West Ham chief David Sullivan: Sam Allardyce told us he had the worst job in the world

West Ham Shake-up: co-owner David Dullivan reveals why the club had to bring in a new manager
Jan Kruger/Getty Images
James Olley28 August 2015

Reggie Kray was said to have developed a “cigarette punch” that guaranteed his victim a broken jaw. He would offer them a cigarette and then strike with the guard down to inflict maximum damage.

It was brutal, blunt and swift. West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has a fascination with the Kray twins and British gangster films in general, which led him to become one of the main financial backers of a film released this month entitled Rise Of The Krays.

Sullivan is someone who rarely shies away from a fight, too. The wrangling over West Ham’s move to the Olympic Stadium continues. Charlie Austin felt moved to defend his curriculum vitae after Sullivan questioned the player’s long-term fitness amid talk of a failed move to the club.

And questions linger over exactly what happened with Sam Allardyce, who eventually vacated his position as manager after months of questions over his future, each one feeling like a jab to his credibility.

There was no cigarette punch for Allardyce, more a slow, painful death. Fans were divided over his treatment, given on the one hand he got the club promoted from the Championship and secured 10th, 13th and 12th-place finishes in the top flight but was condemned for the team’s style of play and a run of three wins from his last 21 Premier League games.

But Sullivan insists the uncertainty stemmed from a desire to make the right decision as late as possible rather than merely delaying the inevitable to the detriment of all concerned.

“It was very difficult,” he told Standard Sport. “How would you have handled it? Do you think we should have announced he wasn’t going to be there next year? That would have completely undermined him with the players.

Rise Of the Krays, which tells the tale of the twins' route to notoriety, is available on digital platforms now
Rise of the Krays

“Should we have got rid of him earlier and brought a temporary manager in? That’s not right either. What is the best way to handle it? Had he won the last five games, we might have tried to persuade him to stay.

“We had a meeting the previous summer and Sam said to us, ‘I have got the worst job in the world.’ And we said, ‘What do you mean Sam? What’s wrong with West Ham?’ And he said,‘It’s not West Ham, it’s being a football manager. It is the most demanding, tiring, horrible job.’ And I thought,‘This man needs a break if that’s how you feel earning £3-£3.5million a year’. So by the end of the season, he needed a break.

“We kept all our options open until the end to make a final decision based on the form of the season. Maybe we should have told him privately he was going. I don’t know. But we hadn’t really made our minds up. It all depended on the results in the last 10 games.”

Sullivan said: “With the money we spent, we did okay. No better than that. I don’t really want to get into a slanging match about the past. It isn’t right and it isn’t reasonable.

“We spent an awful lot of money in the first three seasons in the Premier League — more than most teams outside of the top six — and that must be taken into account. I don’t think we were ungrateful at all. But maybe we will look back on that in a year’s time and say, ‘He was the best manager of all time’.

“I’ve no desire to criticise him but it was time for a change. He wanted a change, we wanted a change. Were we ungrateful? If somebody earns £3.3million a year, is that ungrateful? I don’t know. I think that is a statement of gratefulness. There were bonuses for everything he achieved. He got paid for it. I can’t say more than that.

“Three wins in 21 is appalling. But I can’t criticise him because in four years he did a perfectly good job. He did all we asked of him and I am a fan of Sam Allardyce.

“We decided to change with probably two or three games to go. And even then if he has won the last three games, we might have thought differently. But he is in a results business and he may have gone anyway. He needed a break. He may have made his mind up but he didn’t tell us that.

“The converse is: did he handle it right? If he’d decided to go, should he have told us? I don’t know. But I can’t criticise Sam because he did a good job and I like Sam. But I think from both sides it was time for a change.”

Worst job in the world: Sullivan says Allardyce was weighed down by his West Ham responsibilities
(Christopher Lee/Getty Images)

That change came in the form of Slaven Bilic, who had impressed in a six-year spell as Croatia manager but the former West Ham player had never managed in English football and was considered by some to be a risky appointment far removed from the relative solidity offered by Allardyce.

Sullivan candidly admits Bilic was not the club’s first choice, Rafa Benitez was. “Rafa Benitez was within three hours of signing for us,” he said.

“Every clause in his contract was agreed and then he went to Real Madrid. It was a real blow because he is a really experienced manager in England and done really well in Italy. We had an agreement in place but you have to pick yourself up, look who else is available and pick the best you can.

“Whoever you take is a gamble. The bottom line is we have a manager. He has our 100 per cent support. We will support him in the transfer market. We like him.”

Getty

The Hammers may already have exited the Europa League but Bilic made his mark when masterminding a 2-0 win at Arsenal on the Premier League’s opening weekend.

Tomorrow, West Ham face a Liverpool side unable to replicate that result on Monday night at Emirates Stadium but finding their stride in encouraging fashion. Successive defeats by Leicester and Bournemouth may have tempered enthusiasm for some but Sullivan believes the Hammers no longer fear trips to the League’s toughest venues.

“We won at Arsenal and if you can win there, you can win anywhere in my opinion,” he said. “Slaven is extremely hardworking, which I think is very important. The team is probably a little bit fitter. We are playing a lot more possession football. It is what the supporters want.

“When you are changing the way you play, it does take time. As the season progresses, West Ham will come together and you will see a better team.

“We realise the top teams have got bigger budgets than us. Liverpool are a good team and it has been a long time since we won up there [West Ham’s last victory at Anfield came in 1963] but maybe this is the year we do it. We are not frightened by the likes of Liverpool.”

Frightened of nobody. The Krays would have approved.

Rise Of The Krays is available on digital platforms now and on DVD from August 31

Rise of the Krays

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