Time for Allardyce to Go?

West Ham fans seem torn on the question of whether time should be called on Sam Allardyce.

And listening to his interview on Talksport this morning won't have helped.

In fact the media seems to be divided on this question. Some think he is a dinosaur while old school pundits like Alan Brazil and Andy Gray lob him easy questions while talking about him being a "proper football man"(whatever that means - presumably not like Wenger, Mourhino or even Roy Hodgson) and ask what it is that West Ham fans expect?  "You know what you'll get with Allardyce - he'll keep you in the division".


Well are they sure he will?

If we hadn't somehow managed to win 4 games in February we'd be looking at the Championship fixture lists right now.

What we want is a team to feel proud of and to be entertained. We not expecting Champions League Football any time soon (if ever) - but we want to see good football at the Boleyn - preferrably with West Ham playing some of it.

Few would now argue that Sam was the right appointment when he joined the club.  He sorted many of the problems we had and got us promoted at the first attempt and then achieved a fantastic 10th place in our first season back.

But that doesn't mean he is the right man to be at the helm now.

Ricardo Vaz Te scored the winner at Wembley but no one is suggesting that means he should be playing up front for us for the next 5 years.

Remember we came up with Southampton - who changed their manager half way through the following season to much derision - only to have it proved an inspired decision.

The arguments for changing manager now are strong:

• Last season wasn't good and a backward step from our first one back. This one is shaping up to be as bad.
• We finished last season without a single First Team player under the age of 25.
• The only young player to have emerged is Ravel Morrison - who is also the most talented player we have seen at the Boleyn for years - and Sam seems unable to manage him.
• Not a single youth team player has broken into the First Team (apart from cameos) since Sam arrived.
• Let me repeat that - not a single youth team player has broken into the First Team (apart from cameos) since Sam arrived.
• It's not just that we don't like the style of football - there doesn't see to be a long-term plan or strategy that supporters can buy into and get behind. Everything seems to be geared to hanging on to a Premier League place until we get to the Olympic Stadium. But what happens then? Doesn't it matter if this plan doesn't work after we are in there?
• WE NEED A LONGER TERM PLAN THAT TAKES US BEYOND MOVING TO THE OLYMPIC STADIUM

We are fortunate in that, while they aren't billionaires, our owners do care about the club. Contrast David Sullivan's call to Talksport. Some of what he said may have been ill advised - but he spoke from the heart without the caginess you usually get from Sam.

They have shown the ambition that all supporters crave from their owners - and taken the opportunity to move to a fantastic new stadium - with its attendant risks.

But it is now time for them to thank Sam for his work during his time at West Ham and look for a brighter more energetic manager with a 5-year plan for the club - it's what they would do in any of their other businesses and they would be making a mstake if they think football management works differently.