Who should replace Sam Allardyce?

After West Ham United’s dismal 4-0 away defeat to West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup on Saturday, speculation is rife regarding Sam Allardyce’s future. In this article, Chance Ingham-Grant (@chanceig on Twitter) and I analyse who we would appoint as manager in the summer, should the board decided not to renew Allardyce’s contract, and why.

The first choice for many Hammers fans and perhaps even the first choice for the board. Bilic’s affinity with West Ham dates back to January 1996 when then manager Harry Redknapp bought the centre back from German outfit Karlsruhe for a club record £1.3 million. His spirited defensive displays endeared himself to the Upton Park faithful before leaving for Everton in the summer of 1997 for £4.5 million – returning a £3 million profit for West Ham.

The Croatian stepped into the world of management in 2001, briefly managing his hometown club Hadjuk Split before taking the reins of the Croatia U21 squad alongside Aljosa Asanovic. However Bilic’s came to prominence in the managerial world when he was appointed manager of the Croatian national team. Immediately, Bilic set about promoting Eduardo da Silva, Vedran Corluka and Luka Modric, all of whom have gone on to enjoy successful careers in Europe, to the senior team from the U21’s. Bilic enjoyed a successful start to life at the helm of Croatia, beating World Cup holders Italy 2-0 in Livorno and drawing 0-0 away to Russia in Moscow – not the easiest place to go to. Bilic came under fire however from certain sections of the Croatian media and fanbase for suspending key player Ivica Olic and Dario Srna (amongst others) for sneaking out of Croatia’s base and attending a Zagreb nightclub. This shows that Slaven Bilic isn’t afraid to assert his authority and show exactly who is boss. Fans on England shores will probably best remember Bilic’s as a manager for masterminding the double over England in Group E in qualification for Euro 2008, which lead to Steve McClaren being sacked as England boss. Oh, and he’s also equalled Croatia’s record victory – a 7-0 destruction of minnows Andorra.

After six years at Croatia, his next job at Russian powerhouse Lokomotiv Moscow did not go to plan at all as he lead the Railroaders to a ninth place finish, their worst finish in the Russian Premier League since its inception in 1992. Ouch. Bilic took full responsibility for Lokomotiv’s failures and was sacked in June 2013, just eleven months after his appointment.

Bilic, not to be put off, was back in work just eight days later as manager of Turkish club Besiktas. His first season in Istanbul ended in a very respectable third placed finish however this season he has exceeded all expectations. Besiktas currently sit top of the Turkish Super Lig above giants Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray thanks to the helping hand of former Hammer Demba Ba. Bilic and Ba, it seems, look to be quite the duo…

Appointing Eddie Howe as West Ham manager would be seen as a shrewd appointment by the West Ham board and Howe’s credentials ring a stark similarity with West Ham legend John Lyall, an academy product that retired early due to injury who is now working his way up the management ladder.

During his playing career, Howe racked up 271 (quite a tally considering his injury problems and relatively early retirement) league appearances for AFC Bournemouth and continued at the club in a coaching role after his retirement from playing and in January 2009 he was appointed full time manager of Bournemouth and steered them clear of relegation (possibly saving the club’s existence) despite having 17 points deducted for entering administration. Howe’s early impressive managerial career didn’t stop there as just 14 months after being appointed to a Bournemouth team scrapping for their Football League lives he lead them to glory, securing promotion to League One. Quite a turnaround. Burnley’s heads turned at the young managers ability and in January 2011 he was appointed manager of the Turf Moor side. During his time up north he was the engineer to an impressive 2-1 Championship away win at West Ham, labelling it “the best result we’ve had since I’ve been here”. A contrast from the previous seasons meeting where Burnley were humbled 5-1 by the Hammers.

October 2012 saw the return of Eddie Howe to the south coast and in the same season he guided Bournemouth to the second tier of English football after winning League One. But that’s not all, after finishing an impressive 10th in Bournemouth’s debut in the Championshop, Bournemouth have become real contenders for promotion to the Premier League. The promised land. The Holy Grail. Bournemouth currently sit pretty in the automatic promotion spots in the Championship, but prising Howe away from Bournemouth will be a task in itself – with or without promotion to the top flight.

Former lower league defender and successful City trader, Mark had taken Brentford of West London and turned them into a team pushing for the promised land of the Premier League. After leaving the professional game through injury he founded a hugely successful career as a trader both in London and America. During this time he coached at schools as a hobby. The pull back to football was too much and he left the city job to travel Europe learning from the likes of Ajax and Barcelona.

Watford came calling and he found himself coaching youth players rising up Academy head coach. In 2011, Nicky Forster asked him to come to Brentford as first team coach. Highly popular with players and directors alike he attempted to bring a new style of football to the lower leagues. Missing out on the managers job to Uwe Rosler he continued as first team coach until 2013 when Rosler left for Wigan. It is said that the first team was asked who they wanted as manger and unanimously chose Warburton, high praise indeed.

Promoted in the his first season was above his expectations and he has continued the form taking Brentford as high as second this season. I would describe Mark’s management style as very focused, he believes entirely in a correct style of football. Short passing, small triangles, letting the defenders be confident enough to bring the ball forward. He has been shrewd in the transfer market picking up the likes of 21 year old Alex Pritchard of Tottenham on loan bringing some much needed class to the squad. Above all I think he believes in youth and I hope he is given a chance with a quality team now that he and Brentford are due to part ways.