STATEMENT: The Club have begun the search for a new manager after deciding not to renew Sam Allardyce’s contract http://t.co/wHlHhyMLZE
— West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) May 24, 2015
The club have just issued a statement which tells us that after four seasons Sam Allardyce is leaving the club. Some might say it was released in undue haste after the the final whistle at St James’s Park. It took them all of four minutes, leaving Sam to face the press pack with them all knowing. Nice.
I’d post the full statement here, but the club’s website won’t load, no doubt due to so many people trying to access it.
It’s a sad end, but in many ways inevitable. After the first half of the season which promised so much, we have only won three times since Christmas. You can’t just put it down to injuries, although they have played their part. The truth is we’d be in the relegation zone if we hadn’t accumulated so many points in the first few months.
We should be graceful and thank Sam for what he did for us. He got us promotion and stabilised the club. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to give us the sort of football we are used to, or take us to the next stage, but he did the job he was employed to do.
Goodbye Sam, hello….?
UPDATE: Club Statement in full
“West Ham United will begin the search for a new manager after the Club decided not to renew the contract of Sam Allardyce following the conclusion of the 2014/15 season.
Joint-Chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold will now oversee the recruitment process for a new manager to lead the Club into one of the most exciting eras in its history. The Hammers will bid an emotional farewell to the Boleyn Ground, their home of more than 110 years, next season before the Club moves to London’s premier state-of-the-art 54,000 seater stadium on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in August 2016.
The Board has already compiled a shortlist of replacements for Allardyce and will be making significant transfer funds available for the successful candidate.
In a statement, Joint-Chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold have paid tribute to Allardyce’s contributions and explained what they will be looking for in their new manager.
“We would like to start by thanking Sam Allardyce for his valuable work since arriving at the Boleyn Ground four years ago,” they said.
“He leaves the Club in a considerably better state then when he arrived and, for that, the Board are truly grateful.
“However, we have made the decision not to renew his contract, so we now have the chance to appoint a new manager with a new philosophy to lead us into two of the most exciting years in our great Club’s history.
“Our target is to recruit a manager that will build a team capable of saying a fitting farewell to the Boleyn Ground next year and do justice to the outstanding surrounds we will call home from August 2016.
“We have already been impressed with the quality of candidates that have expressed an interest in the role and fully expect to appoint a manager with the credentials to take this Club on to new heights.
“From our point of view there isn’t a more exciting job in the Premier League at present.”