[Archived] Sam Allardyce

[FourLaneBlue]

He's worked the media and the Patron Saint of British Managers, Alex Ferguson, so well, he gains mafia-like protection from criticism. Worst of all, his appalling Blackburn side, unlike Stoke, aren't even very effective at what they do.

Is that the same Stoke side who have exactly the same number of points as Rovers despite shelling out considerably more money in the summer?

[broadsword]

I think it is you know!

[Exiled in Toronto]

Is that the same Stoke side who have exactly the same number of points as Rovers despite shelling out considerably more money in the summer?

If we both changed our entire playing staffs every season that would be a valid comparison. We were getting premier league incomes and spending every season on multi-million pound transfers, building a much stronger squad, while Stoke were scratching around on peanuts. Plus, for the last 10 years we have been much more attractive to youth players. They've outspent us for 1 or maybe 2 years, we outspent them for the previous 10, so I would actually expect us to still be stronger.

Back to the Mirror article, while the language is inflammatory, I'm not sure too much of it was factually incorrect. Every goal kick is pumped towards N'Zonzi with half the team stood in a 5-10 yard circle around him; every free kick in our half is launched by Robbo to N'Zonzi and Samba; every throw-in in the last third is chucked in the vague direction of Samba. We launch the ball towards a giant at least 40 times a game. Yes, we do other things inbetween with what's left of our 40% possession - try to win the free kicks and the throws - then fill in the gaps with some actual passing.

During the countless hours I spent kicking a ball against a wall, playing '3 and your in', droppping the jumpers in Witton Park and so on, I never once thought that I should have been learning to kick a ball 70 yards towards some 6'5" bloke.

[jim mk2]

During the countless hours I spent kicking a ball against a wall, playing '3 and your in', droppping the jumpers in Witton Park and so on, I never once thought that I should have been learning to kick a ball 70 yards towards some 6'5" bloke.

That's why you never became a professional footballer.

[deryck guyler's spoon]

That's why you never became a professional footballer.

Quality reply

Obviously this is where Fabrigas and Messi are going wrong.

[Miker]

Back to the Mirror article, while the language is inflammatory, I'm not sure too much of it was factually incorrect. Every goal kick is pumped towards N'Zonzi with half the team stood in a 5-10 yard circle around him; every free kick in our half is launched by Robbo to N'Zonzi and Samba; every throw-in in the last third is chucked in the vague direction of Samba. We launch the ball towards a giant at least 40 times a game. Yes, we do other things inbetween with what's left of our 40% possession - try to win the free kicks and the throws - then fill in the gaps with some actual passing.

Having targets for your set pieces - how horrible. I'm sorry, I don't know what you learnt when you played football, but we were taught to aim for the players good in the air when we took set pieces, whether a corner, goal kick, free kick or throw in. It just seems like a silly complaint to me, to think we should not be taking advantage of our tall, strong players at set pieces, just because you want to see some variety.

The article was complete rubbish and the opinion was based on a single match. Our players have been fairly well behaved all season, Liverpool was the first time I actually saw the team get violent. There are far worse culprits than us at being aggressive in football matches.

[jim mk2]

Obviously this is where Fabrigas and Messi are going wrong.

Fabrigas ? Quality spelling.

Perhaps I should spell it out better for the hard of learning.

The ability to deliver "70-yard passes" (a pitch is about 110 yards long so does anyone actually kick it 70 yards ?) is as much a footballing skill as dribbling round three defenders and planting the ball in the back of the net. Any young player who cannot kick through the ball properly and deliver long, accurate passes won't make the professional grade.

Goal of the month was on MotD last night. All but a few of the 10 or so goals scored were the result of long, direct football.

The bloke kicking his ball round Witton Park should have been practising hitting long balls, not '3 and in' with his mates.

[thenodrog]

Quality reply

Obviously this is where Fabrigas and Messi are going wrong.

'Play to your strengths' was always the best advice for any team and still is.

If we try to take on the likes of MU, Arsenal and Spurs and 'outfootball' their billion dollar babes we'd get beaten 9 times out of 10. Alternatively keep the ball in the air and away from their feet, tackle them quickly in order not to allow them to 'settle' on the ball and we might just achieve a better ratio. Our record this season suggests otherwise because some of our players are not wholly suited to the tactics but the theory still stands.

[John]

'You lose players who have just got too old, on top of selling £33m worth of players this season, like Roque Santa Cruz, Stephen Warnock, Matt Derbyshire and Benni McCarthy. 'When I came to Blackburn we had to dig ourselves out of a crater - we were bottom of the pit. There's only one way to do that and that is to fight your way out.

[tonyoz]

'Play to your strengths' was always the best advice for any team and still is.

If we try to take on the likes of MU, Arsenal and Spurs and 'outfootball' their billion dollar babes we'd get beaten 9 times out of 10. Alternatively keep the ball in the air and away from their feet, tackle them quickly in order not to allow them to 'settle' on the ball and we might just achieve a better ratio. Our record this season suggests otherwise because some of our players are not wholly suited to the tactics but the theory still stands.

Yep, I reckon that just about sums it up. The next few weeks against some of the "big boys" will be interesting. I hope that we have made some progress.

[Exiled_Rover]

Decent little article there. I agree that the playing staff has improved over the last year. Things are looking up at Ewood.

[Exiled in Toronto]

So for the 43 of the 44 years I have been watching Rovers when the primary tactic wasn't hitting it 40 times to a giant, we weren't playing the game properly? Why did none of you tell me this before Allardyce was here? Why weren't Tony Field and Simon Garner drummed out of the club for not being 6'5"?

As to that latest interview posted - typical Allardyce ego-######. 'When I were at Bowton' and endless trumpet-blowing. Hughes did a much better turnaround and always made a point of spreading praise to his backroom staff.

It comes down to personal taste. I haven't enjoyed more than a handful of games this year, and I can't stand arrogant twerps like Allardyce. Others clearly admire him and his tactics.

[tonyoz]

Thuggish, was he unaware of Viera smirking at Sutton after smashing him in the face? Keown whe was famed for his aggressive challenges, Pettit wasnt much better!!

Well!!

I remember Tony Adams smashing Alan Shearer every time he got near the ball. And Kevin Moran going on TV after they had battered us black and blue and saying "I've no complaints - it's a man's game." He became one of my heros right there and then.

[Miker]

Well!!

I remember Tony Adams smashing Alan Shearer every time he got near the ball. And Kevin Moran going on TV after they had battered us black and blue and saying "I've no complaints - it's a man's game." He became one of my heros right there and then.

Exactly, it's a physical game, tackling is part of it. I find it ridiculous that managers complain about it. You're never going to outplay a player better than you, so the only way to beat them is to frustrate them and stop them playing. It's just good tactics.

Exiled In Toronto, I'm sure 43 years ago there was a more level playing field in England. Nowadays the difference in player quality is pretty big. It's just not realistic to expect a team like Blackburn to compete against the likes of Chelsea playing the same way as them.

I made a comment during the Liverpool match that the commentators were having a whinge about our passing, but most of the long balls came from clearances or goal kicks. Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with that because once it gets into the opposing third we start playing good football. We might not be keeping a lot of possession, but once we get it into the area we can be very dangerous.

[imy9]

So for the 43 of the 44 years I have been watching Rovers when the primary tactic wasn't hitting it 40 times to a giant, we weren't playing the game properly? Why did none of you tell me this before Allardyce was here? Why weren't Tony Field and Simon Garner drummed out of the club for not being 6'5"?

As to that latest interview posted - typical Allardyce ego-######. 'When I were at Bowton' and endless trumpet-blowing. Hughes did a much better turnaround and always made a point of spreading praise to his backroom staff.

It comes down to personal taste. I haven't enjoyed more than a handful of games this year, and I can't stand arrogant twerps like Allardyce. Others clearly admire him and his tactics.

Hughes was here for how many years though? Sam has been here for just over a year. Hughes also did not have sell the crown jewels every year... Ironically what was our tag under Hughes "bully boys", were we playing the game properly then?

[jim mk2]

Some people in frozen north American wastes are allowing their personal dislike of the manager to obscure the fact that he is doing a very good job for Blackburn Rovers, which at the end of the day (after 90 minutes) is all that matters. Allardyce may or may not be arrogant but all these people have huge egos - it's why they are in the jobs in the first place.

Tony Field and Simon Garner would not have got a game in the modern Premier League, and that's nothing to do with size. Neither were done enough.

[mick]

I have watched football all my life and do recall giving keepers a right go if their kicks did not clear the half. It doesn't matter what level you play the game at, defending in the the other team's half was the key. Make them turn it over in their own half and capitalize on their mistake. It's also how pressure was applied. The continental game is in the supremacy primarily because FIFA has made it illegal to tackle. They will destroy the proper game. Look at the tackle made in Den's clip from the old Burnley game. The winger would have been rolling around ,players demanding the ref take severe action and the manager and fans screaming for banishment of the defender. Instead the winger and defender get up and a corner was awarded. The game nowadays promotes cheats, who feign injury, throw elbows on the pretext of gaining more height...tell that to the great centre forwards and centre halves of yester year who knew how to head a ball. I haven't seen a true menace in the air for years...Samba is useless in the air, as an example. We look everywhere but in England for players. Well the likes of Andy McEvoy, Keith Newton, Bryan Douglas,and Mike England graced Ewood with their presence and played the game as well if not better than the so called superstars of today. They were not one offs but surrounded each week by players of the highest calibre. The EPL is a massive business that panders to the whims of its playboy athletes and fans are even worse in their hysteria about their teams. Sam Allardyce is well in tune with what it takes to keep a team in the EPL and thus guarantee himself the rewards and the fans get what they deserve. The Football Association is in dissolution and the carpetbaggers have checked in.

I get more pleasure watching the lower leagues play blood and guts football. Sorry about the rant.

[iamarover]

Some people in frozen north American wastes are allowing their personal dislike of the manager to obscure the fact that he is doing a very good job for Blackburn Rovers, which at the end of the day (after 90 minutes) is all that matters. Allardyce may or may not be arrogant but all these people have huge egos - it's why they are in the jobs in the first place.

Tony Field and Simon Garner would not have got a game in the modern Premier League, and that's nothing to do with size. Neither were done enough.

When Salman Rushdie decided to call Mohammed a bit of a louche layabout, that was kind of a risk. When Richard Dwarkins derided Christianity and consigned it to some attic begging its values be ignored like the war rantings of a medalled Grandfather, then that too began to feel raw on the emotions of a Man of Culture. The oppression of the Dalai Lama by a dominant colonial China, jarred the senses of well being. And the sacking of the Sikh Temple of Amritsar left hollowness, matched and unmatched only by abuse of the wall of Solomon in civilisation's cradle.

And then this.

Tony Field. Flagellate yourself. His run led to the free kick that led to Pele's last ever goal in the game. Earned from his heroics at Ewood in the dark '70's.

Simon Garner. Simes? The Mild Thing? The Magnificent Man in his Flying Machine? You spit on the altar of a saint.

Hades awaits..... we await your plea for forgiveness.

[jim mk2]

[/b]

Hades awaits..... we await your plea for forgiveness.

It's an opinion, nothing to get your knickers in a twist about.

In the meantime, keep sniffing the glue !

[47er]

So for the 43 of the 44 years I have been watching Rovers when the primary tactic wasn't hitting it 40 times to a giant, we weren't playing the game properly? Why did none of you tell me this before Allardyce was here? Why weren't Tony Field and Simon Garner drummed out of the club for not being 6'5"?

As to that latest interview posted - typical Allardyce ego-######. 'When I were at Bowton' and endless trumpet-blowing. Hughes did a much better turnaround and always made a point of spreading praise to his backroom staff.

It comes down to personal taste. I haven't enjoyed more than a handful of games this year, and I can't stand arrogant twerps like Allardyce. Others clearly admire him and his tactics.

What's the point of endlessly coming on here and telling us you don't like the manager! WE KNOW! So you preferred Hughes? Guess what, so did about 99% of us on this board. Any idea how to get him back? Is he interested? Will you pay the compensation to Allardyce and his staff?

We have to wee with the willie we've got, no-one has come up with a different manager who is a) available and wants to come here and c) can be guaranteed to do as good a job as Allardyce is doing.

Get over it!

[Billy Castell]

All these Billy Big Time players and managers are hypocritical cry babies. If we had the likes of Rooney, Joe Cole and Messi in our team then we'd be able to play sexy football. However, we have Andrews, Emerton and Roberts. We also find it hard to bring quality youth through as the likes of Wenger send out minions to all corners of the country, and indeed the world, lobbing many millions of pounds buying houses for promising 14 year olds' parents, or a goat for some teenager from Senegal.

Whilst we'd all love us to play like Barcelona or Real Madrid, I think we'd all be crapping ourselves if Andrews and Diouf tried to emulate Ronaldo and Xavi.

[ABBEY]

Zzzzam stfu for once...gobbing off about winding the waiter up..ffs we lost so just shut up.....in telewag

[Hughesy]

Zzzzam ...just shut up.....

Good idea Abbey please do unless you have something worthwhile to say.

As for the article - I dont see anything wrong with it, is he not correct when he says losing £33m worth of players + older players is difficult - yet we still sit 12th, not 20th like last season.....

If Sam can continue to spot bargains and keep progressing our youth then we should be in very good shape in the next few years!

[ABBEY]

Next time you have anything worthwhile to say will be a first you arrogant know it all...yes it make him look a genius after getting beat doesn't it.

[Hughesy]

yes it make him look a genius after getting beat doesn't it.

Boring!

You try to create a problem for Sam at ANY opportunity because you want him to fail so badly - its Sad!