With rumours of Sam Allardyce’s future floating about this week, I thought I would count my chickens very early and take a look at a few potential future managers for the team.
Ange Postecoglou
I will start you off with my personal favorite and perhaps least known of the list, current Australia manager Ange Postecoglou. in 2009 Postecoglou took over at Brisbane Roar and performed a complete clear out of the sides overpaid and overrated players. He took Brisbane from the bottom to the top of the league in just 2 seasons and earned them the nickname ‘Roarcelona’ by playing an entertaining brand of football.
Now while I am not delusional enough to believe he would take West Ham to dizzying heights, the clear out and reboot is exactly what West Ham need right now. We have some great pieces of the puzzle in place such as Sahko, Valencia, Cresswell and Adrian, but we are also limited by a huge wage bill.
Slaven Bilic
Constantly linked to West Ham due to his playing time with the club, and would be a fan favorite given his relative success with Croatia and Besiktas. His appointment would probably have to rely on club loyalty as he maybe sought after by much bigger sides this summer, I would speculate perhaps Borussia Dortmund for one.
Paolo Di Canio
What to say about Paolo. Another former player, loved by the faithful for his determination, entertaining style and commitment to the team. However he has had attempts at management and come up short. I may not be popular for suggesting this but I don’t believe he would be a step in the right direction as manager.
Michael Laudrup
Continually linked with every British job since leaving Swansea. However you may remember the time he took waiting for the ‘right’ job after leaving Mallorca. Currently managing in Qatar, I believe his return to the UK may be much less likely than some assume.
Eddie Howe
One of the top young British managers, has been nothing but good since returning to Bournemouth in 2012, they look set to push for the Premier league having only just gone up to the Championship. If they don’t make it, Premiership clubs will come knocking and West Ham could be at the front of the queue.
Glenn Hoddle
With Pulis and Sherwood now employed and Warnock seemingly retired, the award for average English manager that we will probably end up with goes to Glenn Hoddle. The influx of foreign managers is constantly scrutinized, but really, if they are not good enough, its not anyone’s fault but their own.