MX23RW : Friday, September 20 17:31:19| >> :60:49:49:

Gianfranco Zola: 'Negative football behind Sam Allardyce exit'

Gianfranco Zola says that Sam Allardyce's negative style of play is a reason for his expected departure from West Ham United.

Gianfranco Zola believes that Sam Allardyce's negative style of football is behind his expected departure as West Ham United manager.

The 60-year-old's contract expires at the end of the season and it appears that the Hammers have no intention of keeping him on.

Allardyce has faced criticism from some sections of fans for his perceived negative style of play and, despite making a positive start to this season, former West Ham boss Zola says that he has still failed to win the supporters over at Upton Park.

"Normally people don't look at the first half of the season, they only look at the end of it. Over the last 14 games, West Ham have not done very well. That's the problem with Sam," he told talkSPORT.

"He did fantastically well at the beginning of the season though. Sometimes there was a difficult relationship between the way Sam played and the sort of football West Ham supporters wanted to see.

"I know how important the style of football is for West Ham fans. That might be the biggest problem to overcome. I don't know what's going to happen. Nobody can question whether Sam Allardyce has done a good job for the club though."

Allardyce has been West Ham boss since 2011.

ID:222578: cacheID:222578:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2117:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Nene of West Ham in action during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham and Chelsea at the Boleyn Ground on March 4, 2015
Read Next:
Brazilian keen on West Ham United stay
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Patriots
3-24
Jets
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City4400113812
2Arsenal431061510
3Newcastle UnitedNewcastle431063310
4Liverpool43017169
5Aston Villa43017619
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton42206248
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest42204228
8Chelsea42118537
9Brentford42026606
10Manchester UnitedMan Utd42025506
11Bournemouth41215505
12Fulham41214405
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs41126424
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham411256-14
15Leicester CityLeicester402257-22
16Crystal Palace402247-32
17Ipswich TownIpswich402227-52
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves4013411-71
19Southampton400418-70
20Everton4004413-90


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!