Big Sam: I could tame Adebayor

SAM ALLARDYCE ventured yesterday that West Ham United would have got the best from Emmanuel Adebayor had Tottenham Hotspur not blocked his proposed loan move to east London earlier this month.

The striker is already a thorny issue at White Hart Lane, where the sides meet overnight tonight, without them being reminded that they are wasting $200,000 every week that Adebayor does not kick a ball.

The striker wanted to move to West Ham but Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, refused to sanction the deal and the player has been absent from the squad for the past four games.

Things have often turned sour for the striker at his previous clubs, although the other theme of his career has been the immediate impact he has made for a team in front of goal.

A run of goals might have secured West Ham a European place at a time when their strikers are showing signs of fatigue. Allardyce said he would have welcomed the challenge of overcoming Adebayor’s temperament and did not rule out trying again to sign him this summer.

‘‘He brings goals and if you see his initial impact, he scores goals on a regular basis,’’ Allardyce said.

‘‘There can be the odd blip that happens with a player of his character, but sometimes you deal with that as a manager. You don’t want it to be easy. You set yourself the challenge that you hope he can make a difference to your team. So you use your management skills in terms of looking at his personality. You talk about wanting the best out of him while he is here, to enjoy his football and do what he does best and that is play and score goals. The deal looked a really good possibility but I was keeping my fingers and toes crossed.’’

The failure to sign Adebayor was exacerbated when Andy Carroll was then ruled out for the rest of the season through a knee injury and Allardyce instead signed Nene, the Brazilian striker who is unlikely to play for at least a fortnight while he obtains international clearance and improves his fitness.

West Ham have scored more than once in only two of their past 12 games which Allardyce believes is because Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho, his strikers, are feeling the effects of their first season in England. ‘‘They are not used to the playing regularly at this level, physically and mentally,’’ he said.

‘‘It is their and my responsibility to get them back Tug of war: A fight over Emmanuel Adebayor will add extra spice to tonight’s London derby between West Ham and Spurs. in the goalscoring mood and, if we do, we will start winning.’’

The exit from the FA Cup at the hands of West Bromwich Albion last week again exposed the underlying antipathy of some fans towards Allardyce and raised fresh questions about whether he will be handed a new deal by the owners at the end of the season.

Allardyce, however, said that he has met every target he has been set. ‘‘I never said I didn’t want to stay here,’’ he said. ‘‘We’ve made good progress. All you have to do is look back at where the club were when I got here. We’ve managed to put in an infrastructure which has grown the club to be in the tophalf at this moment.’’

Beating Tottenham in their penultimate game last season probably saved Allardyce’s job when the board were a whisker away from replacing him.

He has responded to their request that he plays more attractive football this season and is on course to meet their demand for a top-10 finish. ‘‘I don’t listen to the speculation,’’ he said. ‘‘It is not my desire to listen to praise or criticism. It seems to me it occurs if and when you get a bad result.’’ TIMES