4-6-0? 5-4-1? 4-3-2-1? 4-4- 2? Who knows, Big Sam?

The away performance against Spurs was absolutely fantastic and one that will live long in every Hammers mind. It showed that the Irons have it in them to push on from last year’s tenth place finish after a rocky start to the new campaign.

Whilst the result was comprehensively positive, the formation was quite the shock, with no recognized striker in the starting line-up and the role of front man fell to a mixture of Morrison, Diame, Vaz Te and Nolan. It is rumored that Big Sam told both of the chairmen before the match that he was going for a 4-6- 0, much to the surprise of Messrs Sullivan and Gold. But who would have thought that it would have worked so well with every member of Sunday’s team played their part

So what is the best formation for Big Sam Allardyce and his West Ham squad? The bulk of the time Sam will go for the tried and tested formation that is most popular around the world at this current time in the shape of 4-2-3-1, and I’m sure when Andy Carroll is back, we will see Allardyce move back to this formation. But why for the moment should we not implement surprise tactics? Sunday shows that throwing a wild card in the pack works. It is clear that with Maïga in the side there won’t be much luck for the Hammers in front of goal so it might not be a shock for some that Sam dropped the striker and opted for an alternative.

Yes Vaz Te sees himself as a striker but he spent a lot of his time on either wing on Sunday, allowing mainly Morrison, Diame and Nolan the chance to play the target man and show their qualities with the former grabbing a stunning goal. A lot of Irons fans grew up with the claret and blue running around in a 4-4-2 formation, but nowadays this system is seen few and far between in the Premier League and in the top competitions around the world.

Last season against Manchester United the gaffer tried out a 5-4-1 formation which worked for the large part and for an away game it seems a good tactic, despite the defeat at Old Trafford. Lastly, the fact that Big Sam is trying out new formations proves that he is taking risks to make the watching of West Ham games exciting. That is why, I for one, no matter what formation we play, in Big Sam I trust.