[Archived] Sam Allardyce

[gumboots]

Dunn, Duff and Jansen in the side that got relegated do you mean?

The season in the Championship was decent, the one after was a bit of a struggle that perked up when Cole came...

Or have I missed one?

Who was the manager then? The much-maligned Souey. Interesting.

I never maligned Souness and I do think that until he seemed to lose the plot and fall out with all and sundry, despite what players might have thought of his training methods or what the atmosphere in the dressing room was like that was some of our best football. He brought in some good players and we did some good stuff.

[malk]

Not sure who etc etc is, but we still have two of those players, in case that had escaped your notice.

I think people are already starting to romantacise a time when we didn't actually play brilliant football, but times change and you do what you can to survive. I didn't understand why Big Sam was run out of Newcastle by fans complaining about his style, and I certainly don't understand it now that our fans are grumbling about it. Was anyone seriously heartbroken by staying up the Allardyce way last season? We could have tried playing along the deck and persevered with Ince, but we'd have been facing the likes of Barnsley in league fixtures next season and signing the likes of Kevin Davies would be nothing more than a distant dream.

If you want to start playing beautiful football that's fine, we'll make martyrs out of ourselves just like West Brom, but consider yourselves warned, because a year down the line you'll be aspiring to the clubs who play "boring long-ball" football in the Premier League as we wallow in the depths of the Championship.

Thankfully the choice is not actually yours.

So of the three I mentioned two thirds are still here... and all three played during the period I was referring to. I know what my point was, what on earth is yours. It's not romanticising, we did play good football under Hughes. The myth is that good football needs to be an expensively assembled team or else it's just pretend. Anyway, you tell me how many of the players that formed the mainstay of our team under Hughes, once the dogfight first season was over, were "bully boys"? We were committed and not tackle shy... like most successful sides but to say we played poor football is ridiculous.

I'm more interested in who was the last expensive player that came off? We need good solid pros that cost a few milllon and fit out system, whatever that might be. The risk is just too great on five million plus players and we've already shown that it doesn't need to be taken.

[Exiled in Toronto]

Dunn, Duff and Jansen in the side that got relegated do you mean?

The season in the Championship was decent, the one after was a bit of a struggle that perked up when Cole came...

Or have I missed one?

Who was the manager then? The much-maligned Souey. Interesting.

You missed the one where we finished 6th and won a trophy, without, as I recall, playing the Allardyce way. Hughes's first season was a struggle and not pretty, but the Bellamy year was good to watch. The next year after that Benni didn't score 20+ goals from long-ball knockdowns, Bentley was our main creative force and a pleasure to watch. Ditto the next year where RSC got on the end of good crosses, not hopeless punts.

We have never played like Brazil but neither have we ever played like an Allardyce team, until now.

[No Nay Never]

Lets just wait until the season starts before we bang on about bad football etc.

My thought exactly, the question is .... When does a long pass become a long ball ??

For me theres only 4/5 sides in the league that can make 30 passes from defence to the striker. Sam likes to get it to the frontmen as early as possible (1 or 2 passes) is it really that bad a thing. If thats how he thinks he can get results so be it, football is a results business.

[spencey7]

We're never going to be Arsenal, but there is a middle ground between Bolton and Brazil 1970.

*** STANDING OVATION ***

It can't be put better than that.

Your take Nicko?

Since the day he was appointed I started looking forward to Allardyce leaving the club, but the more I think about it the more terrified I am that he's going to be our manager for a long, long time. There's no way on earth he'll move to a bigger club (who in God's name would take him?), and we'll be too scared to sack him since he "keeps us safe". We could be looking at 10 years here. (It's like a f****** prison sentence.)

Dark days.

[tony gale's mic]

It's not so much playing like an Allardyce team that bothers me personally; success is the most important thing and if Sam brings that by playing that way then I'd rather have that than losing and playing nice football.

But Davies makes no sense for the sole reason that he's 32. We've already got too many old cloggers in our side and Davies plays in a position where things start to go downhill fast around his age. If he was 28ish and doing what he's doing for Bolton then I'd think three good seasons out of him would be worth the outlay, even if he was lacking in talent.

[Paulo]

Since the day he was appointed I started looking forward to Allardyce leaving the club, but the more I think about it the more terrified I am that he's going to be our manager for a long, long time. There's no way on earth he'll move to a bigger club (who in God's name would take him?), and we'll be too scared to sack him since he "keeps us safe". We could be looking at 10 years here. (It's like a f****** prison sentence.)

Dark days.

So far, he's kept us safe, found Gael Givet who is our best defender, got in Diouf and saved us from doing a Charlton.

He's also gained us £21 million for 2 players that played **** all last season.

What more do you want him to do? Give you a hand job?

[rebelmswar]

*** STANDING OVATION ***

It can't be put better than that.

Your take Nicko?

Since the day he was appointed I started looking forward to Allardyce leaving the club, but the more I think about it the more terrified I am that he's going to be our manager for a long, long time. There's no way on earth he'll move to a bigger club (who in God's name would take him?), and we'll be too scared to sack him since he "keeps us safe". We could be looking at 10 years here. (It's like a f****** prison sentence.)

Dark days.

Absolute drivel of the highest order.

Second line.

[spencey7]

He's also gained us £21 million for 2 players that played **** all last season.

What more do you want him to do? Give you a hand job?

Not especially - Would you like to give him one?

What on earth has Allardyce got to do with us getting £18m for Roque?

[mellison24]

Since when did we become 'cloggers'? Oh that's right, just because Big Sam is here!! How we played from the moment he came in is how we played under Hughes!! How short some memories are, as we were labelled 'bully-boys' under Hughes!! People look at West Ham (best UK academy), Fulham and Wigan (Owners with dosh) as excuses to play 'better' footy!!

I put it to Spencey, Waggy etc: Would you rather lose 1-0 playing pretty? Or win 1-0 playing gritty? I personally am more entertained by the latter because it brings my team success and gives me the chance to have a pint or 3 later and gloat at oppo/burnley fans.

[bubblerrovers]

Some people just wont accept Big Sam is our manager, Get over it. Back him FFS. He will come good in the transfer market, have a little faith people.

[spencey7]

Since when did we become 'cloggers'? Oh that's right, just because Big Sam is here!! How we played from the moment he came in is how we played under Hughes!! How short some memories are, as we were labelled 'bully-boys' under Hughes!! People look at West Ham (best UK academy), Fulham and Wigan (Owners with dosh) as excuses to play 'better' footy!!

I put it to Spencey, Waggy etc: Would you rather lose 1-0 playing pretty? Or win 1-0 playing gritty? I personally am more entertained by the latter because it brings my team success and gives me the chance to have a pint or 3 later and gloat at oppo/burnley fans.

If your enjoyment of football is purely based on "gloating at oppo/burnley fans" then I pity your sad existence. I really do.

And I would brace yourself for a pretty miserable season come August - it's Burnley who will be doing the gloating, especially given our ever-solidying reputation as Bolton 2.0.

Season by season our football steadily improved under Hughes. It WILL NOT under Allardyce.

[imy9]

If your enjoyment of football is purely based on "gloating at oppo/burnley fans" then I pity your sad existence. I really do.

And I would brace yourself for a pretty miserable season come August - it's Burnley who will be doing the gloating, especially given our ever-solidying reputation as Bolton 2.0.

Season by season our football steadily improved under Hughes. It WILL NOT under Allardyce.

My enjoyment of football comes from... wait for it and Ill slow down for you... WINNING, we never played Brazilian style football under Hughes and under Sam we have played some decent games with an injury savaged squad.

Bolton 2.0? Meaning what? Finishing in the top 8- three seasons running?, qualifying for Europe? Having a manager capable of signing players like Jay Jay, Campo, Anelka, Hierro? Or having a manager taking us on the verge of a champions league place? You're right sounds real miserable

[cloggyjimmybrfc]

My enjoyment of football comes from... wait for it and Ill slow down for you... WINNING, we never played Brazilian style football under Hughes and under Sam we have played some decent games with an injury savaged squad.

Bolton 2.0? Meaning what? Finishing in the top 8- three seasons running?, qualifying for Europe? Having a manager capable of signing players like Jay Jay, Campo, Anelka, Hierro? Or having a manager taking us on the verge of a champions league place? You're right sounds real miserable

plus of course brfc can lay out neck braces on our seats come august.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

If your enjoyment of football is purely based on "gloating at oppo/burnley fans" then I pity your sad existence. I really do.

And I would brace yourself for a pretty miserable season come August - it's Burnley who will be doing the gloating, especially given our ever-solidying reputation as Bolton 2.0.

Season by season our football steadily improved under Hughes. It WILL NOT under Allardyce.

FFS. Get a grip. Ince came here and tried to play pretty football and almost got us relegated.

Allardyce came in and kept us in the division by employing tactics that worked with the players we had. STOP going on about how terrible the football will be, if you actually care about the fortunes of the club you'll realise that Allardyce's tactics kept us in this division and that our prospects are far better with him in charge, only a moron would disagree. Would you rather we tried to play pretty football as West Brom did, get relegated and then not be in the position we are in now??? Besides which Allardyce did very very well with Bolton and he bought players who could play: Diouf, Okocha, Djorkaeff, Campo etc.

'Season by season our football improved under Hughes'

Give Allardyce time, keep your toys in your pram, suck it in and grow up. I want our team to be succesfull as im sure you do. Would I like them to play pretty football as well? yes. Would I sacrifice playing attractive football in order to stay in the division and to challenge the top half of the table? YES.

[Bobby G]

Can someone tell me when Rovers played this Beautfiul Game fantasy that some seem to get caught up in...I know I'm getting old and past it, but the memory is letting me down on this one.

When you won the title in 95 you also played practical and pragmatic 'British' football...and knocked people about at both ends of the pitch...more power to you for doing so.

However I can't rememeber a time when there was much of a samba beat about.

Under Graeme Souness before he went mental.

[nicko]

Under Graeme Souness before he went mental.

It was exciting at times, but not the 'beautiful game' stuff people fantasise about...but I'm pleased some people remember Souey was not the shocker some would have you believe.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Allardyce doesn't play long ball football - he plays % football. Very much with the emphasis on playing your football in the attacking third rather than in defence.

There was a side that won the PL in 95 that was accused of playing long balls. Reality is - there is nothing wrong with long balls providing they aren't aimless.

It is amazing that people on this MB have had their impression of Bolton driven by an anti northern press that have it in for Bolton as much as they do Rovers. The southern based media hate it when these small northern towns dare to try and play football against the mighty Arsenal etc - though if we dare to beat them, we must have kicked them off the park

Sam is our boss - he has just saved us from almost certain relegation - and yet he still gets stick - even before he has had chance to put together his own team.

[JAL]

If your enjoyment of football is purely based on "gloating at oppo/burnley fans" then I pity your sad existence. I really do.

And I would brace yourself for a pretty miserable season come August - it's Burnley who will be doing the gloating, especially given our ever-solidying reputation as Bolton 2.0.

Season by season our football steadily improved under Hughes. It WILL NOT under Allardyce.

I think you need to hold fire there spencey7, think about what happened at the end of the Hughes ea then how Ince came in, adding to causing even more problems rather than fixing the problems left by Mark Hughes .

It takes time to turn around a team with the resources at Big Sam's disposal, things won't change over night we've just got to be patient spencey7.

[jim mk2]

It was exciting at times, but not the 'beautiful game' stuff people fantasise about...but I'm pleased some people remember Souey was not the shocker some would have you believe.

The Uefa Cup match at Celtic was the best I have seen Rovers play since the 1960s.

Played the Irish Jockos off the pitch until Martin Taylor went to sleep in the last 5 mins.

[nicko]

The Uefa Cup match at Celtic was the best I have seen Rovers play since the 1960s.

Played the Irish Jockos off the pitch until Martin Taylor went to sleep in the last 5 mins.

I will certainly give you that one...possibly the best performance I saw from Rovers in that period too. Tugay immense...'wearing his Rangers strip tonight' as Souey observed.

[T4E]

I will certainly give you that one...possibly the best performance I saw from Rovers in that period too. Tugay immense...'wearing his Rangers strip tonight' as Souey observed.

I've never been so proud and so gutted in such a short space of time.

Infact just thinking about it now reminds me that I'm still not over it.

I ###### hate Henrik Larsson.

[mellison24]

Spencey I'm amazed at how easily you missed my point. My entertainment comes from a win. Any goal (or even any chance) is entertaining no matter what the style employed to get it, correct? Or do you stay sat down in silence if we score from a scrappy own goal? I pity YOU if that's the case.

And you'll get nowhere in life being mad at something that hasn't happened! You are basing next seasons football on previous seasons, which is slightly silly imo.

[Kelbo]

Allardyce doesn't play long ball football - he plays % football. Very much with the emphasis on playing your football in the attacking third rather than in defence.

There was a side that won the PL in 95 that was accused of playing long balls. Reality is - there is nothing wrong with long balls providing they aren't aimless.

It is amazing that people on this MB have had their impression of Bolton driven by an anti northern press that have it in for Bolton as much as they do Rovers. The southern based media hate it when these small northern towns dare to try and play football against the mighty Arsenal etc - though if we dare to beat them, we must have kicked them off the park

Sam is our boss - he has just saved us from almost certain relegation - and yet he still gets stick - even before he has had chance to put together his own team.

Yes,yes, yes at last common sense.

Football is about scoring more than the opposition, how that is done is up to individuals and yes 1995 we soaked up the pressure and delivered early balls into the box or through for Shearer to run on to!!! Not always pretty but effective!! One other point, the final third of the season in 95% of the cases at both top and bottom of the table is about grinding out results!!

[leftfooter]

The Uefa Cup match at Celtic was the best I have seen Rovers play since the 1960s.

Played the Irish Jockos off the pitch until Martin Taylor went to sleep in the last 5 mins.

You know John, for such a deft exponent of the art of flashing the racist card at every given opportunity, you're not averse to the odd bit of bigotry yourself.