With Sam Allardyce (finally) gone as West Ham manager, now the search begins to find his successor. With European football confirmed next season, the job has become that bit more enticing for interested parties. The have been several names linked with the job, including former Champions League and Europa League-winning managers, so we asked our team of writers…
Who should be the man to replace Sam Allardyce as West Ham manager?
Who I want to be next manager is someone exciting, unproven, seen as a risky, bold move by the media, and that’s why the right man is Sevilla’s Unai Emery. Despite a short stint in Russia with Spartak Moscow (which actually wasn’t as bad as some make out), Emery has succeeded wherever he’s been. He guided Valencia back into the Champions League, and has won the Europa League in back-to-back seasons with Sevilla. He plays a fast, attacking style of football and knows how to get the best out of his players. He turned a relative unknown in Carlos Bacca into arguably La Liga’s top striker outside of the ‘Top 3’ teams. I believe Emery can work wonders with a talented but underachieving squad at West Ham, but also has the standing in the game to court bigger names to the club.
Although it may seem unlikely, I would want to see Roberto Di Matteo fill in Sam Allardyce’s (big) shoes. As well as a Champions League trophy already on his CV, Di Matteo showed during his managerial tenure at West Bromwich Albion that he is more than capable of managing in the Premier League. His most previous club was Schalke, which he took from 11th position up to the European places in addition to winning at the Bernabeu this campaign. It would be a joy to see him at Upton Park.
I have been a long term admirer of Slaven Bilic. The Croatian is a former player who knows the club and has expressed a keen desire to become our next manager. He boasts an impressive overall win ratio of 55% and particularly caught the eye whilst in charge of the Croatia national team. The 46 year-old is a thorough studier of the game and would bring some passion and desire to the touchline, which West Ham fans did not see with Sam Allardyce. For me, Bilic is the sensible option to take the club forward as we look to compete higher up the league table and restore an attacking, exciting brand of football – the ‘West Ham way’.
Unai Emery is my top choice for the West Ham job. Admittedly, he has led Sevilla to two consecutive Europa League finals and may not want to leave. Also, reports are coming that he has a move to AC Milan wrapped up. However, the 43-year-old has a bright future ahead of him, and would be an amazing manager before the move to the Olympic Stadium. According to HITC Sport, Emery’s agent reached out to the Hammers, but for some unknown reason, West Ham were uninterested. The Spaniard would be my ideal man to lead West Ham forward, especially with reports that co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan will give significant financial backing to whoever is managing next season. Emery has led Sevilla to fifth place in the the La Liga table, and his success in the Europa League should be noted.
The club must be careful not to aim too highly, lest we miss our targets and find ourselves desperately scraping the bottom of the barrel at the last minute. A more realistic target could be former Swansea manager Michael Laudrup. Though not quite as lofty as Klopp or Ancelotti, his tenure saw a recently promoted Swansea side win their first League Cup and finish as high as ninth in the table. The Dane also has a history of attractive attacking football, which could see the club return to its much-favoured aggressive style of play. With the Telegraph reporting that the manager is keen to return to the Premier League, European football with West Ham would have to be considered preferable to a Newcastle side hamstrung by owner Mike Ashley. Someone of Laudrup’s global reputation could prove a safe, though less ambitious, step towards securing bigger names in the future.
In an absolutely ideal world I would be taking Jurgen Klopp. But somehow I feel this is incredibly unlikely and unrealistic right now. So, going with head over heart, and looking at the leading candidates I would have to go with Marcelo Bielsa. The team needs to embrace a high tempo, high pressing philosophy, something that most of the successful teams in the world are carrying out. Bielsa, and Klopp, fit this philosophy. The fans like to see this sense of urgency and, in the Premier League, it can really serve you well. Think Pochettino’s Southampton side and Liverpool last year. Just not Bilic or Di Matteo. Please…
The board have to get this one right to prove that their decision to let Allardyce go was the most logical way to improve the clubs progression, in terms of footballing status. A proven candidate who knows the English game and is going to dedicate himself to the cause would be the choice of many Hammers fans. Slaven Bilic is the man for West Ham.
The 46 year old record has always been solid, recording a win percentage of just fewer than 55% and losing the same amount of games as he has drawn over his fourteen year managerial career, including experience at a first team international level. The Croatian has something the other managers in the running all miss, Irons blood. Bilic, having played for West Ham for two seasons in the nineties, left Upton Park on good terms and has always stated that he has a soft spot for the fans. West Ham United have been lacking something in previous seasons, heart, fight and desire when the players find themselves under pressure on the pitch; Bilic can install these key elements into the players, along with his experience, there’s a recipe for success.
The 2015/16 season is going to be one of the most crucial seasons in the club’s history, so I’ve always felt it was very important this time around, to get someone in who has successful Premier League experience and is an upgrade on Sam Allardyce.
So therefore my top three realistic candidates in preference order, are: Rafael Benitez, Michael Laudrup and if Liverpool change manager this summer, then Brendan Rodgers comes into the frame. Whilst I will not be disappointed if we go with Slaven Bilic, I feel that appointment would be much more of a risk.
My choice for manager is Marcelo Bielsa. ‘El loco’ as he is known is exactly the type of big name manager we need in order to reach the famed next level. His high tempo high pressing style of football is exactly what I want to see at West Ham. He has done a good job at Marseille and Bilbao on small budgets and with restrictions and is the type of manager who would bring the feel good factor back to heading towards a West Ham game. He has his drawbacks and there is a question over whether our squad would fit his style, but I cannot help but get excited over the idea of him as our manager.
Marcelo Bielsa certainly seems to be the name being screamed about everywhere on social media platforms but I agree he would be perfect for the job. I was thinking about him being Allardyces replacement last year when he was on the verge of leaving. Bielsa is a tactical genius creating the process of three at the back, five in the middle and three up top with much more advanced roles than what it looks like. Here’s another thing Pep Guardiola called him the “best manager in the world” three years ago…
I believe Slaven Bilic would be the best choice to replace Sam Allardyce as not only is he a good manager, he knows the club quite well. Of course, Bilic was a reliable centre-back for us previously and has stated himself he “wouldn’t mind returning to the club.” His managerial displays have been very good too, with the media labelling him “Croatia’s only manager to part on good terms.” After his tenure at Croatia, he led Lokomotiv Moscow to a mid-table finish and Besiktas to third place. After confirming he won’t be at Besiktas next season, now is a good time to make a move for the Croatian.
Sam Allardyce and West Ham were a perfect match four years ago, as the Hammers needed stability and good leadership. Now was the perfect time for the former Bolton boss to depart because West Ham now need a more expansive manager to build from the foundations Allardyce has assembled at Upton Park. That manager is Unai Emery, his Sevilla side play with high energy and great flow, something that has not been seen since the days of Harry Redknapp. Upton Park deserves to be graced with some fluid attacking play in the club’s final year at the prestigious stadium. The offensive style is definitely something Emery can bring to the East London side.
My choice to take over from Big Sam would be Marcelo Bielsa. Pep Guardiola hailed him ‘the best manager in the world’. He offers a more creative, fluent brand of football. Hopefully having the same sort of impact as Koeman has had at Southampton. Bielsa’s 10 years with the Argentine and Chilean national teams also presents good experience at the highest level, which would serve us very well indeed. With the reported high transfer funds being made available to the new man, Bielsa would be able to bring in players to fit his brand of football, whilst pushing on next season as well as a positive European campaign.
I would choose Michael Laudrup to take over west Ham next season as he is a manager who has 13 years of managerial experience, including 2 years in the Premier League which saw Laudrup lead his Swansea team to their first ever major trophy when his side lifted the F.A Cup and also in the same season he lead Swansea to their highest ever Premier League finish (at the time) of 9th place. After being sacked by Swansea Laudrup took over as manager of Qatar Stars League champions Lekhwiya, during his first season he lead his side to a club record Qatar Stars League and a Crown Prince Cup double. Overall Laudrup is a realistic target for West Ham, also west Ham’s ambitions are similar to those of Swansea but as well as a realistic target Laudrup has proved he can be successful in England and abroad.
In my opinion, Slaven Bilic is the best option to manage West Ham for the foreseeable future. As a fan of West ham, there is no denying that in more recent times we have lacked attacking football. To be fair to Allardyce, he did bring players in, and changed the way we played. I have looked at some Besiktas games in the Europa league and it would appear that they played good passing football with intent of getting up the pitch.
Overall, Bilic I think would bring passion, energy and guaranteed popularity amongst the West Ham faithful.
To get an understanding about what outsiders believe to be the right move for West Ham, we asked a couple of other football fans on who they think should be West Ham’s next manager.
In my opinion, West Ham United should try to bring in Roberto Di Matteo as their new manager. Di Matteo, fresh from parting ways with Schalk, may feel like he has some unfinished business in the premier league after he was controversially sacked by Chelsea. The Italian is an organised man and is likely to bring back attacking football to the Boleyn ground (and the Olympic stadium). He also has European know-how to tackle West Ham’s upcoming Europa League ties.
I think it’s looking like it could be a job for Slaven Bilic, but a name I’d throw into the ring as an interesting idea would be Harry Redknapp. Knowledge of the club and European competition (albeit with Spurs) could really be a massive help to West Ham next year, and although I don’t rate him particularly highly as a manager myself, I think he is better than his QPR record shows. After using Big Sam for what he is good for (getting into a league and establishing you there) West Ham United Football Club will want to start fighting for trophies and automatic European spots in the league and I do think given a modest and controlled budget he could get the club to that point.
Another shout for the job would have been Brendan Rodgers had he been/if he is to be sacked at Liverpool. As a Liverpool fan I don’t want that to happen, as I really like him, but his job is far from safe. Playing a good brand of football and his knowledge of youth players could be seen as a good fit for West Ham and I think the fans would warm to him. Just don’t tell Andy Carroll. Having said that, I still think Harry Redknapp would be the option I would choose. Andy Carroll and Peter Crouch up top. The stuff of dreams.
MORE: Check out last week’s TIC Roundtable: Would a Europa League campaign be good or bad for West Ham in 2015/16?
