Is Martin O'Neill Right For West Ham?

Martin O'Neill is still being touted as the man to replace the unlucky Avram Grant at the helm of West Ham United. The former Aston Villa manager is reported to be mulling over the possibility of being the Irons' new manager.

Avram Grant has always been unlucky in the English Premier League. He seems to be the unwanted child although he has worked wonders at the clubs that he previously managed. Apparently a Champions League final and an FA Cup final appearance are not measures of success. Just goes to show how much importance is put on Premier League survival in this day and age.

But is Martin O'Neill the right man for West Ham?

I rate O'Neill as a top Premiership manager as you can read in this article. He is one of few British managers to have won a trophy in the modern era. He lifted unfashionable Leicester City to dizzy heights in the Premiership, turning Emile Heskey into a major Premiership force. The man's greatest European achievement was to oversee Celtic's adventure into the 2003 UEFA Cup Final where they lost to Jose Mourinho's Porto.

His overall win percentage is 53% which includes a dominating time in Scotland. For Villa, O'Neill posted a 42% win percentage, winning 80 matches out of 190.He brought respectability to Aston Villa at a time when the Villans were hovering near the relegation trapdoor. O'Neill could do the same for West Ham.

Jamie Kanwar, editor at Liverpool-Kop is a strong advocator of Martin O'Neill's managerial qualities. He has this to say about the Ulsterman,

" When O'Neill arrived, Villa were 2 places outside the relegation zone. In his first season, he stabilised things and stopped the rot (moving the club 5 places up the table); in his next 3 seasons, O'Neill solidified Villa in the top half of the table, with three sixth place finishes in a row. Given Villa's resources/second-tier status/ability to attract second-tier players, 6th is arguably the best the club could hope for."

"O'Neill creates *stability* at clubs he manages. For example: At Villa, he has bought 28 players; 24 of them are still at the club."

Having said that, I have a few concerns about O'Neill.

• Gives up when things get rough
• No Plan B when Plan A fails in matches
• Does not have extensive knowledge on European-based players
• Old-school manager, archaic tactics at times

What Martin O'Neill will bring is his enthusiasm and motivational skills into the Hammers' dressing room. This is the man who brought the very best out of Heskey, Gareth Barry, Agbonlahor and Ashley Young. He has proven record of working within budgets at Wycombe and Leicester. His combative nature and  infectious emotional touchline displays would go down well with the West Ham faithful. Yes, getting O'Neill will be a step in the right direction for West Ham. He is exactly the type of high-profile manager that Gold and Sullivan plump for.

Sullivan and Gold typically gets their managerial appointment spot-on. This article gives an interesting insight into how much experience and credibility as football club owners the duo have. SuGo are also not known to be hasty in their decisions and do give sufficient time to their managers to get things right. I expect Avram Grant to remain as manager until the end of the season, no matter what happens this season.

Managerial uncertainties aside, what West Ham really need is a proven goalscorer just like what Mark Noble has pointed out. The Irons are crying out for someone like Newcastle's Andy Carroll who can clearly make things happen all on his own!  Even more controversially, would the mercurial ex-Hammer Craig Bellamy be that Tevez-like spark that West Ham need to stave off relegation?