Poll: Who is best placed to fill the void at West Ham’s helm?
Published:
As another contender for the world’s worst kept secret was revealed just hours after the end of the Premier League season, Sam Allardyce was out of a job and West Ham were looking for a new manager.
The east London club threatened big things before Christmas, with the Hammers occupying a Champions League spot for some time.
However, their form in 2015 dramatically tailed off, and they slumped to a 13th place finish, resulting in an end of the four year tenure of Allardyce.
So with a potential Europa League jaunt in line for the capital club via the Fair Play league, they need to move fast.
With that, we are putting it to you. Who is the best man to take the reins at Upton Park?
The former Besiktas man knows what it is like to represent the Hammers, having donned the claret and blue 48 times in the mid-late 90s.
His exploits as Croatia boss singled him out for praise, but a disastrous year with Lokomotiv Moscow brought him back down to earth with a bump.
While his time at Besiktas has been solid, questions remain over whether he has moved them forward in his two years at the helm.
Unfairly judged on his ill-fated time at Manchester United, Moyes is probably the steady type of manager the West Ham owners would usually go for.
He guided the relegation-threatened Real Sociedad to a respectable mid-table finish this season, and it is likely the former Everton boss will want to build on those foundations in Spain.
He’s insisted he’s staying in San Sebastian, so a big payout looks likely to be necessary.
Back-to-back fifth place finishes in La Liga and a Europa League title in his first two seasons at Sevilla will have ear-marked Emery as a manager whose stock is on the rise.
The 43-year-old is set to be being courted by AC Milan, so whether the challenge of West Ham will appeal to him remains to be seen.
And with David Gold and Sullivan tending to opt for British managers (five of their six footballing appointments have been), he may not have the right profile for the co-owners.
While ‘the Daves’ seem to favour a home-grown boss, they also have a penchant for avoiding any compensation packages.
Four of their six managerial signings during their ownership spells at Birmingham and West Ham have come in the form of unattached gaffers.
And with Di Matteo’s resignation from Schalke today, with the club finishing in sixth position in the Bundesliga, the Champions League winning manager could be just the man for the Boleyn vacancy.
Many Hammers’ fans may feel perturbed by the appointment of a man just sacked by a Championship club for failing to reach the play-offs, but is that justified?
The former England man guided FC Twente to the Eredivisie title in 2010, and guided Middlesbrough to a League Cup success in 2004, but has had troubled spells in between.
Win percentages of 29.17 and 23.08 at Wolfsburg and Nottingham Forest respectively mean McClaren may be a risk.
The longest shot on our shortlist, but with a Premier League experience yet to feature on his CV, the Argentine manager could be tempted for a crack at the English top flight.
Having taken Athletic Bilbao to the big time, he has since moved to Marseille, and having threatend the summit of Ligue 1 at times had to make do with a very respectable fourth placed finish.
He has had many fallings out with the Marseille board, so securing his signature may be slightly easier, but could a clash entail at the West Ham top table with his appointment?
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All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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