[Archived] Sam Allardyce

[Steve Moss]

That should not be in question, what should be questioned is whether his best is good enough.

His best is good enough. He's keeping us up the table, which is good, and is locating new talent (N'Zonzi, Kalinic and Linganzi) which is better. This summer will be huge, with the players that will be replaced/moving on.

[beerwins]

His best is good enough. He's keeping us up the table, which is good, and is locating new talent (N'Zonzi, Kalinic and Linganzi) which is better. This summer will be huge, with the players that will be replaced/moving on.

Debatable, Nzonzi is a decent player but is good at the very basics of the game , simple square passes, never gets forward to assist in attacking, not really a work horse, never runs with the ball and is certainly not a midfield general, Kalinic has talent that I wont argue but in the way Sam play him we may never see the best of the lad, Linganzi WHO.

And this is not to mention the old talent he found us too

Im not saying the lads he has signed wont ammount to much I am simply saying that 1: They pretty much are still unproven 2: Hughes signed Samba and Santa Cruz for much less.

[thenodrog]

Im not saying the lads he has signed wont ammount to much I am simply saying that 1: They pretty much are still unproven 2: Hughes signed Samba and Santa Cruz for much less.

Quite right beerwins.

Tell you what why don't you write to him to see if he'll come back. And dont forget to let us know how you went on.

[Steve Moss]

Hughes signed Samba and Santa Cruz for much less.

I don't think that this is a fiar statement, considering the recent inflation in transfer fees. On the other hand, I agree with you that more time is need to judge the effectiveness of Sam's signings. Though I think early indications are very good.

[Majiball]

Whats next up on your pathetic little griping list Mardarse? How about a pop at the club for allowing SA a seat in the JW without having to pay?

At £45,000 a week he can certainly afford it!!!

If you take away the football and look purely at where we were and where we are, then Sam has done a good job with Rovers. There is no disputing that.

For me the only two gripes I have are, the reversion back to his tried and trusted system, after what I thought was going to be a new Sam approach at the start of the season. The second is his transfer policy, which I'm sorry I've always had issues with. He perhaps isn't the most pragmatic in this department at times and can have a habit of signing for the sake of it, something I don't feel we can afford to do.

I've said it before that a couple more coaches would give Sam more ideas to choose from and our coaching staff lacks attack focused people. I really think it would make a good difference to what we see on the pitch.

He's done what most of us wanted and invested in some kids and Ewood is a bit of a fortress again, we just need a new approach away from home. Perhaps the new coaches could help with this? He's also managed to get the trust to agree to provide funds, something I thought was impossible, the man has gotten blood from a stone.

As for his personality and comments, he's a football manager and has earnt during his career a right to be slightly arrogant, in fact its required in the industry. Yes he blames the ref, but he's only trying to protect his players and deflect attention away from them, taking the flack himself.

I wonder if the club would consider another night with Sam, like last time. I would most certainly come along I have one or two Q's I'd love to ask. But this is the issue, silence from the club as always which will never resolve the split we are seeing become more prominent at our club day by day. Hopefully it could be done properly but bridges do and must be built between him and certain sections of the support.

But this is the part I just don't get my head round. Please feel free to check my posts, I'm pretty sure I said at the turn of the year and before that this sort of scenario would occur (I'm not blowing my own trumpet, there). So if even I a lowly youth coach in the grand world of football, can see what could possibly happen, then why the hell couldn't our club??? Pro-active is not a word I associate with us, reactionary also at present doesn't fit. It wouldn't be that hard to spin Sam in a positive light, publically, but we've always been poor at this.

Style aside, the mans done well. I'm not sure I want to risk it all by changing the manager because I don't have much faith in who would be chosen to replace him. But I do want to see a better relationship to the fans, and a system designed to our players strengths.

Apart from those few points, the man has done a good job for us.

Sacking him is not the way forward.

[John]

The words 'be careful what you wish for' ring true again and again. No doubt we are living in the world of a spoilt Rover suppporter (for some).

No manager seems to be given any sort of time these days generally and their past acheievements are often quickly forgotten.

Recent years, and top quality players for us such as Bentley/Bellamy, also help form opinion. There is obviously a personal dislike of the manager and that over exaggerates things and negative results.

Sam saved us from relegation last season, and possibly oblivion, so he retains my gratitude for that. The football may be poor at times but the mandate set by the Board also has an influence.

I am not always inspired by the comments he makes in the media, and he is by no means perfect (who is), but I feel our club is in capable hands for now.

[thenodrog]

.............. As for his personality and comments, he's a football manager and has earnt during his career a right to be slightly arrogant, in fact its required in the industry. Yes he blames the ref, but he's only trying to protect his players and deflect attention away from them, taking the flack himself.

..............I wonder if the club would consider another night with Sam, like last time. I would most certainly come along I have one or two Q's I'd love to ask. But this is the issue, silence from the club as always which will never resolve the split we are seeing become more prominent at our club day by day. Hopefully it could be done properly but bridges do and must be built between him and certain sections of the support.

Every top manager is arrogant. Fergie, Capello, Wenger, Benitez and most of all Mourhino. Clough epitomised arrogance too. Arrogance transmits well to the players imo.

BRFC PR! Not letters that one often sees together. Dark rumours not long ago that there is a split in the boardroom re:Allardyce. Might just be me and I might be wrong but I get the feeling that Williams and Allardyce are not best suited in one another's company either.

[philipl]

Every top manager is arrogant. Fergie, Capello, Wenger, Benitez and most of all Mourhino. Clough epitomised arrogance too. Arrogance transmits well to the players imo.

BRFC PR! Not letters that one often sees together. Dark rumours not long ago that there is a split in the boardroom re:Allardyce. Might just be me and I might be wrong but I get the feeling that Williams and Allardyce are not best suited in one another's company either.

JW and Sam are getting along just fine currently if the rumour mongers are to be believed.

[John]

Every top manager is arrogant. Fergie, Capello, Wenger, Benitez and most of all Mourhino. Clough epitomised arrogance too. Arrogance transmits well to the players imo.

BRFC PR! Not letters that one often sees together. Dark rumours not long ago that there is a split in the boardroom re:Allardyce. Might just be me and I might be wrong but I get the feeling that Williams and Allardyce are not best suited in one another's company either.

Think JW likes Sam - he challanges him and the Board, can be annoying but he knows the ultimate goal is that the manager wants to make us better.

[beerwins]

Quite right beerwins.

Tell you what why don't you write to him to see if he'll come back. And dont forget to let us know how you went on.

I wouldnt want Hughes back he wouldnt have the same passion and drive for Rovers that he had before.

Thanks for the advice all the same

[Guest Kamy100]

I think that Owen Coyle has started to show that it is possible to play "football" with players of limited technical ability. I watched their games against City and Tottenham and what he has managed to do is retain that fighting spirit and workrate but taken some of the shackles of so the players are allowed to mix up their style of play. However, Sam has one style of play and prefers that the players stick to it, Sam will argue that it has been effective as Rovers are pushing towards Premier League safety and made the semi-finals of the league cup. You can't argue with that but I feel that we do have players with technical ability and it would be great to see them mixup the style of football once in a while.

[John]

I feel that we do have players with technical ability and it would be great to see them mixup the style of football once in a while.

Who do you think is technically good in our team? Also, separate question, which players would other clubs love to have in their team?

[FourLaneBlue]

I think that Owen Coyle has started to show that it is possible to play "football" with players of limited technical ability. I watched their games against City and Tottenham and what he has managed to do is retain that fighting spirit and workrate but taken some of the shackles of so the players are allowed to mix up their style of play. However, Sam has one style of play and prefers that the players stick to it, Sam will argue that it has been effective as Rovers are pushing towards Premier League safety and made the semi-finals of the league cup. You can't argue with that but I feel that we do have players with technical ability and it would be great to see them mixup the style of football once in a while.

Is that the same Owen Coyle whose both former club and present club are in the bottom 3?

One thing that hasn't been shown yet is if Coyle's approach is consistent with a) staying up or becoming a top half Prem club.

[Steve Moss]

Think JW likes Sam - he challanges him and the Board, can be annoying but he knows the ultimate goal is that the manager wants to make us better.

I think this is common. I'm on the local high school board and I, and my fellow board members, prefer the principal who is always on in our face arguing with us. When we tell him 'NO' he then follows through with his instructions the same aggressiveness that he challenged us with. Which is very much appreciated in comparison to his passive-aggressive peers, the principals who talk out of both sides of their mouths.

[JAL]

Whenever the cameras are on JW and big Sam sitting in the stands, their body language always appears to look healthy and positive with both always seemingly sharing a smile.

[Guest Kamy100]

Who do you think is technically good in our team? Also, separate question, which players would other clubs love to have in their team?

By technical ability, I mean that they are able to pass the ball effectively. I would say that Dunn, Pedersen, Grella, Diouf and Reid posses the ability to pass the ball if given the chance to do so.

By the way I am not having a go at Sam, his approach has been effective because we are getting towards Premier League safety, that is his/any manager that we have in the future main objective. However, just thing that at times it would help the team if they were allowed to mixup the style a little bit.

[FourLaneBlue]

The thing is kamy...of those 5 players you mentioned 3 are seemingly almost permanently injured and the other two have had some woeful form.

It doesn't really back up your claim to those with good technical ability in our team.

I think we need quite a few new faces in this summer to really move things forward. As we are likely to have the usual minus a couple of million transfer budget it will be far easier said than done.

[broadsword]

Surely we've come to the end of the line as far as negative transfer budgets go?

The barrel has been well and truly scraped, good style. If new faces are to be added then a positive outlay is required.

[FourLaneBlue]

Dunno...I remember when a few years back there was talk, including from nicko, of us having a 10 million squid war chest for the summer.

Whatever happened to that?

[RevidgeBlue]

Surely we've come to the end of the line as far as negative transfer budgets go?

The barrel has been well and truly scraped, good style. If new faces are to be added then a positive outlay is required.

There's probably still Samba and Robinson who could be sold and replaced for less but then the family silver really is is completely stripped bare.

Whether or not someone might give us our money back or a profit for Kalinic is probably unclear at this point.

[FourLaneBlue]

We have some promising youngsters coming through in the shape of N'zonzi and Olsson as well and there is also Givet.

After that though it is pretty much the lot. We simply don't have much silverware left to sell off. More brass than silverware now...

[RevidgeBlue]

Olsson might be very good in time, Nzonzi I'm not so sure about but neither are likely to fetch a large fee in the imediate future.

Givet, I don't think we exactly underpaid for him and think we'd be doing reasonably well to get back what we paid.

[RevidgeBlue]

Back to Sam, what do people see as an acceptable finish this season?

What if we fall back to 15th or 16th by season end?

Would that be acceptable or not over the course of an entire season given we managed that last season with Ince in charge for half of it?

[FourLaneBlue]

17th is acceptable. We don't want to aim just for survival but, ultimately, that is the bar that each manager needs to achieve.

However an improvement on last season is what we really want to say that progess is being made. Therefore 14th or above is what we really want to be aiming for and, allied to an improved cup run, would mean a good season on paper.

However since that last 15th place finish we no longer have Benni, Roque, Tugay and Warnock. Without going into the whys or wherefores of their departures...that obviously weakens us and especially if the money alloted to replacements is not enough. Which I'm not sure it has been. Kalinic and Chimbonda in but who is coming in to replace Benni or Tugay? Is Basturk our great hope? A freebie without experience of playing in England with little recent match time?

If so then we really are in barrel-scraping territory...

If this level of player selling along without allocating much to recruitment continues this summer then 17th place might become the be all and end all every season...

[broadsword]

If this level of player selling along without allocating much to recruitment continues this summer then 17th place might become the be all and end all every season...

Definitely.

The thing is, finishing in 17th does us absolutely no favours at all. It's not like doing the bare minimum to survive in the Premiership and scraping to 17th pushes us into the black.

It would be quite interesting to see the expected pay-off for each £1 million spent on transfer with the big condition that the manager knew what they were doing. We'll lose money wherever we finish/ whatever we spend, so is the net loss actually lower with a bigger spend and a higher placing? The bigger the spend the less the margin for error, but it's out-and-out false economy to budget for 17th and hope to get away with it.