So Sam Allardyce has left, the process of replacing him has started. Many names have been mentioned. Unai Emery, David Moyes, Eddie Howe, Roberto Di Matteo and of course the bookies favourite Slaven Bilic.
My opinion has changed over the course of the last five months. Back in January I would have loved Bilic to come. However as his Besiktas team fell away in the title race, and I read more about his perceived tactics my desire for him cooled. A couple weeks ago when Unai Emery reports emerged, he jumped to the head of the pack for me. The man has taken Sevilla to back to back Europa League finals, while not letting their league position suffer as a consequence. At such a young age he has a very impressive CV. However he seems to be destined for bigger clubs, AC Milan and Real Madrid being two of the clubs that have him on his shortlist and as a consequence I put him in the categories of Ancellotti and Klopp as unlikely.
My mind is now totally focussed on one name and that name is Marcelo Bielsa. He is a name that has been linked with the job for a while on and off. The main issue seems to be his lack of knowledge of the English language. However this is something that I think should start to be overlooked. Reportedly a very intelligent man I can see him having more than a decent grasp of the language by the end of the first season.
Aside from that we have a few Spanish speakers in the squad: Adrian, Poyet, Zarate and Valencia. I do not know how much French he has managed to learn but if he has learnt that language then we can add Kouyate, Sakho, Amalfitano, Maiga and Nene (if he stays) to that list.There is more than enough squad members there to make sure that messages are translated correctly. This is greater number of people he is able to communicate effectively with than when he first joined Marseille and their start to the season did not suffer. Mauricio Pochettino also did not know a word of English before joining Southampton but still was able to communicate effectively in a largely English squad.
Marcelo Bielsa is known for his high pressing, high tempo football. There are clips on YouTube of his training sessions and they are tiring to even watch. As a result it is no coincidence that his teams are known to suffer from burn out in the second half of seasons. However in the statement announcing Allardyce’s departure it was said that they wanted the new manager to introduce a new philosophy to the club. Bielsa can offer this new philosophy, the type of football his teams play is exactly what West Ham fans want to see and is the type of football that will attract large numbers of people to the Olympic stadium in 2016.
He is experienced with European football as well, having been involved with Athletic Bilbao in a season when they knocked Manchester United out at the group stage. He has done well on a budget at Marseille and under the transfer restrictions that Bilbao have. Nkoulou has spoken to the French press about wanting Bielsa to stay because of how he has revolutionised the squad in his first season. Despite those videos on YouTube of intensive training sessions he seems to be popular with the players still.
I will not lie and say there are not drawbacks to Bielsa though. Part of the reason behind his departure, if he does leave, at Marseille is refusal to play players like Doria who were signed over his head. Something David Sullivan found issues with Allardyce over. I also do not expect Bielsa to be here any longer than two or three seasons. That would tie with his longest club managerial jobs. So if we want the next manager to be here for the next five to ten years he is not our man. However there is a lot of talk of now trying to reach the next level.
Everything I have read and seen about Bielsa suggests to me he is exactly the man to lay the foundations for us to reach the next level. The perfect transitional manager. ‘El loco’ as he known is the man to bring the feel good factor back to West Ham.
