[Archived] Sam Allardyce

[47er]

He's like the Anti-Sam, if Sam says left he's say's we should go right.

Anti-Sammitism should be a crime!

[philipl]

I found the Sam interview on Sky deeply dispiriting- his lack of identification with the Rovers is not good and would stoke up serious problems for him if there are any slip-ups in preparing for the dingles.

That said, having just come back from a business trip to Italy and and talking to friends in Malta, I have been seriously buoyed up by the reaction of "wow, you've signed Michel Salgado."

I think this signing is a much bigger deal on the continent than we realise in England.

[Exiled in Toronto]

It's still early days but I for one was not hoping for a crap pre-season, starting the season proper with 2 defeats, 6 points behind the retards, injuries aplenty, signing 5 full-backs, our star signing making Beamo look like Pele, and our manager publicly running down the club.

It may still come good but I struggle to see that this is all going to plan.

[spencey7]

Wow, this one is too easy.

But I can't resist:

Firstly, Roque didnt play for ages at the end of last season, and he's still out now for man city, we got £17.5m for him which has gone on players and suring up the club. Yes he was a good player, but selling a VERY injury prone 28 year old for £17.5 million is bloody genius. Secondly, we brought in Givet as a warnock replacement (and moved warnock up to midfield). Givet is a better defender than Warnock.

Allardyce had nothing to do with negotiating the Roque fee. Givet is not a replacement for Warnock - they were here at the same time, for six months. Chimbonda is our replacement for Warnock. Next:

well if you think we already have enough left mid players then why do you care that neither of them signed? we dont have enough left mid players. We have pedersen who tends to spend 6 to 8 months of a season being AWFUL. who else do we have who can play there? maybe a couple of players who can do a job but certainly not plenty

Right, so you agree with Allardyce that we DO need reinforcements down the left-side? Well the window is about to close, and we don't have any. Another signal that Allardyce's transfer policy doesn't make sense. Why take a look at these players when ultimately you have no intention of signing one?

Kalinic and Hoillet? both brought/given first team contracts after looking at ellington and vieri

You only need to check your timeline for this one - Hoilett wasn't "brought in" (he's been with Rovers for around 8 years) and Kalinic was already when Ellington came on trial. Do your research and get back to me.

have you had a chance to see Van Heerden play properly? didnt think so. At gillingham he didnt look terrible, and anyone who can help out in midfield at the moment is a bonus

I've seen enough of Van Heerden to know that he'll never make it in the Premier League. He's much like Villanueva but more lightweight and with much less skill.

"Anyone who can help out in midfield is a bonus"? That comment would indicate that you think we're lacking in that department. What has Allardyce done to address this?

Sam has also said that he will do wonders for the moral and ambition of the other players

Salgado is a great player. But he won't be able to compensate for the damage to the morale and ambition of the club done by Allardyce's despairing, suicidal press conferences.

Gallagher would never have been quality enough to make regular first team appearences and i for one and glad that he has the chance to play week in week out in a league he's more suited to.

Time will tell with regards to Gallagher. At the moment I believe he's more likely to be in the Premier League next season than we are.

N'zonzi has been brought in, and looks like real talent, Van Heerden is as yet unproven but still is useful as backup in case of yet more injuries. Its looking likely that Dunn will be back soon (and can hopefully stay injury free), Salgado can play there. Its not fantastic but its also not as terrible as everyone is making out. Yes we need a playmaker

You've ended up arguing against yourself here... N'zonzi is as unproven as Van Heerden (moreso, in fact), and we can't rely on Dunn's fitness. Salgado can probably play in goals, but that doesn't make it his position. I'm glad we agree on the need for a midfielder.

1.who cares about pre-season? when has it ever made a difference to anything?

Pre-season is when players are supposed to push themselves and get fit at all costs. I'd venture that we've had more "niggles", "tweaks" and "strains" than any other team in the league.

2. What team would you pick then mate? he puts out the best team he has avaliable due to injuries

The personnel isn't as much of a problem as the approach.

you want us to go back to playing the type of football Ince had us playing? you're mad. Like it or not we're not arsenal and our players dont have the abillity to be skilling it up all over the shop. Our players are tall and the long ball approach really troubles other sides defences

One more time - join in everybody! - "We don't have to play like Arsenal, but we don't have to be the worst team to watch in the whole of Europe either!"

Allardyce's approach is outdated and ineffective, and he's been found out. He's one game away from a sacking - I'm the game I'm referring to is on October 18th.

Thanks for that ebenrocks - it was fun!

[LWX]

Liverpool and Man Utd play much more "long ball football" than us.

Both these sides have players much more comfortable on the ball than we do

[bellamy11]

Time will tell with regards to Gallagher. At the moment I believe he's more likely to be in the Premier League next season than we are.

Would you be willing to place a wager on this?

[Parsonblue]

You forget spencey7, with our finances the club can't afford to sack Sam. Sam will be here for the full length of his contract if he wants too. Let's hope he is as your daily rants about Sam become more comical by the day.

[tcj_jones]

I'll have some of that if it's going.

(And Beyonce's lovely bum for that matter).

[G Somerset Rover]

I'll have some of that if it's going.

(And Beyonce's lovely bum for that matter).

Trust me, there's a lot of that going!

[RovertheHill]

I'm pretty sure Spencey7 is a wind-up merchant, not dissimilar to Vinjay.

He claims not to want to wind everyone up yet loads of people have him on ignore and he annoys most by filling every thread with the same anti-Allardyce stuff over and over again. He also makes sensationalist statements repeatedly until he gets a rise out of someone - for example, Sam seems close to suicide or the club is literally falling apart in front of us.

He claims to be holding the club to account? How? Has he written to the club? Has he emailed John Williams, who is very good at responding to fans? He doesn't attend matches by his own admission because he works in Scotland I think I read - yet feels fully qualified to comment on all aspects of each match based on whatever stream/highlights he's watched. Maybe he does attend? I'll look out on Saturday for a Sack Sam banner because I sure as hell haven't seen one yet.

Of course his response to this is that we're blinkered or we're minions of Allardyce. Fact is there are some aspects of the management I don't like. I'd like Sam to be setting positive expectations in the same way Hughes did. Sam reminds me too much of Souness in that respect. I'd like a more positive approach sometimes away from home. However, so far I've been happily surprised with the way we've played so far (although not the outcomes) and I'm relatively happy with the comings and goings.

Said it before and I'll say it again - if we're in the sh*t at Christmas then Allardyce will have to take full accountability and I'll hold my hands up and say I was wrong. If we're doing okay at Christmas I'm pretty sure Spencey7 won't hold his hands up and say he was wrong - it'll be luck, or magic or something nothing to do with the manager.

[DeadlyDirk]

I found the Sam interview on Sky deeply dispiriting- his lack of identification with the Rovers is not good and would stoke up serious problems for him if there are any slip-ups in preparing for the dingles.

That said, having just come back from a business trip to Italy and and talking to friends in Malta, I have been seriously buoyed up by the reaction of "wow, you've signed Michel Salgado."

I think this signing is a much bigger deal on the continent than we realise in England.

If he stopped referring to us as Blackburn and simply called us Rovers it would make a hell of a difference I feel. Not trying to nitpick but it's just a little thing that I think would be nice to hear.

[Stuart]

Has anybody ever seen anyone in a Rovers top looking so miserable?

Sam, if it's all a big bluff I expect to see your name in the Oscar nominations next year.

[Mc Love]

Yeah he was doing a proper word that is like urine-take. See how hard He was trying to keep a straight face!

[Amo]

Maybe he's feeling under the weather or has some troubles at home. It's not always football related.

[Mc Love]

he is a lot cleverer than that! I had to laugh at his interview

[Tim Southampton Rover]

Looks like someone has stuck his big head on someone elses body.

[spencey7]

Looks like someone has stuck his big head on someone elses body.

I was thinking the exact same thing! But daren't post it lest I just be accused of calling him a "big-head"...

Seriously though, is that photoshopped? It's like a child's body!

[Big Fat Sam]

(And Beyonce's lovely bum for that matter).

Trust me, there's a lot of that going!

Took the words right out of my mouth its huge.

Has anybody ever seen anyone in a Rovers top looking so miserable?

Sam, if it's all a big bluff I expect to see your name in the Oscar nominations next year.

I have me last season ewood park arsenal 4 - Rovers (Please don't use that word again) all and my mate never shut up about it the whole weekend.

[Tris]

I won't comment on Allardyce's overall performance until at least 10 games in - I would expect everyone else to give any other manager a reasonable chance, and (despite my horror at some of the tactics at the end of last season) I will do as I say.

Specifically on transfer policy though, there are two points to be made just now. Tugay was desperate to stay at Rovers for one more season. Without question, so were the fans. It was the same behind the scenes - he was massively popular in the dressing room, and with all the staff at Ewood and Brockhall. Only one person wanted this popular bloke out of the way, and reluctantly, John Williams backed his new manager and Tugay went.

Tugay could have played this season as he did last - important contributions when needed, 45 or 60 mins when needed, a platform to do his badges at the club he adores. We all assumed he would be replaced during the summer, but as he hasn't been, we have to ask why he was ousted by BFS with such haste.

I hoped that was a one off, but now it isn't. Warnock - fans player of the year, club player of the year, admired and respected in the dressing room, and he loved our club for giving him a new chance after his injuries at Liverpool. Why has he gone too? According to Allardyce the dealing was over last week, now he's done this.

Maybe it was Salgado for Warnock, maybe it was Warnock for Chimbonda, maybe Jacobsen was an honest mistake too early in the transfer window. This chairman has never overruled a manager regarding on-field and football decisions, so what's gone on this summer is entirely on BFS's watch.

Which almost means that the new big name Salgado has to be as good as Stephen Warnock. It's a big ask for a guy who has played 10 seasons for a protected team in a pussy's league, and hasn't clocked up too many games recently. How soon will HE get the Andrews treatment?!

For me, this signing of Salgado will make or break Allardyce at our club.

[LWX]

Tugay was desperate to stay at Rovers for one more season. Without question, so were the fans. It was the same behind the scenes - he was massively popular in the dressing room, and with all the staff at Ewood and Brockhall. Only one person wanted this popular bloke out of the way, and reluctantly, John Williams backed his new manager and Tugay went.

Is that true? Real shame if it is!

[ebenrocks]

Wow, this one is too easy.

But I can't resist:

1Allardyce had nothing to do with negotiating the Roque fee. Givet is not a replacement for Warnock - they were here at the same time, for six months. Chimbonda is our replacement for Warnock. Next:

2Right, so you agree with Allardyce that we DO need reinforcements down the left-side? Well the window is about to close, and we don't have any. Another signal that Allardyce's transfer policy doesn't make sense. Why take a look at these players when ultimately you have no intention of signing one?

3You only need to check your timeline for this one - Hoilett wasn't "brought in" (he's been with Rovers for around 8 years) and Kalinic was already when Ellington came on trial. Do your research and get back to me.

4I've seen enough of Van Heerden to know that he'll never make it in the Premier League. He's much like Villanueva but more lightweight and with much less skill.

5"Anyone who can help out in midfield is a bonus"? That comment would indicate that you think we're lacking in that department. What has Allardyce done to address this?

6Salgado is a great player. But he won't be able to compensate for the damage to the morale and ambition of the club done by Allardyce's despairing, suicidal press conferences.

7Time will tell with regards to Gallagher. At the moment I believe he's more likely to be in the Premier League next season than we are.

8You've ended up arguing against yourself here... N'zonzi is as unproven as Van Heerden (moreso, in fact), and we can't rely on Dunn's fitness. Salgado can probably play in goals, but that doesn't make it his position. I'm glad we agree on the need for a midfielder.

9Pre-season is when players are supposed to push themselves and get fit at all costs. I'd venture that we've had more "niggles", "tweaks" and "strains" than any other team in the league.

10The personnel isn't as much of a problem as the approach.

One more time - join in everybody! - "We don't have to play like Arsenal, but we don't have to be the worst team to watch in the whole of Europe either!"

11Allardyce's approach is outdated and ineffective, and he's been found out. He's one game away from a sacking - I'm the game I'm referring to is on October 18th.

Thanks for that ebenrocks - it was fun!

ooohh my gooossshh. I've numbered the idotic replies you've made up so you can stay with me

Right.

1. I never said that Allardyce had anything to do with the Roque fee, i simply said that given the circumstances of him being a crock, it was bloody good business.

Givet was brought in and slotted into.. yes you guessed it kids LEFT BACK! Do you rememeber what happened with Warnock when Givet went into left back? He was moved up to help out in midfield, therefore, he REPLACED warnock as our first choice left back. boom bada ching.

2. I do think we need reinforcements on the left side of midfield, but Allardyce knows better than me, i trust him to know what he's doing. Im sure if they were good enough he would have brought them in, but they werent so he didnt. Would you rather he bought blind or actually looked at players before spending our limited cash on fees and/or wages?

3.hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! read my post back. i think you'll find i said Kalinic and Hoillet, and then went on to say brought in/ given first team contacts. I think its pretty obvious to anyone with a basic understanding of english that the BROUGHT IN refered to kalinic, and the GIVEN FIRST TEAM CONTRACTS refered to Hoillett. That is the power of the '/' my friend.

4. Where have you seen enough of Van Heerden? coz noone else has, or are you lucky enough to have special games put on for your entertainment in order for you to see players. Noone is able to judge Van Heerden's abillity until we have seen him play against premier league opposition. Once we have, you can come back to me on that.

5. As i told you, he brought in N'Zonzi, Van Heerden and to a lesser extent Salgado. Also we have Dunn coming back from injury and hopefully Emerton as well. Therefore, Allardyce, given the resources he has to work with has done very well. Yes, i feel we are lacking, but that will always be the case, we dont have the money to give ourselves a perfect Real Madrid Midfield, but with what we have to work with, Sam has done very well.

6. I dont know why im replying to this, but i will. Allardyce is being realistic. Would you rather he came out and said 'Guys... dont worry, i've just found £700 million in Morrisons and we're spending it all on world class players... yno what, i think we're going to win the league again this year'. No, coz its ######. If he got our hopes up unrealistically, and then was unable to live up to what he's said, we'd all feel far more let down than if he just told us the truth. Noone has ever said that supporting Blackburn Rovers is an attractive choice, you gotta take what you get, and unfortunatly not expect too muchat the moment.

7. Gallagher is 25... he;s been distinctly average for his entire playing career. Never premier league quality, but yno what. if in the next 6 or 7 years he turns into the next Ronaldo, i'll offer you a full apology.

8. So was Samba, but that worked out pretty well didnt it. yes N'Zonzi was unproven, but he's proving himself very quickly, and with any luck Van Heerden will do the same, but we cant know unless we give him time and support. We need an midfielder, but you seem to think we can just piece together whatever team we like. I think sam has done very well on what he has to work with, and i'd like to see you do a better job.

9. Yes, it's very unfortunate that Nelsen got injured during preseason, but it happens to all teams, players get injured, its a fact of the game. You have to play first team players in preseason, and if they're playing there is a risk they could get injured. Unless of course you think we should have protected our first team and just played our reserves during preseason making the first team totally un-match fit for the new premier league season. Its up to you really.

10. again, you'd rather we played the paul ince style that nearly got us relegated? Or would you prefer the Allardyce approach that kept us in the premiership? The club is at a stage now where relegation would be unbelievebly destructive to our future. We cant risk it. Allardyces approach, although unattractive will keep us in the premiership. If you would rather watch attractive football then go and support Arsenal. I care more about the future of the club and staying in the premiership than watching attractive football.

11. This is the stupidest answer of the lot, you really think Allardyce would get fired if we lost to Burnley? hahahaha.

The only reason i care about us beating Burnley is to get 3 points. I can almost guarentee both Sam and John Williams feel the same. Rivalries very rarely genuinely mean anything to people who run clubs.

That is all, goodnight. I dont mean to come across as rude to you in this reply, its just very hard not to. You obviously dont really care about this club if you're only concerned about us playing 'attractive football', i really think you should consider switching clubs if thats what you want, coz it aint happening here.

Sam

[neekoy]

Which almost means that the new big name Salgado has to be as good as Stephen Warnock. It's a big ask for a guy who has played 10 seasons for a protected team in a pussy's league, and hasn't clocked up too many games recently. How soon will HE get the Andrews treatment?!

For me, this signing of Salgado will make or break Allardyce at our club.

Is this the same guy that was voted in the Spanish tem of the decade? Is the pussy league you refer to in relation to Euro's, World Cups or Champions League? Or maybe it is the La Liga wher he comes with 11 titles inclusive of CL football?

Seriously mate, pussy league?

Andrews gets slated for good reason, he has achieved zip whilst Salgado comes to the club with a pedigree only matched by histories greatest fullbacks.

Allardyce will be judged on results not Salgado.

[Miker]

On transfers:

To blame Sam for the players he's bought/sold is stupid. I suppose Portsmouth plans should be blaming Paul Hart for selling all their best players as well and bringing in Mokoena. Fact is that managers only work with what they can get and Sam was not taking part in the negotiations in selling Warnock and Santa Cruz, that was all up to the board.

Spencey you're contradicting yourself constantly by blaming Sam for selling Warnock and Gallagher and then saying it wasn't his brilliant haggling to sell Santa Cruz for as much as we did. We have little knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes, so commenting and speculating on it is just ridiculous. Sir Alex has the power to buy and sell who he pleases, Sam doesn't have that luxury, it's all up to the board. Sam can just say who he wants to bring in or who he wants to keep and how valuable they are to his plans.

On midfield:

It would be nice to have a creative midfielder, but what options do we really have for a quality one? Dunn is likely to be better than any midfielder we can currently bring in and look at all the other midfielders we have in our ranks: Reid, Emerton, Grella, Pedersen, Diouf, N'zonzi, Andrews and van Heerden. All quality players. van Heerden is unproven so far, but N'zonzi has looked very good of what I've seen of him. N'zonzi, together with Andrews brings some much needed consistency into the squad because both of them rarely make mistakes in the games I've seen.

Grella, Reid, Emerton, Pedersen and Diouf are all proven quality midfielders... they've all had successful careers in club football and international football and you can't dispute that.

On fitness:

Look, injuries happen. I was as incensed as everyone else when during the last pre-season game I found out that we may be missing Nelsen and Samba for the Man City game, a long with a host of other players. They do happen though and we're not the only team that suffers. How many problems have Spurs had with their backline's injuries? Same goes for clubs like United and Liverpool. Arsenal have arguably been kept from winning the league two seasons in a row due to festering injuries that have plagued their entire team.

Injuries happen and we can't do much about it, all we can do is make sure that we have adequate cover for each position to not have to worry about it too much. Sam's addressed that quite well because we now have this number of players to be called upon for the first team:

Defenders: 9 (Nelsen, Samba, Givet, Zurab, Emerton, Jacobsen, Salgado, Chimbonda, Olsson)

Midfielders: 11 (Andrews, N'zonzi, van Heerden, Hoilett, Pedersen, Diouf, Reid, Grella, Dunn, Emerton, Salgado)

Strikers: 6 (Roberts, McCarthy, Kalinic, Di Santo, Hoilett, Diouf)

Those are some very good options throughout the team. The players we got rid of were: Ooijer, Warnock, Tugay, Mokoena, Santa Cruz and Derbyshire (not counting Gallagher as he wasn't with us last season). That's 6 players we got rid of: 2 of them too old now, 1 of them injured and 1 of them plain ######. For a combined total of 30 million?

Now the players that Sam brought in since he has joined us total 13 (counting the other positions his players can play as well, out of the players we sold only Warnock could play in midfield). What was the total cost of all those players? Under 15mil I believe. That's good business in my opinion.

On tactics:

The team has played some good football, they've mixed it around with long balls and creative passing (if you can't see that then look again). Defensively we have been quite strong, we haven't looked weak in both Premier League games I've seen so far and if it wasn't for the 2 mistakes against Sunderland we'd be singing the praises of our backline right now I think.

Fact is this: the sign of a bad team is an easily exposed backline and inability to create chances. Statistics and visual proof of both games so far have shown us that we have had no problems creating chances and our backline has been strong throughout. For those reasons it's hard to criticise Sam just yet, especially since we've played against 2 teams who I fully expect to be in the top 10 this season.

[Mr. E]

On midfield:

It would be nice to have a creative midfielder, but what options do we really have for a quality one? Dunn is likely to be better than any midfielder we can currently bring in and look at all the other midfielders we have in our ranks: Reid, Emerton, Grella, Pedersen, Diouf, N'zonzi, Andrews and van Heerden. All quality players. van Heerden is unproven so far, but N'zonzi has looked very good of what I've seen of him. N'zonzi, together with Andrews brings some much needed consistency into the squad because both of them rarely make mistakes in the games I've seen.

Grella, Reid, Emerton, Pedersen and Diouf are all proven quality midfielders... they've all had successful careers in club football and international football and you can't dispute that.

We've sold Bentley, Santa Cruz, Warnock, reduced the wage bill and what did we get? Ince bringing in Andrews and BFS bringing in a potentially talented but still very, very green French kid from the lower leagues. Both of which are miles off what we need. It is obvious to anyone who has followed the club the past 2 seasons is that our #1 top priority is finding a good central midfielder. Yes, for one reason or another for which we are still waiting an exact explanation for, BFS has also had his resources dramatically cut, but he did spend a good sum on a striker (after selling Derbs as well), and a host of so-so players that can provide good back-up but don't address our main problem.

Dunn, Reid and Grella are our only 3 natural central midfielders, and all 3 have an injury record that proves that we cannot expect them to last long periods of time uninjured. This stop-and-go process means a handful of good games a season. Not to mention that Grella hasn't even shown much quality when he was fit and running anyway.

Basically put, the #1 transfer priority has failed to be addressed yet again.

[Hughesy]

Tris - Im suprised by your post, I really am.

Anyway lets look at Sam so far.

Season 1: Took over the club when we 5 points adrift, got the confidence back in the players & saved us, got us picking up points again and finished clear of the trouble - despite being stuck below West Brom. Signed Givet & Diouf - both of which had big impacts and both of which now are part of our starting 11.

Season 2: Replaced old legs with fresh new faces, mainly younger players and plenty of them too. Has given us options out wide, has gone for a more Defensive style to the defence and has added some real young promise in NZonzi & Kalinic. He also had the sense to finally get shut of Gally. 2 games played in the league - both with alot of promise, 1 tricky cup tie avoided. He seems to of brought MGP back to his old style of playing, and he has kept our main asset (Samba). Also he didnt take no sh!t with RSC and got shut at the earliest opportunity and for big money!

So far - Excellent job, not done anything wrong yet either so lets give him the benefit of the doubt.

People doubted Diouf but he played a big part last season. Tugay had to go one day - Sam had the balls to make that decision and its not something that would of been easy. Gally has been a 'maybe' for 7 years - he was shown the door. And people hated Mokoena - he's gone too! Make no mistake come next summer, if the injured quartet of midfielders dont prove themselves, they too will be shown the door - and there is nothing wrong with that.

We've sold Bentley, Santa Cruz, Warnock, reduced the wage bill and what did we get? Ince bringing in Andrews and BFS bringing in a potentially talented but still very, very green French kid from the lower leagues. Both of which are miles off what we need. It is obvious to anyone who has followed the club the past 2 seasons is that our #1 top priority is finding a good central midfielder.

Dunn, Reid and Grella are our only 3 natural central midfielders, and all 3 have an injury record that proves that we cannot expect them to last long periods of time uninjured.

Basically put, the #1 transfer priority has failed to be addressed yet again.

We run at 85% of our money because of wages - that isnt sustainable

The trust forced the club to cut the wage bill by £5m.

We have 11 midfielders - Reid, Dunn, Emerton, Grella, Nzonzi, Andrews, Gamst, Van Herden, Diouf, Doran, Hoilett. How do you expect we could afford another 1?