Sam Allardyce

[jaycee]

My lad just sent me this - Meff.

Looks like Dorothy 40 years after the yellow brick road the mess

 

[Khalekan]

The only difference I can see is we are now getting beat by 1 or 2 instead of 3 or 4. Nothing has changed much all season.
We have been riding our luck for a while now and that was always going to run out at some point.
To me West Ham was a decent result but performance wise we were a missed penalty and Hart doing a Hart in gifting Rooney a worldie from a much tighter result.
As I said not much has changed all season under 3 different managers. They can't all be blamed for getting similar results with the same squad.

Very true, willo.

If it is not a paradoxical thing for me to say, we are just as easy to beat, just more difficult to score against.

Because we do not concede as many chances.

But we are not fooled....RS, Chelsea and Baggies take the very presentable chances they were squandered, that is three more losses.

 

[Toffeelover]

I will make one little point, none of the players we have and we say are not good enough were signed by Allardyce.

 

[nevsonlymate]

I will make one little point, none of the players we have and we say are not good enough were signed by Allardyce.

I looked at the team yesterday and with the possible exception of 2, 3 at the most that team should have been lining up for any of the bottom 8-10 teams. The squad again needs a massive overhaul but it's scary to think what type of players could be in Sam's head if he stays the 18 months.

 

[Osamabindiesel]

He did the team a disservice by changing the back line before the United game (he thought he could cheat Bournemouth with Jags as well and it backfired). Holgate was having a hell of a season in the middle and he ships him back onto the right.

Also, we need to find some balance between creativity and organization. Vlasic was the first player that didn't look absolutely inept in the opposition half this season (1st half he did a great job hitting Holgate on the overlap and linking with Tom... He looks like the obvious no. 10 at this point). Bolasie offered really decent movement on the left and linked up well with the midfielders. We need an end product from him, but he impressed as well.

 

[Stanley Parker]

Well, here's the thing.

If we had beaten those two relegation haunted teams we would indeed have been quite "near" the top six....whether you think we are "good enough" or not.

As it is, we never even tried to beat them and now face a third consecutive defeat when we go to Spurs.

It's all very strange. I thought Sam picked the matches where he thought he could win points.

He seems to be prepared to put out a strong team at Anfield. Does he think they will field a weakened team?

Does he think we are safe in the league?

 

[Lord Buckethead]

The squad again needs a massive overhaul but it's scary to think what type of players could be in Sam's head if he stays the 18 months.

Why?
Who has he brought in so far that you've taken exception to?

 

[Abraders]

We shouldn't be going to places like West Brom and Bournemouth and being so negative so I can see why people would criticise him there. However, to act like this team could just go away to those places and get victories is pretty deluded of our fans. The reality is that this team is absolutely pathetic away from home regardless of the opposition we face. Which is why we played 16 away games before Allardyce came in during 2017 and only won one of them.

Absolutely agree my friend, but when we were starting to get results and coming off the back of our first away win in yonks (newcastle) - I didn't expect us to change that winning formula. At least not to the degree that he did change it, as obviously we did have games coming thick and fast. Perhaps one or two players switched in would have made more sense.

I never expected us to just go to Brom and win for instance, and we always seen to have mad games vs Bournemouth - but I agree with fans suggesting we went too defensive in those scenarios.

 

[Big Bob]

It's all very strange. I thought Sam picked the matches where he thought he could win points.

He seems to be prepared to put out a strong team at Anfield. Does he think they will field a weakened team?

Does he think we are safe in the league?

I think he has prioritised the game on Friday. But also we then have a break for over a week so need to go for it anyway.

 

[nevsonlymate]

Why?
Who has he brought in so far that you've taken exception to?[/QUO
Have a look at the last 14 players he has bought for West Ham, Sunderland and Crystal Palace from 2014-2017 and tell me one player that you think you would have liked any of our previous managers to have bought, obviously he hasn't bought for us yet.

 

[orly]

Going to cost more (1 year of deal) to sack him in the summer (May 2018) than we will have paid him until that point.

Another solid business decision by the powers that be.

 

[nevsonlymate]

Apologies that attached to your part, in work at present and mucked up

 

[Abraders]

He did the team a disservice by changing the back line before the United game (he thought he could cheat Bournemouth with Jags as well and it backfired). Holgate was having a hell of a season in the middle and he ships him back onto the right.

Also, we need to find some balance between creativity and organization. Vlasic was the first player that didn't look absolutely inept in the opposition half this season (1st half he did a great job hitting Holgate on the overlap and linking with Tom... He looks like the obvious no. 10 at this point). Bolasie offered really decent movement on the left and linked up well with the midfielders. We need an end product from him, but he impressed as well.

It's hard for Bolasie to provide end product in a team that often commits 0-1 players into the opposition box. This is something Everton have done for far too long.

He is rusty but Bolasie showed some good signs yesterday and will go from strength to strength imo.

 

[Abraders]

Going to cost more (1 year of deal) to sack him in the summer (May 2018) than we will have paid him until that point.

Another solid business decision by the powers that be.

Laughing all the way to the bank.

That said, there really weren't any other options and we kind of needed him.

In the summer I really hope there is a structured plan. A real plan, for both the team and the managerial set up.

We genuinely have a broken squad at the minute.

 

[Zatara]

Win home games against the other 13 teams in the league outside the top 6, set up away from home against those same 13 teams trying to steal a point, if you manage to do that in ten of the home and away games, then it's the magical 40 point mark so you can lose the 12 games against the top 6 and the other 6 games with no worries for Big Sams aims.

Won 10, drew 10, lose 18 is a good season in Allardyce books as it usually guarantees 40 points and safety.

People like @Zatara a whilst ago crowing how Allaryce had us at 2 points per game which is CL form in his words, wonder how they are perceiving the current return of 12 from 8 games, with a upcoming Derby bumming on the Horizon followed by a trip to Spurs. 12 from 9 and a cup exit to the rs without a shot or attacking intent, doesn't look quite as good then does it.

More and more will turn on him over the next 2 months - as this becomes obvious it's the method he wants and has chosen to use, and we will basically scrape along at the 1-1.5 points per game mark most likely due to playing utter garbage teams at Goodison in that time, end of March start of April, back to back games at Goodison against City and then the Derby, IF as i expect we get absolutely hammered in those two games and show the same ambition we have done lately against big teams, can see a lot wanting him out, as by then we should look like we always would have been and pretty much safe from the silly notion we where a relegation standard team before super Sam came charging in on his pit pony.

Watched Burnley against the rs the other night, and they where massively unlucky, limited them to a world class finish and a very lucky (offside) winner, ceded possession like we do, defended solidly - like we have been, but did it whilst still having the intent to press the crap out of them higher up when the right time, and to expose them defensively, and actually passed the ball around very well in periods of that game to have the rs wobbling badly, same as they did when getting a draw at Anfield against them.

Dyche wasn't my choice, but with a group of individual players who impartially are inferior to the individual players we have here, and with a squad with a lot less depth, has managed to create a team out of them which is far superior to what 3 managers in a row have managed here. We took there perceived 'best' player off them (and he was perceived by everyone as that) and now he looks garbage, his replacement and looks very good and his former 'junior' partner now looks better than Keane did for Burnley, for me that shows the effect of very good coaching and team building, much the way most Moyes players who moved on never looked as good as they did here for example afterwards, same for United players who left under red nose.

Good managers make players better, good managers turn a group of average players into a good team.

The BFS comparisons - which i used myself about Dyche, are unjust actually, he's far more reminiscent of a younger Moyes when the latter still had a bit of fire and ambition about him - which was reflected with how the team played.

Dyche has been there many years and has got them relegated. The players have been hand picked and spent time at the club, fitting into the style of play...I guess you want to play that way now? Because you cant judge Allardyce negatively on points when he's done well with no left back and no forward...lets see how he does in the next 2 months...not just the next 2 games.

I'm also not sure whats wrong with being impressed with his 2pts per game prior to losing against a WBA side whove done well at home and nearly beat united....and man united themselves.