Toffeelover
Player Valuation: £80m
Not sure if this has popped up yet today but either way.... hahahahhahaha
oh boy, but Sam it was not CL, dreaming again eh laddie.
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Not sure if this has popped up yet today but either way.... hahahahhahaha
oh boy, but Sam it was not CL, dreaming again eh laddie.
@davids your thoughts sir ?https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...dd-up-for-sam-allardyce-and-everton-liverpool
Long before he forged a reputation as a one‑man insurance policy against relegation, Sam Allardyce was known for his fondness for facts and figures. He played the percentages in an essentially risk-averse brand of football. He has sought solace in the statistics. He still presents himself as a blend of old and new, traditional judgment and Moneyball-style metrics. “That’s the beauty of our matrix of statistics today, which backs up your eye,” he said.
His notion is the numbers support his case. His programme notes for last month’s defeat by Manchester City amounted to a blizzard of self-justifying statistics. It seemed a selective interpretation of the data available because after Saturday’s Merseyside derby stalemate made him only the third manager to register 50 goalless draws in the Premier League – and at times Liverpool threatened to render him only the second to suffer 200 defeats – other numbers were more unflattering.
Everton had four touches of the ball in the Liverpool box in the opening hour. They have mustered a solitary first-half goal since January. Under Allardyce, they have hosted Chelsea, both Manchester clubs and Liverpool. Over 360 minutes, they have recorded only three shots on target and one goal.
All of which suggests either a lack of quality, a surfeit of timidity or both. A £200m outlay in the past 12 months ought to have injected ability, even if three-quarters of the spending preceded Allardyce’s appointment. Yet the fearful football that an often outspoken character has overseen may highlight his innate caution.
“It could have been that in the first seconds and boosh. The crowd get up,” Jürgen Klopp said, trying to mimic the blood and thunder of a stereotypical derby; this rather placid affair had insufficient thud, even if there were a few blunders as Everton mislaid a third of their passes and misdirected a couple of late attempts to break the deadlock.
“Let’s face it, they have got a terrific team, haven’t they?” Allardyce asked and when Liverpool are at full strength, the answer would be in the affirmative. Yet their front three included Danny Ings, whose last goal came more than 900 days ago, and Dominic Solanke, whose 23 Liverpool appearances have yet to produce any. Their full-backs were Nathaniel Clyne, making his first appearance of the season, and the out-of-position central defender Ragnar Klavan, who Klopp thought had never even played on the flank in his four-year Bundesliga career, let alone for Liverpool.
His immediate opponent was Theo Walcott who, for 80 minutes, did his best work as a supplementary right-back before belatedly running at Klavan. A Liverpool team who had never played together before – and probably never will again – showed more cohesion and perhaps the most meaningful game of Everton’s campaign served as a microcosm for much of it: slow starters lost their way in the middle before seeking an uplifting ending. It eluded them.
Everton looked underpowered and poor in possession. Allardyce was asked if it is a concern the 32-year-old now struggles against the best opposition. “I can agree with you to a certain degree,” he replied.
It poses a question if Rooney’s appearances are rationed, if Everton’s biggest name is brought out only for the smaller games. They only gained a foothold in midfield when the more energetic Idrissa Gueye replaced him, a solid platform enabling them to spring Leighton Baines and Séamus Coleman forward on the flanks. Briefly, Everton resembled the side who had taken many a major scalp at Goodison Park before their 15-month drought.
An apprehensive approach was reflected in the rhetoric. Take the strange case of Davy Klaassen, a £23.6m signing who has been granted only six minutes of Premier League football since September. He has been utterly unimpressive but perhaps an enigma could be unravelled.
“If I had the opportunity to play him, I would but I haven’t because I’ve got to win,” Allardyce countered. Yet Everton, safe from relegation, do not have to win. They are one of the few teams who could experiment. “If we lose, it’s me that gets the stick,” Allardyce argued, a damage-limitation specialist seeking to limit the damage to his own standing.
And the knives are back out, Super stuff.
HOW many times must this be said! He needs time AND HIS players in to get his vision!"Everton had four touches of the ball in the Liverpool box in the opening hour. They have mustered a solitary first-half goal since January. Under Allardyce, they have hosted Chelsea, both Manchester clubs and Liverpool. Over 360 minutes, they have recorded only three shots on target and one goal."
"Everton had four touches of the ball in the Liverpool box in the opening hour. They have mustered a solitary first-half goal since January. Under Allardyce, they have hosted Chelsea, both Manchester clubs and Liverpool. Over 360 minutes, they have recorded only three shots on target and one goal."
Good movie but the biker boyfriend is Phil Neville incarnate.Great username by the way. I absolutely love that film.
Yeah, there were a couple of journo's on the radio today, one in particular absolutly ripping Sam to bits basically saying that his style of play may have worked in the early days of the Premier League at Bolton but these days he is well past his sell by date.The fact the media, who hate Everton and love fat Sam, are making bold statements about Sam not being good enough for us should be the biggest indication that he needs to go