Sam Allardyce

[trueblue10]

I think this is a very fair and reasoned analysis.

I was not in full panic mode either but my main concern was that another 2 or 3 defeats after Southampton, would just have contributed more to a sense amongst the players and the whole club that things were out of control, and would begin to resemble a runaway train heading to the cliffs. I just didn't want us to be heading into a hectic Christmas period badly needing points. Sam has done brilliantly to avoid that scenario, though I do think it is poor form of him to claim credit for the West Ham result. The players would have undoubtedly responded to his appointment, but credit for that result goes entirely to Unsworth as far as I see it. He took criticism when warranted, so deserves plaudits too by the same standard.

It's somewhat of a game of high stakes poker - absolutely nobody could predict with certainty that we would recover under a new manager, Sam or someone else, let alone do so quickly. I'm glad that Moshiri acted as and when he did - he should have done it sooner.

I was panicking. There , i've said it.

 

[davek]

Btw @bluestevon @davek I'm not disagreeing on the general point that - long term - Sam isn't the man to take us to where we want to be.

But in the short term I think he can get us organised and drilled to a point that, a but like when Martinez took over from Moyes, a more expansive coach could come in and really achieve something.

He pretty much guarantees our safety. He's organised and composed and players will play for him. It's what he does. Building teams? No, not in my opinion.

Imagine what a Tuchel could do with a crop of talented youngsters like we have right now. It's a no brainer for me: if that calibre candidate is available in the summer Allardyce has to be paid off...always assuming he has a contract that runs beyond the season in the first place.

 

[trueblue10]

The EL was a lost cause. Do you think Allardyce would have given everything to it had he come in at that stage? His lineup in the last game in the group and his no-show tell me the answer is no.

I'm not trying to detract from what Allardyce has done so far. But it's been 4 matches in charge only for him. I wish him every success this season, and then hope he slings his hook at the end of it.

Not when he took over it wasn't, it wasn't easy, but we could still have qualified, and yes , i think he would have had a go at it.

His line up in his first and our last EL match was classic Sam, send the 2nd sting to a no hope game and see what they can do, ( much like he would have done if we had already confirmed qually for the next round), i'll keep the 1st team here and concentrate on winning the derby,

Excellent thinking by our dinosaur of a manager i thought.

 

[davek]

Not when he took over it wasn't, it wasn't easy, but we could still have qualified, and yes , i think he would have had a go at it.

His line up in his first and our last EL match was classic Sam, send the 2nd sting to a no hope game and see what they can do, ( much like he would have done if we had already confirmed qually for the next round), i'll keep the 1st team here and concentrate on winning the derby,

Excellent thinking by our dinosaur of a manager i thought.

It was a decision that required no thought. I dont think any other manager would have acted differently.

 

[Khalekan]

In the first 45 against Swansea there were numberous aimless balls without a seconds thought. It was agricultural and wouldn't have looked out of place at the Aigburth GAA pitch.

There wasn't.

You are making that up to suit an argument which is both "aimless" and "inaccurate"

 

[Khalekan]

The state of this thread

The guy has been here for three weeks and our form is thee wins and a draw from four games

I venture to suggest only Manchester City can post a better return in their last four outings.

Yet some people on here are trying their eye strings out to convince us that we have more to worry about than to be excited about.

 

[Khalekan]

We have just seen the back of two highly regarded managers in Martinez and Koeman. They were supposed to move the club forward and help us break the infamous glass ceiling. Between them they spent vast amounts of money on players... amounts previous managers, including Moyes, could not even dream about.

They didn't break the ceiling they managed to lower it..... and I still read posts on here that Allyrdyce is a one dimensional manager and has no long term vision or play.


I DON'T CARE.
I am fed up reading so much [Poor language removed] on here about the football we should be playing, the manager we should be appointing, the players we should be signing.... it's all nonsense.

I just want to win games and I don't care how we do it or the name of the person in charge when we do it.

Come back to me when we get a Guardiola, Mourinho, Simeone as manager.

+1

 

[trueblue10]

Allardyce will get us into no trouble. Not with the resources we have here. The difference between more adventurous managers and him is that they can, when it clicks, offer a route to another level that Allardyce wouldn't concern himself to reach because that's not his remit and that's not within his capability either.

The question then becomes this: do you content yourself with ambling along mid-table playing percentage football, or do you use the greater resources the club apparently now has to find a new manager who can be more adventurous and trouble the elite ahead of us?

A new manager and about 750 million quid you mean, because the players at our disposal right now aren't good enough to play possession football.

Palace tried that in the summer when they appointed De Boer and went down the possession football route, now they have a "dinosaur" in charge and look twice the team they did a couple of months ago.

 

[trueblue10]

The state of this thread

The guy has been here for three weeks and our form is thee wins and a draw from four games

I venture to suggest only Manchester City can post a better return in their last four outings.

Yet some people on here are trying their eye strings out to convince us that we have more to worry about than to be excited about.

This

 

[davek]

A new manager and about 750 million quid you mean, because the players at our disposal right now aren't good enough to play possession football.

Palace tried that in the summer when they appointed De Boer and went down the possession football route, now they have a "dinosaur" in charge and look twice the team they did a couple of months ago.

Four seasons ago we spent minus £13M one summer and reached 5th.

Finances are important but so too is the ability to put a bold plan of action into place and have players stick to it...and not just for one season and then tiring of the demands on them.

 

[trueblue10]

Not to mention under any remote pressure all of the back 4 now lump it as long as they can do now, it's painfully obvious that has come from instructions and training ground work.

Better than passing straight to the oppositions No.9, or falling over, or getting in each others way which is what was happening earlier in the season.

 

[ham2]

Four seasons ago we spent minus £13M one summer and reached 5th.

Finances are important but so too is the ability to put a bold plan of action into place and have players stick to it...and not just for one season and then tiring of the demands on them.

Not this again, thread derailment incoming!!!

 

[trueblue10]

If he does well this season and we bin him off in the summer it's not really giving the next manager much confidence is it? "If we don't win the league you're gone".

We've turned into Real Madrid.

 

[davek]

Not this again, thread derailment incoming!!!

It's relevant to point out the last time we notched up a finish that broke into the elite we used bold tactics. We certainly wont do it by getting 9 men behind the ball every game.

 

[trueblue10]

He’s actually got these surrender monkeys playing and people are complaining. If he had a top squad at his disposal then some of these complaints would be valid but this is a squad generally discussed as one of the poorest in the league. We had no fit CB of prem quality, we had no striker of prem quality, we had a slow ageing midfield completely unbalanced, and no decent fit full backs.

All of those things are still true. Allardyce however has dragged Williams Holgate Kenny and Martina up to a good standard. He’s coaxed better form out of Rooney and Siggurdson and he’s brought a bit of balance to the team. Yet some people aren’t happy because there’s s few too many long balls. You couldn’t make it up.

After the transfer window and once Bolasie Barkley Coleman and Funes Mori are fit to go with our new striker and full back, if we are still doing nothing more than punting long then these moans might be valid, but currently he has absolute dross to work with and the only reason expectations are raised is because he’s raised them.

These are still the same players that got pumped by Atalanta and Southampton and didn’t play for Koeman or Martinez. Allardyce has done well just to get this lot turning up to training and running around a bit.

Day 22 of Sam's tenure, yes, only day 22. The turn around is , quite frankly, amazing.

The man is working miracles with a bunch of misfit footballers, which our previous incumbents ( Bobby and Ronald) spent millions on.

Keep up the so far so good work Sam.