Why West Ham fans should forget the long-ball stereotype and welcome Super Sam the saviour
They haven't got too many right at Upton Park over the past few months.
Indeed, while they have become increasingly angry at the allegations, there have been plenty of good reasons for accusing David Sullivan, David Gold and Karren Brady of presiding over the worst-run club in the country.
But although many West Ham fans are already up in arms over the appointment of Sam Allardyce as Avram Grant's successor, I'm going to say something Gold, Brady and Sullivan will not expect: Well done.
I can understand why some Hammers fans are concerned at the appointment, but that is because they don't really know Allardyce.
It is far to easy to characterise him as a long-ball merchant, a believer in direct football rather than the passing game beloved of Boleyn Ground regulars.
Except that West Ham haven't really played that sort of football for a long time. And Allardyce has never been that sort of manager.
Yes, his Bolton team were physical. But who wouldn't be if they had Kevin Davies at the head of affairs?
Don't you think that if West Ham had deployed Davies, rather than Carlton Cole, as centre-forward they might still be in the Premier League rather than starting next season in the Championship?
And do you really believe Blackburn would have needed to secure their safety on the very last day of the season had Allardyce not been sacked by the chicken farmers mid-way through the campaign?
But the truth about Allardyce is very different from the easy caricature.
There is nobody, not even Arsene Wenger, who more readily adopted scientific analysis, a futuristic approach, an openness to new thinking.
It is no surprise, then, that Allardyce has the hump when he is accused of being a neanderthal.
Maybe it comes down to no more than image. Allardyce was a raw-boned centre-half as a player and looked to build that physical strength into his teams.
But it was no surprise that Newcastle were relegated in the season they sacked Allardyce because the Toon Army were baying for a different type of football, looking for a Messiah.
Instead, as Allardyce left the scene, those fans were left with a mess and the drop.
Allardyce has been bruised by recent events, no question. His dream of becoming England manager does seem dead and buried - although things can always change in football (except, of course, at FIFA).
But given that a large number of West Ham fans - and not just of the Alf Garnett vintage - still happily tell you that West Ham won the World Cup in 1966, he has maybe got the nearest equivalent to the Wembley brief.
Not that Gold, Sullivan and Brady are typical blazers and the biggest interest from outside will be in how Allardyce deals with his newest paymasters.
He will not accept any interference, which means the board may need to realise it is better to stay silent and be thought idiots than continually speak and remove all remaining doubt.
Allardyce, sensibly, showed an awareness of the concerns of the supporters in his first words after the announcement of his arrival.
"I wouldn't have taken this job if I didn't think we could bounce straight back into the Premier League," he said.
"More than that, I wouldn't have contemplated the job if I didn't think there was the opportunity to build something substantial at West Ham.
"I know there will be West Ham fans asking whether I'm going to abandon the style of play that's been the club's heritage over the years. All I'll say is it will be a tale of home and away. At Upton Park we'll try to play the kind of game the fans want."
The right things to say and while they may not ease the doubters, the proof of the pudding can only be in the eating, starting in August.
That will not be easy.
Financial realities mean the squad is likely to be radically changed, many of the better players leaving, putting the onus on Allardyce to buy well and coach even better.
But that is what he is good at. Ask Bolton fans, if nobody else.
And before the West Ham supporters, back in mythologising mode, start saying they are a far, far bigger, better club than Bolton, look at the records.
Bolton have won the FA Cup four times, including the famous White Horse final of 1923 against... West Ham. The Hammers have just three major trophies to their name.
So much for history. It is about the future now.
Under Allardyce, West Ham's just got a whole lot brighter. As long as he is allowed to do the job on his terms.
New boss Allardyce expecting Hammers stars to leave
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