Former West Ham striker Carlton Cole has hit out at people calling Sam Allardyce a “dinosaur” and has backed the “innovative” ex-England boss to take over at West Brom.
A 1-1 draw against Manchester City on Tuesday night looked to have offered the under-pressure Slaven Bilic a lifeline in his 100th Premier League game as a manager, but reports after the match indicated the West Brom hierarchy could still look to sack him on Wednesday.
There’s speculation that Allardyce could be the man to take over the reins from Bilic if the Baggies decide to act, with ‘Big Sam’ seen as a survival specialist by many.
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Allardyce is oft-derided as a dinosaur but Cole has slammed those lazy assertions and reckons he would be a good fit at West Brom.
Cole told talkSPORT: “I have sympathy for Slaven, he is a top, top guy. He’s had his way he wanted to play and it’s not worked out, he’s brought in players he wanted and that’s not worked out for him either.
“But what you can say is he’s had the time to adapt to the Premier League.
“At the start of the season he spent a bulk of his money on Grady Diangana and he is a really inexperienced player. If he was trying to consolidate the club in the Premier League I would have liked to see more experienced players come in, but he’s gone for the excitement factor and it hasn’t worked out.
“Well see what Sam can do with that team… if it is Sam! He consolidates teams in the Premier League. I know for a fact he will get the defence right, stop leaking goals and move the team forward to consolidate themselves in the Premier League. He’s got vast experience of doing that.
“I’m not sure how the West Brom fans will feel about it, but if you want to stay in the Premier League there’s no one better to go to than Sam Allardyce. He gives clubs stability, it’s what he did when he came to manage us at West Ham, and that’s what West Brom need. They’re sinking.
“The ‘dinosaur’ comments are harsh – I think he’s innovative! He was always looking at the sports science, how much players run, and it did help the team.
“He’s not the dinosaur everyone thinks he is, he’s a forward-thinking fella. I’ve worked under him, i’ve seen how he works and I know that’s way off
“Yeah he’s been in the game a long time, if you want to call him a dinosaur for that, but he’s evolved, he’s always evolved, you can’t be in the game for that long and not evolve. It’s impossible. It’s bang out of order, to be honest.”