What a difference a few months makes at the Boleyn Ground. Back in August it was back slaps and talk of Champion’s League qualification and shady Iranian investors with Russian oil billions buring holes in their metaphorical pockets. Today it’s Alan Pardew clearing out his desk and a lesson for the rest of us that the phrase “itchy trigger finger” means exactly the same thing in Iceland as it does in East London.

I have to say that I’ve got some sympathy for Pardew. He squared up to Wenger in one of this season’s fantastically comical moments after West Ham’s last minute winner and he helped the club punch way above their weight last season with a strong top half finish and loser’s medals from one of the most entertaining FA Cup finals I’ve seen in the last decade but I think it was these heroics which have cost him his job.

If West Ham had came up last season, struggled to find some form and finished 13th/14th and maybe made the quarter finals of the FA Cup the jellied eel munchers at Upton Park would have been delighted and eager to consolidate again and maybe press for the top half of the table this season. The loss of Dean Ashton though injury and loss of form of some of last season’s big hitters like Nigel Reo-Coker have hit West Ham hard in 2006/2007 and the added media sideshow of Tevez and Mascherano hasn’t helped. Pardew’s unwillingness to play players in their natural positions (see Carlos Tevez) hasn’t really helped either and that “difficult second season” syndrome has hit the Hammers hard.

With a new owner in the directors box and fears over Premiership safety there was always going to be one final result for Pardew and his antics with Arsene Wenger showed us all how much pressure he was operating under. The next question of who will replace Pardew is already being hotly debated.

Two early front runners have emerged but as usual with the Premiership we can look to a few stalking horses who might throw their hats in the ring.

The favourites according to William Hill are former Charlton boss Alan Curbishley who will know the London scene well after so many years at The Valley and former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson. Maybe not a popular appointment initially but Sven’s club coaching achievements are really second to none especially during his time in Italy and a sense of failure over his time as England boss shouldn’t be allowed to tarnish that.

Claudio Ranieri is another name being bandied about and Hill’s have him as third favourite, narrowly followed by overachieving Wigan boss Paul Jewell. Moving beyond this we have the usual outsiders including West Ham coach and former player Kevin Keen (too inexperienced although see Les Reed at Charlton), former Charlton boss Iain Dowiw, himself an ex-Hammers player, Gianluca Vialli (surely not?) and Southampton boss George Burley.

The rest of the list makes for some horrible reading and it says a lot when George Graham is priced cheaper than Harry Redknapp for the job.

Personally I don’t think William Hill are far wrong in putting Curbishley and Sven up there and it will be a real statement of intent from West Ham’s new owners with who they do install as the new manager. Alan Curbishley would follow the old West Ham homely atmosphere while a move for the more urbane Sven would show a willingness to move away from their traditional roots, albeit at the cost of risking a few of the players and staffs WAGs getting on the receiving end of the amorous Swede’s advances.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 11th, 2006 at 2:59 pm and is filed under West Ham United. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.