[Archived] Sam Allardyce

[mellison24]

Indeed. It appears to me that SA has decided that the Prem league has 12 teams and a few super teams, and that he currently just wants us to be top of that mini league.

A difficult concept to argue with if we are to employ pure logic over passion.

Agreed.

Just a quick question. While the targets for league placings can improve (say 10th next season, 8th the next, 6th the next etc), am I right in thinking the board always budget for a lower-midtable finish (14/13th) and getting above this (plus extra tv money etc etc) is what gains funds for the manager? I'm sure I read it somewhere and it would be a very effective financial tactic with Sam at the helm.

[Gav]

I have talked to around 20 regular supporters (in t'pub and around me at the ground) and the vast majority of those 20 think Sam is actually doing a good job. I would also suggest that there has been a groundswell of support for Sam on here recently which must really, really naff you off.

I can offer a different view to the one you hold.

I like Waggy have been going for many years, I can say hand on heart that not one of my long standing Rovers following mates thinks Allardyces is doing a good job.

He’s completely devalued following the club away, and the home performances are a joke. Maybe these people have high expectations, but I doubt it having been through the bad old days of the 80’s.

Lets not paint a picture that everything in the garden is rosy, because its not.

[mellison24]

I can offer a different view to the one you hold.

I like Waggy have been going for many years, I can say hand on heart that not one of my long standing Rovers following mates thinks Allardyces is doing a good job.

He’s completely devalued following the club away, and the home performances are a joke. Maybe these people have high expectations, but I doubt it having been through the bad old days of the 80’s.

Lets not paint a picture that everything in the garden is rosy, because its not.

No-one's saying it's rosy. Only that he's doing a very good job in the circumstances, while some unreasonable folk aren't seeing the bigger picture. You and your mates aren't happy and that's your opinion, which is fine. But you can't deny that things are very much looking up now. I'll give you the 'away games' bit, but home performances are VASTLY improved. To call a home record with only 2 losses a joke means you DO have high standards. FAR too high.

[broadsword]

To be fair, he said home performances, and not home record.

No-one can odds our home record, surely (although I'm willing to bet that the big 4 will put a huge dent in it), but I think it's the manner of those wins that is what is irking Gav.

[gumboots]

No-one's saying it's rosy. Only that he's doing a very good job in the circumstances, while some unreasonable folk aren't seeing the bigger picture. You and your mates aren't happy and that's your opinion, which is fine. But you can't deny that things are very much looking up now. I'll give you the 'away games' bit, but home performances are VASTLY improved. To call a home record with only 2 losses a joke means you DO have high standards. FAR too high.

As I posted somewhere the other day our home record is better in terms of results than Villa and Spurs

[thenodrog]

Although in my heart of hearts I know that as a Blackburn fan it's probably the best I can hope for, I miss the days not so long ago when we had a manager who'd stick two fingers up at the best in the business and made you feel like there was no game you couldn't win.

Me too, but most Man City fans don't share our feelings. Too many of their team would not play for Hughes. On the other hand I'm sure that most Boltoners would have Sam back in a heartbeat for the exact same reason that you mention above.

So where does that leave us?

[broadsword]

Bloody hell, I think we all miss those days. Looking forward to every game ...

[S15]

Absence always brings fondness.

I'm going to revel in the fact we win most homes games. During the 90 minutes I'm not really ###### what's happened, if we've won I leave happy.

That's happened most times I've been to Ewood this season, and no doubt, some time in the future, with a different manager this won;t be the case.

[thenodrog]

I seem to recall people saying that Dunn and Hoilett stalling on signing contracts was evidence that the players didn't like the team style?

I think that theory has been well and truly shat over, especially given the team spirit in recent games (oddly, since McCarthy left...).

Difficult not to make comparisons.

[mellison24]

I DO look forward to every game. I'm a rovers supporter ffs!

[broadsword]

Even in October?

Or when Kidd and Parkes managed us in the first division? It's not much fun when you're getting paggered, and I can't imagine people looking forward to games then.

[mellison24]

Even in October?

Or when Kidd and Parkes managed us in the first division? It's not much fun when you're getting paggered, and I can't imagine people looking forward to games then.

No, not much fun at all. But I still looked forward to it. Football is a form of torture in that sense haha

[47er]

This kind of comment is ridiculous.

You are trying to give creedence to your bias by claiming the majority are with you. In reality this is purely conjecture - you are either wishful thinking or deluded as you have absolutely no facts at all to back up your spurious claim.

I have talked to around 20 regular supporters (in t'pub and around me at the ground) and the vast majority of those 20 think Sam is actually doing a good job. I would also suggest that there has been a groundswell of support for Sam on here recently which must really, really naff you off.

There's a pattern on here. The anti-Sammites only come out to play when we lose (apart from Waggy!-----an ever-present!). I've no doubt at all that they'll be back if the expected bad run eventuates with the harder fixtures coming up. If we lose to Burnley they will go ballistic.

For me that only emphasises the stupidity of judging Rovers on a match to match basis or over the course of a few weeks. The manager is building a new side, a younger side. Its the only way forward and he has to be given time. I've no doubt at all that he will make us a top half team and that is all we can reasonably expect. Its what happens when he eventually does leave that worries me.

[Dufflite]

I can offer a different view to the one you hold.

I like Waggy have been going for many years, I can say hand on heart that not one of my long standing Rovers following mates thinks Allardyces is doing a good job.

He’s completely devalued following the club away, and the home performances are a joke. Maybe these people have high expectations, but I doubt it having been through the bad old days of the 80’s.

Lets not paint a picture that everything in the garden is rosy, because its not.

I have had a season ticket for 38years and I've seen some serious dross down at Ewood over the years. One of the 20 I referred to has been every season for 70 years, another 63 years.

I genuinely think Sam is doing a good job now, as do many others on here. Admittedly there have been some tough games to watch as fan but I believe Sam has deliberately engineered our way up the table to safety and I think he is far more shrewd than anyone would give him credit for.

You referred to garden being rosy...

...The garden can never be rosy when you have no cash to buy the seeds or to spend on cultivation to grow the best flowers. However a wily old gardener will always get something that looks OK eventually even if it means getting down in the dirt to make it happen.

[Kelbo]

Here is scenario which I believe to be very close to the truth, it goes like this and it preceedes the appontment as Sam as Manager of Rovers.

JW. Sam, we made a mistake with Paul Ince, we simply have to stay in the premiership, we would like you to become the next manager of Rovers.

SA. John, I can keep you in the premiership but I must have no interferance and I do it my way which is a tried and trusted method.

JW. The club dont intertfere but I cant promise you much transfer budget but where we can, we will try and find it for you.

Now apart from the bonus and salary arrangements, I think thats a resume of the way it went!!

Anyone taking a job would make the same statements Sam made, any employer would be happy at the result, which to a degree = success.

I ask you this, If a chairman said to a candidate, (of a club in a similar status to Rovers)I want you to keep us in the premiership, play top attacking football, score lots of goals and excite the crowd, without funds, how many managers would be actually capable of achieving that?

I cant think of one, can you???

[mellison24]

Here is scenario which I believe to be very close to the truth, it goes like this and it preceedes the appontment as Sam as Manager of Rovers.

JW. Sam, we made a mistake with Paul Ince, we simply have to stay in the premiership, we would like you to become the next manager of Rovers.

SA. John, I can keep you in the premiership but I must have no interferance and I do it my way which is a tried and trusted method.

JW. The club dont intertfere but I cant promise you much transfer budget but where we can, we will try and find it for you.

Now apart from the bonus and salary arrangements, I think thats a resume of the way it went!!

Anyone taking a job would make the same statements Sam made, any employer would be happy at the result, which to a degree = success.

I ask you this, If a chairman said to a candidate, (of a club in a similar status to Rovers)I want you to keep us in the premiership, play top attacking football, score lots of goals and excite the crowd, without funds, how many managers would be actually capable of achieving that?

I cant think of one, can you???

I can. Sam.....eventually, it WILL be good football. That I am certain of. Look at the improvement from this time last year and there IS better football on show. I'm sure it'll continue that way.

[Kelbo]

I can. Sam.....eventually, it WILL be good football. That I am certain of. Look at the improvement from this time last year and there IS better football on show. I'm sure it'll continue that way.

Yes, I agree, but I was referring to the onset, we are progressing, we are looking to a younger squad (Sam said we would get more youth and vibrancy) much as I hated the bugger at Bolton, he is a very crafty character and can do a job, we are fortunate to have him, sure, i would love to see a more fluent style of football (love the Arsenal passing game) but it takes time, I really think, rather than giving the guy grief, many Rovers fans should be thankful we got him, he is a very shrewd operator and despite teams knowing how we play, many cant cope with us, even Villa say we are a very difficult team to play against.

[mellison24]

Yes, I agree, but I was referring to the onset, we are progressing, we are looking to a younger squad (Sam said we would get more youth and vibrancy) much as I hated the bugger at Bolton, he is a very crafty character and can do a job, we are fortunate to have him, sure, i would love to see a more fluent style of football (love the Arsenal passing game) but it takes time, I really think, rather than giving the guy grief, many Rovers fans should be thankful we got him, he is a very shrewd operator and despite teams knowing how we play, many cant cope with us, even Villa say we are a very difficult team to play against.

Very. Wise. Words.

[Miker]

We have 3 camps, the ones who love him, the ones who hate him, and the ones that go with the general opinion on that day, so no point trying to sway people one way of the other.

I disagree with this statement. There are many of us on here, me included, who simply respect Sam and believe he is a good manager. I can't say that I love him and have followed his career at other clubs or will continue to do so when he leaves. I have tirelessly defended him for the good of the club, not because I "love" him. I simply see the negative slants, which had been turning into hysteria not so long ago, as detrimental to the club's progress and the team's confidence. I also did not want to see, and still don't, a knee jerk reaction that would have Sam fired and replaced with absolutely no benefit to the club.

I think the only reason the old anti-Sam folk on here are still hanging around is because they're expecting us to lose all the games against the big 4 teams, so their arguments have at least some merit. Personally, I don't see the point. I don't understand why you would want to completely ruin your experience as a Blackburn supporter by feeling miserable when we lose and then making yourself miserable when we win because you hate Sam.

[tony gale's mic]

I can offer a different view to the one you hold.

I like Waggy have been going for many years, I can say hand on heart that not one of my long standing Rovers following mates thinks Allardyces is doing a good job.

He’s completely devalued following the club away, and the home performances are a joke. Maybe these people have high expectations, but I doubt it having been through the bad old days of the 80’s.

Lets not paint a picture that everything in the garden is rosy, because its not.

No, it's people who were dead against him at the start and are too f**king pathetic to admit they were wrong.

Home performances are a joke? Is that the club who have lost two home games all season and with the eigth best home record in the league?

Our away form is shocking and is probably the biggest area of criticism one can aim towards Sam, but even then if the Premier League was just an away table, we'd still be 16th (teams below us Sunderland, Portsmouth, Hull and Burnley).

Everything might not be rosy but it's looking up right now and to say our home performances especially are a joke is rubbish.

[thenodrog]

I can offer a different view to the one you hold.

I like Waggy have been going for many years, I can say hand on heart that not one of my long standing Rovers following mates thinks Allardyces is doing a good job.

He’s completely devalued following the club away, and the home performances are a joke. Maybe these people have high expectations, but I doubt it having been through the bad old days of the 80’s.

Lets not paint a picture that everything in the garden is rosy, because its not.

You make some valid points and you talk some crap too.

1. Hughes went and we got a right goon who would have seen us relegated. That is as near to a dead cert fact as I could imagine. Would you like waggy have preferred relegation with Ince? 13 points from 17 matches and a demoralised squad was his legacy remember.

2. The away performances cannot be defended nor can some of the home ones but it is a RESULTS driven business and thats that. Full bloody stop! In the light of the table your mates are as stupid as you and waggy.

btw slightly off topic the away following had been devalued long before SA came simply cos of the behaviour of the drunken numpties that go.

Gav... You try hard to be the political and acceptable face of dissent whilst waggy is just an infantile and indiscriminate posting thug. But you have the same devisive agenda. Come to think about it you and waggy are like Sinn Fein and the IRA.

You need to wind your neck in because month by month Allardyce is strenthening the team from the awful mess that he inherited and month by month your arguments and objections will become weaker. Do you still have a ST Gav? Do you still even go to Ewood? Mardarse has binned his ST using Sam Allardyce as the excuse when we all know that basically he has outgrown the BRFC experience. Truth is going to Ewood is not the compulsion that it was 15 years ago to me either.

For some reason all anti Allardyce postings whether of quality of otherwise attract a consistently number of reputation points. I suspect it's correlated but whether it is or it isn't can those who do it please mature beyond the level of the readers of the Beano?

[jim mk2]

I like Waggy have been going for many years, I can say hand on heart that not one of my long standing Rovers following mates thinks Allardyces is doing a good job.

With all due respect if that is the opinion of your and your "mates" then you must all have a very low IQ.

Anyone of only average intelligence can see that Allardyce is doing an excellent job keeping a very limited team safely in mid-table while at the same time slowly rebuilding the squad with younger and better players.

Question: The club has no significant money to spend in the transfer market so what do you expect the manager to do ? And who would you have as manager instead of Allardyce ?

Sensible answers only please.

[thenodrog]

With all due respect if that is the opinion of your and your "mates" then you must all have a very low IQ.

Have they changed your medication today?

[Gav]

There's a pattern on here. The anti-Sammites only come out to play when we lose (apart from Waggy!-----an ever-present!). I've no doubt at all that they'll be back if the expected bad run eventuates with the harder fixtures coming up. If we lose to Burnley they will go ballistic.

We won our last game 47er?

As for the burnley game, if we go over there have a go I'll not be slamming the manager, but if go over there and roll over like so many times in the past year I'll be hammering Allardyce again.

[Gav]

No, it's people who were dead against him at the start and are too f**king pathetic to admit they were wrong.

Home performances are a joke? Is that the club who have lost two home games all season and with the eigth best home record in the league?

Our away form is shocking and is probably the biggest area of criticism one can aim towards Sam, but even then if the Premier League was just an away table, we'd still be 16th (teams below us Sunderland, Portsmouth, Hull and Burnley).

Everything might not be rosy but it's looking up right now and to say our home performances especially are a joke is rubbish.

I think you may have me mixed up with Waggy, I’ve praised the manager several times on numerous threads, keep up.

I’ve not been happy with the home performances and neither have many other people. I didn’t like Allardyce before he came here because of his seasonal anti-Blackburn Rovers rants in the media, and I don’t like him now because he never accepts responsibility for a loss and his style of football is cr@p to watch.

I do respect him for the job he’s doing down at Ewood, even though the football is poor to watch. I think his dealing in the transfer market have so far been extremely good……

are you reading this tony gale's mic ………