Iain Dowie is a lifelong West Ham United fan and former Hammers striker.
The 52-year-old was a teammate of Slaven Bilic at the Boleyn Ground and coached Hammers striker Andy Carroll at Newcastle United in spring 2009.
Now a broadcast pundit, Dowie spoke exclusively to whufc.com about Bilic, Carroll, Dimitri Payet and new signing Jose Fonte…
I am a West Ham fan, used to stand on the old North Bank as a kid and I always take a close interest in how my old club are getting on.
First and foremost, Slaven is a very, very good manager and wherever he has been he has done a great job. He did a fine job last year and in terms of continuing that this season, he has now started turning things around. Players are coming back and Andy Carroll is fit.
I think he is the perfect man for the job and I believe some of the players have picked up their performances in recent weeks, because they were performing below the level they were at last year.
That’s a combination of Slaven working hard on the training ground and players realising that, if they weren’t careful, they would get dragged into a relegation battle. I am pleased for Slaven, because he is a good friend of mine.
It’s been difficult for Slaven at times this season. He has hardly had Andre Ayew, who is away at the Africa Cup of Nations, as is Cheikhou Kouyate, who I believe is a special player.
The scenario with Dimitri Payet is a really difficult one to deal with as a manager. Firstly, Slaven will feel let down personally.
In my view, I think Slaven has handled it well. He has been very firm and until the player changes his opinion, he won’t train with the team and I think he is right. You have to show a degree of strength and he has been backed by the Board.
Slaven will want a player of his talent in his team, but for the morale of the other players, West Ham is bigger than Dimitri Payet and he has been firm with it and that’s fair enough.
One player who is playing really well at the moment is Andy Carroll. I fortunately had a brief little spell with Andy at Newcastle and he has two or three fantastic attributes.
Firstly, his left foot is like a rocket and second, he is almost unplayable when the ball is delivered with quality into the box. Third, he is generally a really good lad.
He is just a handful and the quality of the goal he scored against Crystal Palace was just special. He has had a run of games and got fitter and stronger and that’s important because when he is fit, the other team’s defenders know they are in for a game.
He gives a different element to the way West Ham can play, and he’s also a good footballer on the floor and it showed how good he is technically with that goal last week because that wasn’t an easy technique.
Finally, I think Jose Fonte is a very good signing.
He has won the Euros and a lot of people thought he might go to Everton, so I think it’s a coup for Slaven that he has got the deal over the line, and credit to the Board, David Sullivan and David Gold for doing a really good piece of business.
Jose is a leader, a calm influence and a good footballer. He brings size and stature to the team and brings another threat from set pieces for other teams to worry about with Carroll, Winston Reid, Michail Antonio and others.
I think it’s a fantastic signing.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United