Podcast: Jonny's Premier League week

Big Sam in big trouble if Carroll doesn’t return soon

Another dismal home defeat and a performance without goals or goal threat. West Ham's 3-0 reverse at home to Chelsea increases the pressure on Big Sam.

Kevin Hatchard's piece written the Friday before Chelsea is equally applicable now. Big Sam needs luck with injuries and a tactical rethink to avoid trouble at t'Boleyn.

When you look at the betting markets regarding which Premier League manager will be the next to lose his job, the odds available tell an intriguing story. Fulham’s Martin Jol is the odds-on favourite – his position has been further weakened by the installation of Rene Meulensteen as head coach – while Norwich’s Chris Hughton is 6-1 second favourite.

Where do West Ham's goals come from?

While the white-hot glare of the media spotlight has been consistently trained upon Jol and Hughton, West Ham’s Sam Allardyce has been able to exist fairly peacefully in the shadows, and he is a hefty 25-1 to win the “sack race”. This appears to be a strange state of affairs when you examine both the Premier League table and recent results.

West Ham are 16th, only out of the dropzone on goal difference. They have ten points – the same tally as Jol’s Fulham and one point fewer than Norwich, who beat the Hammers 3-1 in the most recent round of Premier League fixtures.

That defeat at Carrow Road has alarmed some fans, as it featured an inexplicable second-half collapse. At half-time West Ham were 1-0 up and cruising, but after Jussi Jaaskelainen made a rare error and conceded a penalty, the claret and blue wheels came off. A midfield that had played calmly and intelligently in the first period resorted to panicked hoofs upfield, which allowed the home side to get a grip of possession that had utterly eluded them in the first half. This unexpected midfield meltdown put intolerable pressure on a defence that was missing its best performer Winston Reid, and it starved a strikerless formation of any attacking thrust.

Andy Carroll's as important as ever to Big Sam

Glass half-full optimists will point to West Ham’s exceptional defence, and they are right to do so. The Hammers had one of the best defensive records in Europe’s top five leagues ahead of their fateful trip to East Anglia, and they have kept an impressive six clean sheets in 11 league games. However, with towering aerial presence Reid potentially out of action until the New Year, his fellow centre-backs James Collins and James Tomkins will feel the weight of responsibility.

It is at the other end of field where West Ham’s real problems lie. They have scored just nine Premier League goals in 11 games, and have failed to score in six of those matches. Allardyce has persisted with a 4-6-0 formation in recent weeks, and barring the notable exception of a 3-0 win at Tottenham, this tactical set-up has failed to yield many goals. Rising star Ravel Morrison is the club’s top scorer with three league goals, and none of his fellow midfielders have scored more than once. Morrison and Kevin Nolan are the most advanced midfielders in the strikerless formation, but Nolan has huffed and puffed his way through the campaign. Of the 20 shots the veteran has attempted, just four have been on target, and he has had the look of a faded boxer who has accepted one fight too many.

Morrison has exquisite skill and huge potential

Allardyce has fairly bemoaned an unfortunate injury list which has featured the name of star signing Andy Carroll since the start of the season. An unusual foot injury has sidelined a man who the Hammers’ entire style of play is geared towards getting the best out of. While it is understandable that the vast majority of Allardyce’s transfer kitty was spent on securing Carroll’s move from Liverpool, the motley crew of backups at his disposal warrants scrutiny.

It’s been clear for some time that Allardyce doesn’t have much faith in Modibo Maiga, as he has granted the former Sochaux forward just eight Premier League starts since he joined the club in the summer of 2012. Ricardo Vaz Te and Mladen Petric are both injured, so the focus has shifted to the curious case of Carlton Cole. Released by the club in the summer, he was then re-signed on a three-month deal. Cole has never scored more than ten goals in a Premier League campaign, and he hasn’t hit double figures at the top level since 2009.

Such muddled and apparently ill-conceived business is out of keeping with a manager who has built a career on transfer acumen and attention to detail. If funds are available in January, Allardyce must bring in an effective back-up for Carroll, as the club surely cannot afford to pin its hopes so firmly on a player with Carroll’s recent injury record. At present, some of the Hammers players are acting as if Carroll is part of the team – Razvan Rat supplies a constant stream of excellent crosses from the left, with no-one there to profit from them, while a lack of support in the centre often forces the likes of Stewart Downing and Matt Jarvis down blind alleys.

I am a big fan of Allardyce (he should have got the England job when it was erroneously given to Steve McClaren), which is why I’m surprised that he has not only allowed this situation to develop, but has proved tactically inflexible in recent weeks. When Carroll is eventually restored to the team, it may be the stimulus that sends the Hammers soaring clear of the dropzone. But if he doesn’t return soon, Allardyce could find the light of that media glare spilling in his direction.

Allardyce is right to slam Wenger

Big Sam in his Sunderland playing days

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce has accused Arsene Wenger of using the media to influence referees and make Arsenal players untouchable.  

The Gunners boss again hit out at heavy tackles on his players after Abou Diaby was injured against Bolton on Saturday.

Allardyce (left) said: "He's a very clever man in terms of influencing referees, officials and everybody in football.


"In saying people are trying to injure players he's trying, through the media, to influence referees."

Big Sam is absolutely right in this case. Bolton's Gary Cahill was sent off at the Emirates for that challenge which may well have resulted in only a yellow card with another referee.

Allardyce and Wenger have often clashed over their teams' style of play.



Sam and Dioufy reunited at Ewood

The Frenchman accused Allardyce's players of targeting his goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski at set-pieces during a 2-1 defeat at Ewood Park towards the end of last season.

Allardyce reignited their verbal feud, before Arsenal avenged that loss with a 2-1 win at Rovers in August, saying: "I have to remind Arsene about his team, which used to win the league, that was the dirtiest team in the league.



"If you cast your mind back to when they were winning the league, they had more sendings-off and bookings than anyone else."

And in his latest swipe, the former Bolton boss said: "Arsene is almost, almost, affecting the officials so that you can't tackle an Arsenal player.

"That's something he's very clever at working on and it's almost working in his favour, you can see that.


"There is a perception that we kick everybody and Arsenal's motivation is that you can't tackle us as you aren't supposed to." 

Wenger and Carlos Kickaball or somesuch.

There's definitely an arrogance to Wenger's comments. By insinuating rough play, he's comparing his Beautiful Game of pass and move, intricate skill and youthful touch with the barbarian spirit of lesser teams as he sees it.

But Allardyce insists that the days of players trying to injure their opponents are long gone.

"Wenger is deflecting attention from the situation which says the game of football is a contact sport. You have to try to win the ball at all costs and if someone doesn't get it quite right people get injured," he added.


"It was much more apparent in my day when people used to go out to try to hurt an opponent every week, but today it very rarely happens. 

"I completely deny that my team deliberately injures players, certainly not. In the Premier League the commitment and speed unfortunately brings players together at such pace that it's almost impossible to avoid injuries."



Wenger doesn't always see the other side of the argument.

Wenger said in his programme notes ahead of Arsenal's Champions League victory over Braga that Bolton goalkeeper Adam Bogdan should have been given a straight red card for his challenge on Diaby as the Gunners beat Allardyce's old club 4-1 on Saturday.

"My regret is that video evidence cannot be used in these cases afterwards," he said. 



"I can understand that the ref did not see it, because he was in a bad position, but frankly the Premier League should be in a position whether they can suspend players who do this kind of thing."

Earlier in the week, the Frenchman stated: "I love the way the English game is played in England, the one restriction has to be full commitment with the intention of going for the ball and only for the ball.



"Then, I prefer English football 10 times as much to the European game. The English game becomes dangerous when the players go to hurt each other."

They don't like each other. End of. Ne-e-e-e-xt!

Redknapp proves Premier League discriminates against English managerial talent

Harry Redknapp's achievement in securing Tottenham's first-ever appearance in the Champions League is every bit as significant as his FA Cup win with Portsmouth two years ago.

It shouldn't be forgotten just how much disarray Spurs were in when Redknapp replaced Juande Ramos literally overnight. They've gone from ‘two points in eight games’ to 70 from 37 inside two seasons. The oddball Wembley defeat to Pompey is the only black mark this campaign.

Spurs’ resurgence under the stewardship of their cockney manager's been astronomical. In a matter of 555 days, the former West Ham winger's turned the club’s fortunes totally on their head, steering them from the clutches of relegation to what will be their highest league finish in 10 years.

Sam Allardyce often complained that he'd have got more of a sniff of the top jobs in the Premier League, if he were called Samuele Allardice (it's in Italics for a reason, folks!) Now, Harry's made Spurs one of the more coveted jobs in English football through force of will - and with an all-British coaching staff.

And 2010 marks the resurgence of the English manager in the world game. Joining Redknapp in raising eyebrows are Fulham's Europa League hero Roy Hodgson and the former wally with the brolly, Steve McClaren, who's just won the Eredivisie with Twente Enschede.

The one-nil win over Manchester City at Eastlands, Tottenham's last rival for that coveted place, shows they have the application and big-match mentality to give the Champions League "a good old go" as Harry might say.

Even by last January's transfer window, Redknapp had assembled a decent squad with a strong-looking bench. Much stronger than their competition in Aston Villa, who picked from their inexperienced but talented youth team, Manchester City, who were still garnering a new team spirit and Liverpool, who under the leadership of Steven Gerrard and Rafa Benitez, fell away under pressure to perform.

Redknapp's flexible and pro-active enough to realise his current squad's not good enough to reach the business end of Europe's elite competition. His wheeler-dealing in the market is well documented - and now he'll be able to attract top players to the club.

But perhaps rather than wholesale changes, Redknapp may only need to tweak the squad, such is the talent and spirit within it. From Crouch to King, from Gomes to Danny Rose, Tottenham have the basis to build on their phenomenal season.

They might be about to embark on their first adventure in Europe at this level, but don't expect Tottenham Hotspur to roll over against the big sides.

Click here: Why Mourinho should think twice before a Premier League return.

Wenger's not retiring. In his shoes would you?

Arsene Wenger's the latest top manager insisting he won't retire anytime soon despite turning 60 next month.

The highly-strung Professor Genius, who's cluster of teenagers weave pretty patterns without winning silverware, concedes life without football would be inconceivable for him.

Do you remember when Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement as Manchester United boss? That was EIGHT years ago! Since then, United have won another Champions League and a hat-trick of titles. Even Fergie's Fledgelings, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs remain key United figures - in their mid-thirties.

If you look at how Fergie jigged along the touchline as United edged City last Sunday, retirement must be as far away in his mind as ever. The Gunners chief is going to be around for a while too. He once said he'd stop at 50. Now the Alsatian's barking another tune.

"I don't believe in retiring unless you have to. I have never had a day when I think I could live without football. I know one day it will happen but you shouldn't live every day knowing you are going to die - you live knowing that you want to live."

Wenger went on to point out that other people will let him know when to call it a day: "In our job you need physical strength and to be a bit of an animal to convince people it's important to win.

"But once that physical strength goes it's a handicap, although you can compensate to an extent with experience.

"But you need in some way to be an animal and you need physical power. You will know if you are not hungry enough any more but other people will tell you if you are not good enough any more.

"It's not for a manager to know - it's for other people to know and to tell him."

Wenger still classes going the whole season unbeaten in 2003/04 as his lasting legacy in football.

"Without a doubt going the whole season unbeaten is my greatest achievement. If you win the championship you feel someone else can come in and do better than you.

"It was always my dream to go the whole season unbeaten because there's not much more anyone can do to beat that."

Football is a constant challenge for top managers, the strategy keeps their minds active and goal celebrations must the best possible feelgood buzz. Even Sam Allardyce's setback at Newcastle couldn't keep him down. Blackburn Rovers are the beneficiary of his desire and will to win.

Despite years of success at Arsenal, Wenger's job is far from done.

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Big Sam and Dioufy's Rovers return!

Bob Carolgees and Spit the Dog are reunited again! Sunderland striker El-Hadji Diouf has joined Blackburn resuming ties with Rovers boss Sam Allardyce, who got the best out of him during their time together at Bolton.

Diouf, 28, has completed a £2 million move in a bid to revitalise his career under Big Sam, who brought him to Bolton from Liverpool five years ago. The Senegal international has sauntered through his spell at Sunderland since his £2.6 million transfer last summer, failing even to score in 16 games for the Stadium of Light club.

Diouf will ensure that Big Sam's side has a greater edge to its play thanks to his spiky persona.

Diouf gained notoriety by spitting at opposing fans during his Liverpool days. Big Sam didn't gain notoriety for looking like Bob Carolgees. He just does!

There were only two clubs that D10UFY really could've joined given his dog-like predilictions. Rovers was one, Wolves the other. No chance of forming a partnership with Stan Collymore though. That's a different kind of dog behaviour altogether. Walkies!

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Also on Soccermongery: Jonny's latest podcast and Tony Adams is the man to send Pompey down