He noted in passing that some of the most lauded midfielders deliver the ball over long range. “Yaya Touré will turn round and ping the ball 60 yards behind our defence. City don’t do short, short, short. It was one of the traits of Liverpool last season that Stevie Gerrard played more long passes than anyone else but they were more accurate than anybody else. He was unbelievable. We all sussed that one out, saying ‘Stop Stevie Gerrard passing it’ and slow Liverpool down as a team.” They did last month, beating Liverpool, and playing well. It has taken into what Allardyce calls “Year Four”, his fourth season in charge, to blend the styles. “It has got the ‘academy’ everywhere. I came into a club that got relegated in 2011, and it was all about sorting out the finances and can you put a team out on the pitch which says this is ‘the West Ham way’? Can you go to difficult places in the Championship where they won’t let you play ‘the West Ham way’? What do you do? You do what you need to do to win.