layoff
Sam Allardyce said that he was ‘waiting in hope’ for some good news – and the sight of Andy Carroll back in training is sure to cheer the under-fire West Ham boss.
These pictures finally show the injury-stricken forward in action alongside his team-mates at the club’s Chadwell Heath headquarters.
Carroll is yet to kick a ball for the Hammers since becoming their £15million record signing during the summer. A lingering heel problem has seen the 24-year-old spend time in both Holland and Belgium in a bid to accelerate his rehabilitation.
But only this week has Carroll taken part in full training ahead of his long-awaited return.
Allardyce, though, will exercise caution when it comes to reintroducing the former Liverpool striker, who spent last season on loan at Upton Park.
Indeed, rather than pitch him straight into first-team battle, the club will instead arrange behind-closed-doors fixtures for the England forward.
‘Andy Carroll playing football is something we have to take very big care about,’ said the West Ham chief ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie at Nottingham Forest.
‘Being fit from the injury is not being match fit. I have to be very careful about how and when I play him.
‘We'll start promoting games behind closed doors to get his match fitness up, as we will for Winston Reid, and Ricardo Vaz Te. But Andy is the closest.’
Carroll’s return cannot come soon enough for Allardyce, whose side are second from bottom in the Premier League and without a win in seven outings.
He had hoped to sign Everton defender John Heitinga this week but the Holland centre half decided against a move to the top-flight strugglers.
And Allardyce said: 'There was more bad news yesterday Friday) - I’m still waiting in hope for some good news - when Johnny Heitinga rejected the chance to come to us which is very disappointing.
'I spent three hours with him on Wednesday and everything seemed fine and rosy. For whatever reason, though, by yesterday morning he had changed his mind.
'I suspect a better offer had come his way but I can’t be sure of that. Anyway, the reality is that the deal is dead.'
IRONS MAN: James feels that Sam Allardyce is doing his best at Upton Park
GOOD SHOW: James believes a win could turn the Hammers' season around
David James hopes West Ham won't spill cup chance
DAVID JAMES has urged Sam Allardyce not to sacrifice West Ham's FA Cup place to focus on their Premier League survival bid.
The former Hammers keeper believes victory in their third-round tie at Championship promotion hopefuls Nottingham Forest could give the club a lift.
Relegation-threatened West Ham and their boss Allardyce desperately need one after winning just one of their last eight games.
James, a 2008 FA Cup winner with Portsmouth, said: "If you go into the FA Cup saying we don't want to win this, we just concentrate on the league, you are basically putting them out to lose.
"Any negative feelings around the club and the camp will only be exaggerated by suggesting you don't want to win the FA Cup.
"Nottingham Forest will be a tough game for West Ham as Forest are in pretty good form at the moment.
"But if you put out a side out to win the match and West Ham beat Nottingham Forest, all of a sudden you have 11 players or 14 players buoyed by the win.
“The confidence they will gain from a win will then start spreading around the club”
David James
"The confidence they will gain from a win will then start spreading around the club, so, heading into your next game, you will have a confident group of players.
"You only say it's better to be out of the cup competitions when you have been knocked out. Then you say, 'We will concentrate on the league now'.
"There is such a difference in the training ground the next training day after an FA Cup game when you have won.
"Everyone is in a better mood. To get knocked out and then have a free week when the next round comes round in February or March and not be involved is not good. You want to be there playing."
The former England goalkeeper reckons one of the stories of this year's third round could come at Pride Park tomorrow.
He said: "Derby, having lost their first home game under Steve McLaren in the Championship this week, are up against Chelsea.
"Chelsea have strength in depth but Derby aren't a bad outfit. Steve McClaren has a lot of experience against Premier League sides.
"Whatever side Chelsea put out will have some topdrawer international players, but there will be players who are not in regular form and so there is potential for an upset."
ROAR EMOTION: Allardyce believes his side have what it takes to turn their season around
West Ham gaffer Sam Allardyce thriving under the pressure
SAM ALLARDYCE has been skating on thin ice this week - but insists it has actually put a smile on his face.
Under-fire Allardyce emerged from crunch talks with his West Ham bosses on Thursday still in a job and armed with a battle plan for the transfer window.
But Big Sam says a day out ice skating with his grandkids has really helped lift the gloom.
The Hammers boss said: "Who lifts me? The grandkids at the minute because they're down from the north east.
"I spent a few hours with them on the ice rink on Thursday at Canary Wharf. I had a nice meal with them after and it lifted my spirits immensely, seeing the little 'uns running around, causing havoc."
Before getting his skates on, Allardyce held talks with West Ham's board following a seven-game winless league run that has left them deep in trouble.
“If it was a crisis position we were in, they would sack me”
Sam Allardyce
Allardyce, whose side are secondbottom, said: "If it was a crisis position we were in, they would sack me.
"The situation is that we are talking about bringing in new players and to overcome the injuries we have got.
"The support from (co-owners) David Sullivan, David Gold and (vice-chairman) Karren Brady is about positive action and getting out of this situation."
Allardyce will now ask his West Ham kids to give him another lift at Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup tomorrow.
With just 14 fit players, he will hand some of his youngsters a chance to prove they can hack it in the first team.
Allardyce name-checked defenders Leo Chambers, Danny Potts, Callum Driver, midfielders George Moncur, Seb Lleget, Danny Whitehead and strikers Elliot Lee and Jaanai Gordon as the rookies he will call on.
He added: "For some of them, it will be the turning point of their careers, if they want it to be, in a positive way.
"By them saying, 'I've got this chance, I'm going to grab it with both hands. I'm going to deliver, I'm going to show the manager I'm worthy of breaking into his first-team squad in the near future'."
UNDER PRESSURE: A cup win at Forest would give
BACK AT LAST: Andy Carroll
Sam Allardyce is hoping for some Fergie magic when West Ham take on Nottingham Forest
WEST HAM boss Sam Allardyce is facing his “Fergie moment” at Nottingham Forest tomorrow.
Allardyce takes his struggling Hammers to the City Ground nearly a quarter of a century since Sir Alex Ferguson survived his make-or-break FA Cup tie there with Manchester United.
United had not won a league game since mid-November and were 15th in the table. Ferguson has since admitted he did not know if the board would back him if they lost.
But United won with a Mark Robins goal and went on to lift the cup – Ferguson’s first trophy off what turned out to be a conveyor belt.
Allardyce’s Hammers are next to bottom of the table, three points short of safety and with only three league wins all season.
Owners David Sullivan and David Gold are patient men in an impatient world and the fact that West Ham are in the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup could give Allardyce a reprieve even if they are giantkilled by Championship Forest.
Garry Birtles is a Forest hero from when they were the kings of Europe and played against Allardyce when he was an uncompromising centre-half for Bolton.
“This could be a Big Sam moment,” said Birtles. “It might be a bit different to the Sir Alex scenario, and you wonder what sort of team West Ham will put out.
“West Ham are desperate to stay in the Premier League so maybe Allardyce will play a weakened side. But he has so many injury problems, and Kevin Nolan suspended, it will be a weakened side anyway. The team he puts out against Forest might be the strongest he has.
“This can be a catalyst. If West Ham do come to Forest, who are going well – and you could say are possibly favourites to win – and get something out of this tie it could be a season-changer for them.
“West Ham have done well in the League Cup, but that hasn’t turned their fortunes round in the league, has it?
"If West Ham do lose it will put a lot of pressure on Allardyce. The owners there are very good at giving managers a chance but when you come to this part of the season and you are in the bottom three, which wasn’t expected, and then you get knocked out of the FA Cup, boards and owners panic.
“That’s football now. Very few have got the bottle to give managers time.
“It could be Big Sam’s Fergie moment. You don’t want to see him out of the game. I played against him when he was at Bolton, you know what a player he was, how he played the game, and he manages the same. There are a lack of characters in football and you want Sam involved, but the position he is in is not good.
“There are ridiculous decisions made – Harry Redknapp at Spurs, the sacking of Malky Mackay, Nigel Adkins – and you think, ‘What’s going on?’ And it appears to be getting worse.
“West Ham have got problems and it’s the best time for Forest to be playing them.”
Forest are unbeaten in seven games but confrontational manager Billy Davies, who refused to talk to the media this week and banned his players from doing so too, is agitating yet again for money to spend on a goalscorer in the transfer window.
Defender Greg Halford has been moved up into the attack and has responded with three goals in three games. Birtles, who made the switch the other way during his career, picks Halford as the danger to West Ham.
“He’s very dangerous in the air,” said Birtles. “If the game was at West Ham it might be a different proposition, but they won’t be looking forward to taking on Halford at the City Ground.”
ONCE A HAMMER: Demba
Big Sam Allardyce hoping Demba Ba will return back to West Ham
WEST HAM manager Sam Allardyce made a fresh move to reinforce his depleted squad last night with a £6million bid for Chelsea striker Demba Ba.
Allardyce badly needs to add firepower to his struggling side, although Andy Carroll is finally back in training after injury, but former Hammer Ba turned down a move in August.
The 28-year-old has since found himself marginalised at Chelsea by Jose Mourinho, making two Premier League starts and scoring once.
He netted seven goals in a dozen games for West Ham in 2011, but joined Newcastle before a £7m Chelsea move.
The Hammers have also made a move to take 6ft 8in Ivory Coast striker Lacina Traore, 23, on loan from Monaco, subject to a work permit application.
West Ham give up chase for Diego Milito as Inter Milan star opts for Racing switch
The Hammers had hoped to add to their attacking line up with the Champions League winner
West Ham United have been forced into pulling out of their pursuit of Inter Milan legend Diego Milito after the Argentinian told the East London club that he’d prefer to end his career at former side Racing.
The European Cup winner is set to leave the Nerazzurri as the club look to trim their wage bill in the wake of their failure to qualify for the Champions League last year.
Reportedly on a deal which earns him £4.5million-a-year, Milito was one of the first to be told his services would no longer be required.
Once his contract has expired this summer, much like Esteban Cambiasso and Christian Chivu, the 34-year-old will be moved on as the Italians look to herald a new era of younger talent.
Hammers manager Sam Allardyce will now have to look elsewhere for a new striker to compliment club-record signing Andy Carroll upon his return to fitness, with Ghana forward Asamoah Gyan and Standard Liege striker Michy Batshuayi reportedly in his mind.
Initially interested in Tottenham Hotspur’s Emmanuel Adebayor, before his renaissance in fortunes under new head-coach Tim Sherwood, Allardyce is all too aware that securing another frontman is top of his priorities.
Sam Allardyce’s hard-luck stories are wearing as thin as West Ham's defence
Sam Allardyce has long seen himself as one of football’s innovators, a groundbreaker at Bolton and now pushing the boundaries at West Ham. The man who dabbled with sending out a striker-less side in the first part of the season began the New Year by ushering an XI out of the away dressing room at Craven Cottage on Wednesday without a single centre-half.
Allardyce would no doubt rather be regarded as an English Vicente del Bosque than a southern Craig Levein, who four years ago fielded a Scotland side in Prague with no front man. But the result at Fulham, which ensconced West Ham firmly in the bottom three, shoved him a step closer to joining Levein in football’s dole queue.
Tomorrow’s challenging FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest is unlikely to have any bearing on his future – Allardyce will field a young team – nor next week’s first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City. It is what comes after that that matters to those in charge at Upton Park.
Blessed with employers who operate with the safety catch on, Allardyce is safe for now. The Davids, Gold and Sullivan, are not prone to impetuous firings and have consistently backed their man; Sullivan did so again when they met on Thursday.
However, there are limits to the co-owners’ patience and the first two months of 2014 will settle Allardyce’s fate. By the end of February, they will have been to Cardiff and Aston Villa and hosted Swansea, Norwich and Southampton. If West Ham remain rooted in the relegation zone then the thread by which Allardyce’s job is hanging will be cut.
The manager’s selection at Fulham was forced by injury as the club have had misfortune heaped upon medical misfortune. West Ham’s defensive solidity was Allardyce’s comfort blanket but since Winston Reid injured an ankle in training in November, it has been whisked away. James Collins and James Tomkins are also out, leaving the club without a centre-half – 11 goals have been conceded in the last four games and there has been a solitary league win since Reid was sidelined.
Of his 25-strong senior squad, Allardyce has 14 available. Kevin Nolan, so long Allardyce’s stalwart but badly off colour this season, has been fined two weeks’ wages for his second red card in little over a month. He will serve the first of his four matches suspended tomorrow.
How many more games Andy Carroll will miss remains the £15m question. West Ham invested much of their transfer kitty on the striker, believing he would be fit by September. Carroll trained again with the first team, or what’s left of it, yesterday but Allardyce will resist the obvious temptation to hurry him back. Mid-January is the latest date offered.
Allardyce can point to misfortune at the back but the failure to stock the striking cupboard is his fault. He has much to do in the transfer window. Johnny Heitinga said no but the Carroll-esque Lacina Traoré is set to arrive on loan if he receives a work permit. The 6ft 8in Ivorian was part of Anzhi Makhachkala’s fire sale, joining Monaco but the Ligue 1 side are happy to loan him out until next season.
Over all this looms the Olympic Stadium. The refitting of West Ham’s 54,000-seat home-to-be is under way. In his Christmas message to supporters Sullivan painted a happy picture of what to expect come 2016.“The stadium will attract better players,” he said. “If we’re perceived as a big club with a great stadium in the heart of London, a lot of foreign players who might not have come will be attracted to West Ham.”
It is not a game plan that includes Championship football, as Allardyce is all too aware. Right now, he admitted yesterday, “life is exceptionally tough”.
The West Ham United manager, Sam Allardyce, plans to give some of his younger players a chance to play in the FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest.
Sam Allardyce: no crisis at West Ham, but plenty of 'doom and gloom'
Sam Allardyce has dismissed suggestions West Ham United are in crisis, despite admitting that there is "doom and gloom" around the club following a disappointing run of form.
There has been speculation that the manager's job is at risk since the 2-1 defeat at Fulham on New Year's Day left the club second-bottom of the Premier League. However, Allardyce insists he still has the support of the co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold, and Karren Brady, the vice-chairman.
West Ham play Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Sunday with the club second bottom in the Premier League, and Allardyce will allow his younger players an opportunity to impress. Allardyce has been strongly linked with a loan move for the 6ft 8in Monaco striker Lacina Traore as he looks to strengthen his attacking options with Andy Carroll still yet to return to action, and the manager continued to lament the number of injuries in his squad.
"I would be really struggling if I had the team fit and I would have been playing these games recently and not getting the results, then I would be concerned," he said. "I speak to the board all the time but what I say to them has nothing to do with you. If it was a crisis position we were in, they would sack me. The situation is that we are talking about bringing in new players to this football club and overcoming the injuries we have got.
"It is a tough period, no doubt about it. It would be tougher had I been in this position with all my players fit. That would be really tough. I am concerned about our position but I know that with eight or nine players injured, when they come back they will make a difference to the team."
Asked if he was still in positive spirits despite the club's perilous position in the table, Allardyce added: "Well somebody has to be in good spirits. There's a doom and gloom around the place at the minute and I've got to lift everybody at this place.
"It's my responsibility. We're in a very difficult period at the moment and I have to try and manage everybody through and lift them and keep them believing, focused and proactive.
"There's no doubt the players will be feeling pressure and thinking: 'When is it going to turn?' We've just got to keep believing and keep focused and proactive in that and we all know that when we're at our best we can beat anybody."
Allardyce admitted John Heitinga's decision not to agree a deal from Everton was disappointing but that the defender explained to him that a transfer "wasn't right". West Ham have been linked with a move for Manchester City's Joleon Lescott although Allardyce conceded that he was unsure if the player was available.
The manager has not decided if Kevin Nolan will remain as captain following his sending-off at Fulham, and said the game at Forest represented an opportunity for his youngsters to make a step up to the first team. "It's a fantastic chance for them," he said. "You wouldn't want to give anything other than be very competitive and try to win the game. It's a big, big, big game. For some of them it will be the turning point of their careers if they want it to be."
hopping at Morrisons: Will West Ham find a buyer for Ravel?
No transfer bids for West Ham's Ravel Morrison yet says manager Sam Allardyce
West Ham have received NO bids for Ravel Morrison, Sam Allardyce revealed on Friday.
The Hammers are willing to listen to offers for the England Under-21 midfielder, who has 18 months on his contract, with any cash raised to be used to strengthen the Upton Park club’s injury-hit squad.
But Allardyce said: “We haven’t had an offer yet.”
Morrison, signed from from Manchester United for an initial £650,000, faces a fitness test on a groin injury before Sunday’s FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest.
Big Sam Poll Result: 2,000 Votes & It Doesn't Make Happy Reading for Big Sam
This site has a bit of a reputation among other West Ham sites for being, well, a bit loyalist and not wishing to rock the boat. I’ve never quite understood why that is. Well tonight I don’t think anyone can accuse us of that. Over the last 24 hours we have been conducting a poll asking the same question as KUMB is asking…
Do you believe West Ham United FC should retain the services of Sam Allardyce as manager?
This poll has had the biggest response of any poll ever carried out on the site. More than 2,000 of you voted. Here is the result
Yes – he should stay 32% (639 votes)
No – he should go 68% (1370 votes)
That’s a fairly emphatic result. However, KUMB have been asking exactly the same question and have got a somewhat different result. 964 fans have voted in their poll.
Yes – he should stay 53% (515 votes)
No – he should go 46% (449 votes)
Put the two polls together and you have the views of 2,973 Hammers fans…
Yes – 39%
No – 61%
As I have stated before, I believe the board needs to make a decision and make it quickly. If Sam is to be axed, it should be done within the next few days. If they decide to stick with him, they need to make that clear both to him and to us to prevent speculation getting out of control.
West Ham news: Joe Cole interests Redwanker
Exclusive
by Hugh Southon
West Ham United look certain to bid farewell to Upton Park favourite son Joe Cole in the summer.
Thirty-two-year old Cole has an indifferent record this season and SportsDirect News has learned exclusively he interests his first boss Harry Redwanker at Queens Park Rangers.
The Loftus Road manager is heading back towards the Premier League with his team currently sitting in third place, five points behind leaders Leicester City.
Redwanker believes that Cole is a player whom can still make an impact at the highest level with the right handling but that he could prove a strong performer should the club find itself still at Championship level.
Cole himself will walk away as a free agent in the summer and word from inside the club is that he is likely to leave.
Redwanker is currently eyeing another Hammer - striker Carlton Cole - whose current contract at Upton Park runs out in mid January and is known to be interested in adding his namesake.
A source told us exclusively: "Joe hasn't had the number of opportunities he would have expected and is likely to move on."
Dan Potts (right) could be one of the high-flying West Ham youngsters given a chance to prove himself
West Ham United’s James Collins leaves the pitch following an injury
Why transfusion of young blood could revive West Ham’s season
You’ll win nothing with kids, as someone once famously said.
Well, so far this season West Ham haven’t managed to scoop many prizes with a team of adults, so you can’t blame under-fire manager Sam Allardyce for laying his cards on the table and saying he will give youth its chance in Sunday’s FA Cup third round trip to Nottingham Forest.
Going to the City Ground is somewhat of a double-edged sword for Allardyce – a welcome break from the downward spiral of the Premier League, but would he have chosen an upwardly mobile Championship side as opposition, in front of national television cameras? Unlikely – surely this game was chosen for live coverage because the television company smells blood.
Whilst many of the storm clouds surrounding Allardyce are of his own making, he has been dealt a shocking hand injury-wise. Two strikers (Andy Carroll and Ricardo Vaz Te), one, possibly two, midfielders (Mark Noble and Ravel Morrison, although the former Manchester United man is in with a chance of playing) and three defenders (James Collins, Winston Reid and James Tomkins) all absent – even his harshest critics (of which there are many) can’t blame him for those.
Under the circumstances, he has little choice but to turn to youth – and rather handily, on that front things seem to be going rather well at West Ham, with both the Under 18s and Under 21s enjoying successful seasons.
Members of Nick Haycock’s U21 squad, such as Elliot Lee, Dan Potts and Leo Chambers may well feature on Sunday, and having lost just once in 10 games in the U21 league this season, they have a winning habit which will be a breath of fresh air to a senior squad which has largely forgotten how.
Given the team’s league problems at the moment, much like Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert, Allardyce could no doubt do without the FA Cup at the moment – sacrilege to many fans, maybe, but arguably the truth.
The last thing he needs is an already seriously weakened first-team squad losing any more players to injury, so having come in for so much criticism over his perceived stubbornness, being forced to field younger players gets him out of a corner; if they win, then he made changes which worked, the mood is lifted and fans have a reason to be cheerful, if they lose, then youth was given a chance, no new injuries were picked up, and with the Cup off the agenda he can deal with more pressing league matters.
Given that he has publicly admitted that the FA Cup is less of a priority than other competitions West Ham are involved in, it will be interesting to see what sort of motivational team-talk Allardyce gives the side on Sunday. But if the youngsters get their chance, it may well be that their youthful exuberance and enthusiasm mean they don’t need one – and if that happens, then there may still be life in West Ham’s faltering season after all.
West Ham ace signs contract extension
Ricardo Vaz TeRicardo Vaz Te has been awarded a one-year contract extension, according to David Sullivan’s son, Jack on Twitter.
The Portuguese striker has been out injured – since the 0-0 draw with Swansea City – with a dislocated shoulder.
Vaz Te has made seven appearances in the Premier League this season – four as a substitute – and has scored two goals in the process.
The 27-year-old’s contract was due to expire in the summer, so are you pleased he has been awarded an extension?
West Ham United make attempt to sign Atalanta centre-back
Gugliemo Stendardo AtalantaWest Ham United are reportedly pushing hard to sign Atalanta defender Guglielmo Stendardo in the January transfer window.
The Hammers are known to be in the market for a new defender, and have recently targeted Roma’s Argentine international Nicolas Burdisso, but they have now also turned their attentions to 32-year-old former-Lazio stalwart Stendardo.
The player’s contract at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia runs out in June 2015, but according to Tuttomercatoweb, London club West Ham could become a strong candidates for his signature should he not extend his current deal.
Stendardo has scored four goals in 61 appearances for the Nerazzurri since making the move to from capital club Lazio in 2011.
Manager David Moyes admits there is no guarantee Wayne Rooney will sign a new contract if Manchester United fail to qualify for the Champions League at the end of the season. The 28-year-old striker will enter the final year of his £250,000-a-week deal in the summer.
Full story: Daily Mail
Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has made a £1.5m bid to sign Norwich's Republic of Ireland international midfielder Wes Hoolahan, 31.
Full story: Daily Mirror
French side Paris St-Germain are ready to make a bid to sign Chelsea's Belgium midfielder Eden Hazard, 22, at the end of the season.
Eden Hazard
Hazard has scored 10 goals so far this season
Full story: Daily Star
Liverpool are working to finalise a £9m bid for Mohamed Salah, 21, after a host of other European clubs joined the race for the Basle winger.
Full story: Metro
Stoke City are in talks to sign midfielder Stephen Ireland, 27, on a permanent deal from Aston Villa during the January transfer window.
Full story: Daily Express
Arsenal are considering a move for Bayern Munich striker Mario Mandzukic but any deal for the 27-year-old Croatia forward is unlikely to be completed in the January transfer window.
Full story: Daily Mail
But Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is not considering a move for Fulham's former Tottenham forward Dimitar Berbatov, 32.
Full story: Talksport
And Wenger has joked that Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa - linked with the north London club and reported to have a £32m buy-out clause - would cost more like £145m.
Full story: Daily Mirror
QPR manager Harold Redwanker has ruled out signing strikers Jermain Defoe, 31, and Harry Kane, 20 from former club Tottenham.
Full story: Talksport
Manager David Moyes believes 18-year-old winger Adnan Januzaj can become one of Manchester United's greatest players.
Full story: Manchester Evening News
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says it hurts him to leave Juan Mata out of his starting XI and wants the 25-year-old Spain midfielder to stay.
Full story: Guardian
Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood is keen to add former team-mate Jamie Redknapp to his coaching staff.
Full story: Caught Offside
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is happy with his side's performances over the first half of the season but has played down speculation they can win all four major trophies.
Full story: Manchester Evening News
AND FINALLY
Stoke winger Jermaine Pennant, 30, has been criticised for going to a fancy dress party dressed as Osama Bin Laden.
Full story: Sentinel
Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Sofia have sacked 26-year-old midfielder Martin Dimitrov after he allegedly skipped a match against champions Ludogorets to go and have a mud bath.
Full story: Metro
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great video of Saiid Beanpole, reminds me of that Traore fella, **** song though, how they expect us to remember the words to that when he plays i dont know
