What now for West Ham? Super Sunday panel discuss next step

Minutes after the final went on a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle, West Ham announced the departure of Sam Allardyce after the club decided not to renew his contract.

West Ham’s search for a new boss has begun but the Super Sunday panel of Jamie Redknapp, Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness could not agree on whether the decision to replace Allardyce after four years at the helm is right for the future of the club.

Here’s what they had to say…

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Jamie Redknapp: “If you’ve got Sam Allardyce as your manager you’re pretty much guaranteed to stay up. He knows what he’s doing. He knows his way around the transfer market. It’s a dangerous game.

“When I read about the people West Ham are trying to get you think they are setting their aspirations high. There’s talk about Rafa Benitez but it looks as if he’s going to Real Madrid. Even Jurgen Klopp has been mentioned. I don’t think he’ll go there but West Ham’s the sort of club that if you can get it right and they get to the Olympic Stadium, anything can happen.

“It could be a fantastic club to be a manager of. It’s in London and a lot of people want to be in London. It’s a big club.

West Ham’s the sort of club that if you can get it right and they get to the Olympic Stadium, anything can happen.

"By moving to the Olympic Stadium the club is a valuable proposition for a manager. There’s talk about how much they’re offering the next manager to come in. It is vast amounts of money.

“Somebody coming into the British game will look at London and think Olympic Stadium, West Ham and think it’s a great move. It’s a great move for somebody and if you can get them going and spend some money, who knows? I’m not saying they’re a big club because not many clubs win things but it’s a good club.”

Graeme Souness: “Is it the right thing for West Ham? Are West Ham going to jump from where they are now to being a club that can challenge for the Champions League places? That’s not going to happen overnight.

“Sam knows his way around the Premier League. Tried and trusted. It’s one of those. Be careful what you wish for.

“From my time of football I’m fed up of hearing [about] the West Ham way. What is the West Ham way? They are a yoyo club. I think it’s a club that by moving to the Olympic Stadium could go to another level but there’s no guarantee of that.”

Jamie Carragher: “In terms of Sam Allardyce it’s always about his style of football and the West Ham way.

“I’m not criticising Sam Allardyce because I think he is a guarantee of staying in the Premier League but it’s getting to the stage where West Ham fans just want to go to the match.

“They don’t expect to win anything or really challenge for the top four but they want to watch Alan Devonshire, watch Paolo Di Canio and watch players like that.

“When you watch a Sam Allardyce team there are not those types of players in it. That’s what the people who are watching West Ham every week are telling me.

“Whether you agree with that or not that’s what they want. They want to go and be excited by watching West Ham.”