Other strikers are available

The striker situation has left everyone frustrated, but the biggest error has been time wasted targeting unlikely signings

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So let’s recap. The transfer budget is blown on record £15m signing Andy Carroll, a player who is injured, who was injured for much of the previous season and who will be injured at the start of the next. Back-up striker Carlton Cole is released and no new striker is signed. Three games into the season, just two goals have been scored, neither of them by our only fit striker Modibo Maïga who, in a David Kelly-esqe performance against Stoke, misses a sitter which would probably have turned zero points into three. Andy Carroll returns to training and within half an hour is injured again. Worryingly, the injury seems so obscure, the club cannot say how long he will be out for.

Doesn’t sound good, does it? That because it’s not. But it’s probably not as bad as it seems. The situation adds fuel to the fire of those fans who believe that Sam Allardyce is on a mission to sabotage the club but – call me a brainwashed Big Sam apologist if you want – he probably isn’t. If we put paranoia to one side, the question that really needs answering is – what, if anything, should have been done differently? Hindsight makes us all experts, but what were the decisions that at the time we really questioned?

"Had he kept himself fit over the summer, Carlton Cole would have presented an option – but not one that would have delivered many goals"

Some fans, but not many, were unhappy with the permanent signing of Carroll. £15m was too much of a gamble on a player plagued by injuries, they claimed. Only certain individuals within the club know the minutiae of Carroll’s injuries and the likelihood of a recurrence. It seems doubtful that anyone would have played down the severity of Carroll’s condition. Who would have benefited from that? If something to the contrary emerges, then that would indeed be a scandal. But until that transpires, let’s assume no skulduggery occurred.

Then there is the question of Carlton Cole and whether he should have been allowed to leave. Let’s be honest, those upset by Cole’s departure were so, not because we were losing a player who had consistently delivered for us (certainly not over the last three years), but out of sentimentality. Obviously having him on the books at this moment in time feels desirable, because we are so bereft of attacking options. Had he kept himself fit over the summer, Cole would have presented an option – but not one that would have delivered many goals.

If we are to question the lacklustre nature of our hunt for another striker, we must clarify our view of £4.5m-signing Maïga. Having chipped in with a few goals last season from minimal appearances, fans had reason to believe that he had something to contribute. On the other hand, Allardyce’s reluctance to give him a chance made us sceptical. That scepticism turned to outright disdain during the Stoke match. Allardyce knows him better than the rest of us, and his comments this week suggest he still believes he can do a job for us. Given that new signing Mladen Petric will not be match fit for another three weeks, we are likely to find out.

"At West Ham, Allardyce has never given the impression of having faith – Carroll notwithstanding – in any of his attacking signings"

If we are to take the cynical view that Allardyce’s backing of Maïga comes not from conviction but from necessity, the big question remains: how did we manage to go through the whole summer without acquiring an understudy for Carroll? One theory is that targets such as Demba Ba, Salomon Kalou and Romelu Lakaku were not interested because they expected play second fiddle to Carroll. A pretty sound explanation, I’m sure you’ll agree. But to then argue on that basis that we shouldn’t have signed Carroll seems nonsensical. Either you want a quality striker or you don’t. Surely the question is, why did we not target a striker who would be interested in joining, who would be patient enough to wait for their opportunity? When did we suddenly get so big-headed that only Chelsea players are deemed good enough for us?

I continue to be a big fan of Allardyce but his biggest flaw remains his inability to spot a good striker. At Bolton he got it right with Kevin Davies, but given how prolific he became in that role, Allardyce rarely needed to go back into the transfer market. Nicolas Anelka was clearly a good signing but not one that required a great deal of imagination. At West Ham, Allardyce has never given the impression of having faith – Carroll notwithstanding – in any of his attacking signings: John Carew, Sam Baldock, Nicky Maynard, Brian Montenegro, Maïga.

The transfer window is shut and until Carroll returns to fitness, we must live within our means. Call me an optimist, but in this seemingly dire situation is there not an opportunity to be had? Surely one of Maïga, Petric, Ravel Morrison or Elliot Lee has the ability to make a notable contribution. Those are Allardyce's options, ones that exist from his own making. It's up to him to make something out of them.