[Archived] Sam Allardyce

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

No wins in seven Premier League matches from Mr Expert

I know big Sam is a stat man

Being a stat man who likes to use statistics, Mr Expert should be aware that our current form of no wins in seven Premier League matches is woeful and is relegation form.

Sam says: "All you supporters out there leave it to me. I'm the expert, not you." Well we've been leaving it to you Sam and we're currently just a precarious three points off the relegation zone, having played two more games than Bolton below us and one more game than Wigan, Hull and Everton below us.

In our last ten and a half hours of Premier League football we've scored just two goals. Not great is it Sam or should we all be dancing for joy and saying how wonderful it is?

Four points from a possible 21 points in our last seven matches isn't good enough and our away form is abysmal - with just one away win all season against Bolton. I think it's now just one away win in our last 15 away matches, stretching back to March last season.

Perhaps Mr Expert thinks this is good enough. I don't. I think it's a major cause for concern and indicative of a severe lack of quality within the squad - for which Mr Expert as the manager needs to take overall responsibility.

Big Sam - as stubborn as a mule - should now recognise that we've got big problems and a massive relegation battle on our hands. He needs to do better and should recognise that scoring twice in ten and a half hours of football isn't good enough and gaining one away win in 15 matches also isn't good enough.

So Mr Allaryce, if you are going to proclaim yourself as an expert, may I suggest that you should be doing better than you are at the moment and you should recognise that we've got big problems which you desperately need to sort out before we get dragged even further into deep trouble.

[philipl]

By my reckoning, four players- Salgado, Hoillet, MGP and whoever was at left back were played totally out of position.

OK we have injuries to three midfielders who would walk into the team but it does seem that Sam's selection and positional choices are more than somewhat suspect.

That said, Wigan away this December was a quantum leap forwards over Wigan away last December.

[Exiled_Rover]

Salgado doesn't have the legs to play full back and I imagine he's being groomed for the central midfield role - he certainly can pass a ball.

Hoillet is being used out of position because he brings much needed pace to the team, though someone needs to tell him to knock it past his man and run onto it.

Pedersen has played both wings before so that's a moot point.

Givet played at left back and as a natural centre back he's still the best player we have at the club for the position.

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

Just to add a further couple of points to my post yesterday evening, the two goals we've scored in our last seven Premier League matches both originated from set-pieces - Nelsen's goal against Birmingham at St Andrews came from Pedersen’s free-kick and McCarthy's goal against Wigan yesterday also originated from a free-kick.

In our last ten and a half hours of Premier League football we haven't scored a single goal from open play. It's pitiful.

Is Mr Expert concerned by this statistic? He should be. When David Dunn isn't playing to say that Rovers have got a lack of creativity in midfield is an understatement.

We've got huge problems in midfield which Mr Expert has so far failed to address. Admittedly Blackburn Rovers have a miniscule transfer budget compared to other clubs, but we were told when Big Sam arrived that he works particularly well when wheeling and dealing on a small budget. (If you look at some of the money he wasted at Newcastle, such as £6m on Alan Smith, then his record when spending big money isn't too great.)

Sam has neglected the midfield at Rovers and specifically the area of midfield creativity. Consequently the football we've had to endure this season has often been very poor to watch as a result. We've got a chronic lack of pace going forward. We are too slow on the counter-attack and don't get enough quality crosses in from wide positions. And when Dunn is missing, the lack of creativity we have from midfield is pitiful.

The standard of our football is pretty awful and not one bit enjoyable to watch. I thought the ability to pass the ball to each other was one of the basics of football, I must be missing the point somewhere.

Agreed. But what we've been watching recently is typical Allardyce football isn't it? He neglects the midfield and concentrates on trying to nick the odd goal from a set-piece. Mr Expert uses statistics and percentages to try to justify his philosophy. But the statistics of one away win in our last 15 matches and no goals from open play in ten and a half hours of football tell their own story.

No two ways about it, we are watching absolute garbage week in week out.

Mr Expert though claimed after the match yesterday that it was a "very good performance" against Wigan and that we dominated the match and were unlucky not to win. He's putting a healthy dose of spin on that.

Mr Expert doesn't like the supporters to voice their opinions, but my own personal opinion is that I'm disappointed and frustrated with much of the football that he's served up this season. I'm also disappointed that Rovers are only a precarious 3 points above the relegation zone, having played more games than some of our relegation rivals below us like Bolton, Wigan and Hull.

[Paul]

Salgado doesn't have the legs to play full back and I imagine he's being groomed for the central midfield role - he certainly can pass a ball.

Agreed he can pass the ball but surely at 34 it's a bit late to groom him for a new role, either he can play the central position (and I think he could) or he can't.

[Bobby G]

I see no correlation between playing him on the right side with moving him infield.

I guess we will find out today, when Emerton is back possibly.

Personally, Id be too afraid with Salgado in central midfield because he always looks like he is going to get two bookings.

[barry_]

the rovers are importamt to me, I was pleased when S.A. was appointed after the experiment with Ince failed (I was... hopeful when he was appointed). Hope springs eternal.

after half a season the hope has sprung off to a more sunnier climb.

so I have some questions... or things I don't really understand.

why is S.A playing Salgado? he might've been a decent player in spain but since the first time I saw him play at everton to wigan away, the premier league is not for him (for his bank balance... yes).

why did S.A not sell pedersen in the summer if he would not sign a new contract?

why is S.A continuing to play di santo (a loanee) as first choice striker, when he isn't scoring and when we have alternatives who actually are signed to blackburn.

why did S.A sign kalinic for £6 MILLION (a massive sum when we are continually being told we are a 'small' club) and then NOT play him (i have read the why's already but why buy someone who wasn't fit).

is anyone happy or pleased with the way we are playing at the moment?

can anyone stand up and say 'yes the rover's are playing football that I am proud of'?

is anyone happy or pleased with the team selection, our formation

tactically, is anyone happy or content or just plain satisfied

I have no confidence in a lot of our playing staff to save blackburn this season, lacking in fight and 'intestinal fortitude'

I don't have confidence in S.A to improve this club... for a side who plays 'up and under' football there are NO players in the midfield who will put there foot in and FIGHT for the cause.

it seems as if the majority of players could care less about whether we stay up... it's just a job to them, right? not fit to wear the shirt.

anyways... will stop there... I am not a doom and gloom supporter and have been through plenty of 'thin's' with blackburn. it's just ... how much inaneness rubbish dire hope-less football can anyone stomach

arte et labore ?

Aut disce aut discede

[thenodrog]

the rovers are importamt to me, I was pleased when S.A. was appointed after the experiment with Ince failed (I was... hopeful when he was appointed). Hope springs eternal.

after half a season the hope has sprung off to a more sunnier climb.

so I have some questions... or things I don't really understand.

why is S.A playing Salgado? he might've been a decent player in spain but since the first time I saw him play at everton to wigan away, the premier league is not for him (for his bank balance... yes).

why did S.A not sell pedersen in the summer if he would not sign a new contract?

why is S.A continuing to play di santo (a loanee) as first choice striker, when he isn't scoring and when we have alternatives who actually are signed to blackburn.

why did S.A sign kalinic for £6 MILLION (a massive sum when we are continually being told we are a 'small' club) and then NOT play him (i have read the why's already but why buy someone who wasn't fit).

is anyone happy or pleased with the way we are playing at the moment?

can anyone stand up and say 'yes the rover's are playing football that I am proud of'?

is anyone happy or pleased with the team selection, our formation

tactically, is anyone happy or content or just plain satisfied

I have no confidence in a lot of our playing staff to save blackburn this season, lacking in fight and 'intestinal fortitude'

I don't have confidence in S.A to improve this club... for a side who plays 'up and under' football there are NO players in the midfield who will put there foot in and FIGHT for the cause.

it seems as if the majority of players could care less about whether we stay up... it's just a job to them, right? not fit to wear the shirt.

anyways... will stop there... I am not a doom and gloom supporter and have been through plenty of 'thin's' with blackburn. it's just ... how much inaneness rubbish dire hope-less football can anyone stomach

arte et labore ?

Aut disce aut discede

Lots of very good questions there Barry. Problem is we need fewer questions cos thats the easy part and we have shed loads of questions, opinions and moans on here. Far more importantly we need answers and not one of our many 'experts' on here appears to be able to provide them.

[Eddie]

It's difficult to provide answers when you aren't actually in charge. It's often one of the fundamental problems when you criticise anything; until you are handed over power it is difficult to know whether or not your answers are correct, or even if you can come up with any. The point at this particular time is that there are far more questions and far more obvious problems than there should be. It's still in the wait-and-see period, I think most would agree on that, but something needs to be done relatively soon.

I've all but given up on this season, we have a chance at something in a cup and possibly again in the FA Cup, but realistically the league at best will be midtable mediocrity. That's fine as a rebuilding year from the Ince fiasco, but it has to be rebuilding and not become the norm. The test will be this transfer window and the one in the summer. There are many areas in the squad that have to be addressed, some of which have been ignored for far too long by three successive managers even when they were blatanlty obvious to anyone who watched us regularly.

In some respects Allardyce is unfortunate that he happened to take charge when there was something of a changing of the guard within our squad and he deserves some sympathy for certainly being given a more complicated task than someone like Ince was, but it isn't a lost cause and I don't want to see our sights so drastically lowered that we become thankful that he merely graces us with his presence.

Half-term report...must do better.

[Eddie]

"Sunderland have gone out and bought a man who scores goals. If we had a man who had scored 13 in the league like Darren Bent then we'd be in a different position. I don't think you can add the goals from our strikers and match what he's scored. We haven't got the clout to go out and buy a Bent or a Peter Crouch. I don't think there's anybody out there in the Europe or world markets that could change things."

What is Allardyce on about?

[Amo]

"Sunderland have gone out and bought a man who scores goals. If we had a man who had scored 13 in the league like Darren Bent then we'd be in a different position. I don't think you can add the goals from our strikers and match what he's scored. We haven't got the clout to go out and buy a Bent or a Peter Crouch. I don't think there's anybody out there in the Europe or world markets that could change things."

What is Allardyce on about?

We could have someone to score 13+ goals if Sam actually worked on our supply line.

[Eddie]

One final note as well. When pressure was growing on Hughes I made the point that "any manager's job would be under threat if they went 8 games without a win".

Well we've now reached that magical mark and are closing in fast on the 11 games or whatever it was that we went under Ince.

Again, not calling for his head, but perhaps a bit of food for thought for the "expert".

[imy9]

"Sunderland have gone out and bought a man who scores goals. If we had a man who had scored 13 in the league like Darren Bent then we'd be in a different position. I don't think you can add the goals from our strikers and match what he's scored. We haven't got the clout to go out and buy a Bent or a Peter Crouch. I don't think there's anybody out there in the Europe or world markets that could change things."

What is Allardyce on about?

That if we had a striker who had scored 13 goals we would not be in the position that we are in?

That it costs a lot of money to purchase a proven premier league striker- money we do not have.

Finally there is no one out there in the world market that we can purchase on a budget who is a dead cert to score goals, what exactly is confusing about what he said?

[sambo]

That if we had a striker who had scored 13 goals we would not be in the position that we are in?

That it costs a lot of money to purchase a proven premier league striker- money we do not have.

Finally there is no one out there in the world market that we can purchase on a budget who is a dead cert to score goals, what exactly is confusing about what he said?

It's simply Sam hiding behind our lack of financial clout. The problem for me lies in the midfield, not up front (although a decent striker instead of JR wouldn't go amiss)

[imy9]

It's simply Sam hiding behind our lack of financial clout. The problem for me lies in the midfield, not up front (although a decent striker instead of JR wouldn't go amiss)

I agree to a certain extent but we have had a lot of chances in games where if a few had gone in then we would have won games rather than drawn them.

I would like a good old fashioned winger, central midfield player and a striker who can score goals! The most important thing is to sign players who are good with the ball and have pace- over to you Sam!

[Eddie]

1) It seems like horrible man-management for the strikers we have on the books. One of whom has scored that number before and two of the others are young and developing.

2) He did spend 6 million on one this summer, 6 million should buy you more than...oh 0...league goals by January.

3) If he truly believes that then we need another man for the job. Dead cert to score the goals? No one ever is. He gets 40k a week or whatever it is to go and find players capable of scoring goals, not to shrug his shoulders and tell everyone that life is too hard and that we should feel sorry for him.

4) If you put Bent in this side he wouldn't have scored 13 goals. We simply don't create enough chances for a striker to score that many goals. For all that we did today, and at times we were quite good in the second half, I can't remember a single chance that one of our strikers had that was very good. The closest we came was that Kalinic header, which was a chance, but would have taken a very good header to score.

[sambo]

Anyone notice how we never get one on ones like Bent had today? We never seem to get in behind teams

[RibbleValleyRover]

I agree with Eddie on this, Sam shouldn't have come out with these comments. I have no problem him thinking deep down like this but to publicly come out with these comments was a stupid move imo. Sam is supposed to be into man-management but i think he has dropped the ball on this occasion as it sends out the wrong message to players like Kalinic.

I'm pretty certain that Bent wouldn't have scored 13 league goals in this Rovers side if we had signed him in the summer. The strikers we have aren't firing on all cylinders, but when you have a side devoid of creativity what do you expect? We don't create enough clear cut chances for our strikers to put the ball into the net.

[imy9]

1) It seems like horrible man-management for the strikers we have on the books. One of whom has scored that number before and two of the others are young and developing.

THE SAME PLAYER HAPPENS TO BE VERY HIT AND MISS- HAS BEEN FOR A COUPLE OF SEASONS NOW.

2) He did spend 6 million on one this summer, 6 million should buy you more than...oh 0...league goals by January.

WHAT LIKE CAMPBELL WHO WAS PLAYING FOR SUNDERLAND? WHO HAS SCORED ZERO GOALS FOR SUNDERLAND OR ELMANDER AT £11 MILLION AND HE HAS SCORED HOW MANY LEAGUE GOALS? LETS SEE HOW MANY GOALS HE HAS SCORED AT THE END OF THE SEASON.

3) If he truly believes that then we need another man for the job. Dead cert to score the goals? No one ever is. He gets 40k a week or whatever it is to go and find players capable of scoring goals, not to shrug his shoulders and tell everyone that life is too hard and that we should feel sorry for him.

HE HAS FOUND PLAYERS CAPABLE OF SCORING, NOW WHETHER THEY WORK OR NOT IS POT LUCK- NZONZI HAS BEEN A REAL FIND, GIVET HAS BEEN GREAT AMONGST OTHERS. I DONT FEEL SORRY FOR HIM, I AM WILLING TO GIVE 2 20 SOMETHING STRIKERS A CHANCE, RATHER THAN 30+ STRIKERS- SO SELL ROBERTS!

4) If you put Bent in this side he wouldn't have scored 13 goals. We simply don't create enough chances for a striker to score that many goals. For all that we did today, and at times we were quite good in the second half, I can't remember a single chance that one of our strikers had that was very good. The closest we came was that Kalinic header, which was a chance, but would have taken a very good header to score.

BENT HAS A LOT OF PACE, HE WOULD HAD SCORED AT LEAST 8 THAT WOULD STILL MEAN A FEW LEAGUE POSITIONS FURTHER UP THE TABLE.

[Bobby G]

Its been known for at least 3 years that we lack the right midfielder. That is still the team's achilles heel.

[Stuart]

Probably the wrong thread for this post but Sunderland were gash but for Bent. If they didn't have him they would be worse off than us.

In a round about way, that still supports the argument about finances though. For all their money, Sunderland don't have a very good team.

I agree with other posters, though, that if we had a midfield, we'd be creating far more chances - and probably scoring more.

Bent is a fine player though and, at a guess, I think Sam was venting a bit of frustration that he did want to buy Bent and was probably knocked back by the board.

One thing I will level at Sam is that this tactic of keeping the game 0-0 is simply NOT working. It takes us to go a goal down before we do what we do best and go out and attack. We are capable of much better and surely Sam must have faith in our defence to allow us to set up in a more attacking formation?

[G Somerset Rover]

"Sunderland have gone out and bought a man who scores goals. If we had a man who had scored 13 in the league like Darren Bent then we'd be in a different position. I don't think you can add the goals from our strikers and match what he's scored. We haven't got the clout to go out and buy a Bent or a Peter Crouch. I don't think there's anybody out there in the Europe or world markets that could change things."

What is Allardyce on about?

That's telling me one thing: he spent £6 million on Kalinic and doesn't rate him AT ALL.

[1864roverite]

A striker requires one thing to score goals.

A SUPPLY LINE Sam, thaty is all that is required.

if you have a SUPPLY LINE and you put it together with strikers who can actually score goals then the end result is GOALS.

UNTIL Rovers address that little aspect of our football prowess then it wont improve. It is as simple as 1-2-3.

Provide a supplier to the striker and he will score goals.

[Amo]

Sad to say, but Ince-esque side-stepping by Sam, by laying all our failings on our lack of finance. As others said, he's spent £6m on Kalinic and plays him sparingly.

[Bobby G]

I think we have the least shots on goal in the whole league and that says alot.