[Archived] Sam Allardyce

[47er]

Nothing is GUARANTEED. On the contrary, just 3/4 months ago it looked as though the man, who so many on here are vehemently defending, was dead certain to get us relegated. Selective memory much?

Even if you look at the table now, we may be in 11th place but we've only got 44 points and look unlikely to add to that total considering our remaining fixtures. Now in any other season, a meager tally of just 44 points would have us right in the midst of the relegation dogfight. So if anything, our relative success this season has been more a consequence of how poor the rest of the League has been rather than Allardyce's jaw-droppingly-awesome managerial ability.

I can put aside all of his tactical deficiencies. But the one thing that really sticks in my throat is that Sam is sucking the life and soul out of this club. There is no ambition, no guts, no glory. If for no other reason than that, I will never be able to accept him as our manager.

Well I never thought we would be relegated. On the contrary, when we were in the middle of that bad spell I was on here calling for patience. But there you are with the negative half of the equation totally ignoring the challenge I put to you.

For your post to be taken seriously, who can do the job better-------at no extra cost, no transfer budget to speak of? Oh and he has to be available. Who? If you want glory you'll have to go somewhere else till we have a new owner and even then who knows?

[thenodrog]

I can put aside all of his tactical deficiencies. But the one thing that really sticks in my throat is that Sam is sucking the life and soul out of this club. There is no ambition, no guts, no glory. If for no other reason than that, I will never be able to accept him as our manager.

Now now harry. Nobody's perfect.

[Hughesy]

1 - On the contrary, just 3/4 months ago it looked as though the man, who so many on here are vehemently defending, was dead certain to get us relegated. Selective memory much?

2 - Now in any other season, a meager tally of just 44 points would have us right in the midst of the relegation dogfight.

3 - So if anything, our relative success this season has been more a consequence of how poor the rest of the League has been rather than Allardyce's jaw-droppingly-awesome managerial ability.

4 - But the one thing that really sticks in my throat is that Sam is sucking the life and soul out of this club. There is no ambition, no guts, no glory. If for no other reason than that, I will never be able to accept him as our manager.

WTF

1 - But he turned it round....abit like Fergie managed at United 20 year ago!! Whats up with that?

2 - When has 44 point EVER had you in the middle of a relegation fight in the prem???

3 - That arguement is nonesense - you can only beat what is put infront of you

4 - Guts? One of the best teams at fighting back, a solid home record.....Glory? Semi Final this year...what more do you want? Ambition being what? Top 6? FFS we are still in a fight for a realistic 10th, despite a negative budget last summer.

[MarkBRFC71]

Its not like the world is caving in - its just a slight opportunity for the doubters to try and stick the knife in - despite the fact we have improved massively since Sam came in.

Add in a Semi Final (Probably game of the year) + results against the big boys at home again!!

The answer to that is 'Wait & see' - but for the time being its about time he got 100% backing from our fans!! Even Mardarse!!

I've said it before, when you look at our season on paper - 13th likely in the league, cup semi - then you think we've done OK.

But I've had to sit through some of the worst performances, and negative, agricultural, anti-football, percentage-based dross that I've ever been unfortunate enough to witness in 30 years of going to Ewood and occasionally away - and that's largely due to the manager's ethos.

IF BFS can change and try to be (1) more positive, and (2) try to play more football then maybe the half of Rovers fans who aren't keen might come round.

Those are two big 'IF's though .... which is why I remain to be convinced.

[Hughesy]

IF BFS can change and try to be (1) more positive, and (2) try to play more football then maybe the half of Rovers fans who aren't keen might come round.

Those are two big 'IF's though .... which is why I remain to be convinced.

I think the 1st 1 had become more or a need to win games, than be positive following our poor run up to the City game....im sure if we can start next season better then we will see more positive play & more ambition to beat certain teams.

As for the 2nd part, Sam has already said 1 of the targets is that he wants to see more football & more open-play goals next season. Aswell as improving our away win tally....

[Al]

I'm happy with 13th place but I have to confess that for the first time in many years I am considering wether or not to renew my season ticket this time. The football has been so dire as to be no longer entertaining to watch and I am not sure that I can stand another season of it.

I probably will renew because it's in my blood but I have been very disappointed with the Sam brand of football.

[LeChuck]

Now in any other season, a meager tally of just 44 points would have us right in the midst of the relegation dogfight.

I couldn't be bothered checking any further back, but 44 points wouldn't have finished below 13th in the last three years. We've still got two games left as well.

I'm not touching anything that's subjective because you blatantly wouldn't listen, so I'll just go with hard facts which show you up.

Keep going though please, it's entertaining.

[Al]

I'm happy with 13th place but I have to confess that for the first time in many years I am considering wether or not to renew my season ticket this time. The football has been so dire as to be no longer entertaining to watch and I am not sure that I can stand another season of it.

I probably will renew because it's in my blood but I have been very disappointed with the Sam brand of football and the owners' refusal to support the club.

[Harry Balls]

For your post to be taken seriously, who can do the job better-------at no extra cost, no transfer budget to speak of? Oh and he has to be available. Who? If you want glory you'll have to go somewhere else till we have a new owner and even then who knows?

Frankly, I'm too old to play silly buggers. If you want to partake in these hypothetical games then you'll have to seek another opponent. Your amigo Hughesy is usually enough of an imbecile to bite but the fear of Sam squeezing his buttocks may put him off this time.

Nonetheless, my post was nothing more than my opinion, albeit coupled with a few Rafa-style 'facts'. If you think Allardyce is the be-all and end-all of this football club, then so be it. However, you, and the dozens of other Sam-ettes on this board, have to realize that no-one is exempt from criticism. There have been countless occasions this season where Sam's lack of desire and tactical failings have cost our club. And I maintain that had the rest of the league not been so poor, then we wouldn't be sitting as rosily as we are now.

In my opinion, Sam has been incredibly fortunate this season. And, for the sake of our club, I hope to God that this fortune does not dry up.

[thenodrog]

..... and the owners' refusal to support the club.

wtf!!! You're objecting to spending a measly couple of hundred quid on watching the club you support and yet expect a bloke who hates football to flush millions down the pan cos his Dad did?!

You need a reallity check Al.

Truth is the club and manager have done OK with little or no money so why change anything? Isn't it better to squirrel some away for a rainy day when the 'investment' really does need rescuing? Money is only spent once you know.

[47er]

Definitely not Curbishley, I'd rather give Ince to the end of the season.

Sorry Philip--couldn't resist!

[Hughesy]

However, you, and the dozens of other Sam-ettes on this board, have to realize that no-one is exempt from criticism.

You and the rest of the puppets need to realise this - nobody is exempt from criticsm, and nobody says they are, everyone on this board has given some critiscm - however their is no need for the over-reaction every time we take a point instead of 3, or lose to a bigger club...The reaction is soooo predicatble, its almost like waiting for a woman to hit her time of the month again....

FFS you pop up when a result goes against us....if it doesnt go against us then 'It was dull & we got lucky'......No point talking crap about 'What if the rest were better' - they aint, FACTS (NON RAFA STYLEEEEE) prove we are within the best 13 teams in the top league in England & have improved since last season.

Again you talk about tactical failures, but what about Tactical successes? Or can we not look at anything positive in your life??

[Harry Balls]

Man, you really are steaming ahead as the best contender for the biggest retard on here, aren't you?

I couldn't be bothered checking any further back, but 44 points wouldn't have finished below 13th in the last three years. We've still got two games left as well.

I'm not touching anything that's subjective because you blatantly wouldn't listen, so I'll just go with hard facts which show you up.

Keep going though please, it's entertaining.

Love it. I'm a 'retard' because I'm not a fan of Sam. Heaven only knows what you'd think if I voted Labour.

Anyway, name calling aside, all I've done is state what I believe to be Sam's failings. If you don't like it, that's fine, it is only my opinion after all. But, if you insist on responding, then at least have the courtesy to put aside the snide remarks and say something useful. Surely that's not too much to ask from somebody of your superior intellect?

[47er]

Frankly, I'm too old to play silly buggers. If you want to partake in these hypothetical games then you'll have to seek another opponent. Your amigo Hughesy is usually enough of an imbecile to bite but the fear of Sam squeezing his buttocks may put him off this time.

Nonetheless, my post was nothing more than my opinion, albeit coupled with a few Rafa-style 'facts'. If you think Allardyce is the be-all and end-all of this football club, then so be it. However, you, and the dozens of other Sam-ettes on this board, have to realize that no-one is exempt from criticism. There have been countless occasions this season where Sam's lack of desire and tactical failings have cost our club. And I maintain that had the rest of the league not been so poor, then we wouldn't be sitting as rosily as we are now.

In my opinion, Sam has been incredibly fortunate this season. And, for the sake of our club, I hope to God that this fortune does not dry up.

To be "incredibly fortunate" we'd have had to finish 4th from bottom on the last day like Everton and Fulham did or have a vital "goal" counted which was handball, offside and never went in--- like West Ham. Instead we have amassed 44 points with 2 games to go and,as far as I remember, never were in the bottom 3 all season. Look its all opinion and I have criticised Sam on occasions for being too cautious but we will never go down while he's in charge. For me that's all that matters for the foreseeable future. I hope the quality of the football improves and that we score more goals but that is more down to the owners than the manager.

[LeChuck]

Love it. I'm a 'retard' because I'm not a fan of Sam. Heaven only knows what you'd think if I voted Labour.

Yeah sorry, bit grouchy today, I did try to edit that out!

I deliberately tried to avoid subjective things, I just picked on the stats. I can understand people not being a fan of Sam.

I notice you haven't mentioned the 44 points thing, despite it being wrong.

[Blue blood]

To be honest the only real complaint we can have against Sam is the style of football. It is pretty dire to watch, even out wins are usually not that pretty. I hope what Hughesy has said about the style is true rather than a bit of Sam PR - when did Sam say these comments btw, would like to read them - not just because the football can be pretty turgid to watch but also because we are rather good when we play decent football as we've shown at times. We have to remember that is a team in transition, which coupled with the budget means that it'll take a while to get exciting football be it of the long, short, or as I hope/suspect mixed ball variety.

Sam seems to have made very few errors in the transfer market. I don't think any player has really been a dud. Salgado to me isn't the best use of wages but hasn't looked dire, N'Zonzi has slotted in very nicely, and Kalinic has shown enough to demonstrate that he not only has a lot of talent, but a lot of bad luck. In the cases of Kalinic and N'Zonzi both I think will given time develop into very good players. He's also go rid of players at the right time, bar Warnock. I'm not sure whether Rocky or Benni was better business, but both were fantastic sales.

He's also brought on some good youngsters. Olsson has been around for ages looking a dodge left back - low and behold under Sam he now is a good left midfielder. Jones also seems to have slotted in easily too. Sam has also addressed the centre of midfield using Peds and Emerton in the centre, showing he recognises we need to have some players in the centre who can do both the attacking and defending and make an all round contribution.

Our league position is where it should be. I said 14th was the minimum I expected plus (hopefully) a good cup run. Both have been achieved so no complaints there. We've also stopped rolling over to the big boys, one of the more unpalitable things at the start of Sam's reign.

Sure the guy could do with a bit of PR work. I also think he is far too risk averse in games - like West Ham at home - which is immensely frustrating. And yes it'd be helpful if he didn't play the likes of Roberts and Andrews, but he has to work with what he has, rather than what he wants. And with no money available this is so much harder. However, there are so many positives that I think we should go into next season encouraged. Hopefully as time goes on and Sam moulds the team into his, he'll be more confident in them to go for the win, to play exciting football, and we won't have any cart horses in the squad.

With a bit more time, a bit of luck, and a not-too oppressive budget, these could be some very good years for Blackburn Rovers.

[Al]

wtf!!! You're objecting to spending a measly couple of hundred quid on watching the club you support and yet expect a bloke who hates football to flush millions down the pan cos his Dad did?!

You need a reallity check Al.

Truth is the club and manager have done OK with little or no money so why change anything? Isn't it better to squirrel some away for a rainy day when the 'investment' really does need rescuing? Money is only spent once you know.

I expect nothing. The reality is that the football is no longer worth watching. It's not the money I pay that I have a problem with, it's the lack of entertainment when I go to Ewood. As I said I'm happy with 13th place. It's the way we get there that is boring.

Do you go out of your way to alienate everybody on this site Gordon or are you just naturally argumentative? You could start a fight in an empty room.

[unluckymorton]

To be "incredibly fortunate" we'd have had to finish 4th from bottom on the last day like Everton and Fulham did or have a vital "goal" counted which was handball, offside and never went in--- like West Ham. Instead we have amassed 44 points with 2 games to go and,as far as I remember, never were in the bottom 3 all season. Look its all opinion and I have criticised Sam on occasions for being too cautious but we will never go down while he's in charge. For me that's all that matters for the foreseeable future. I hope the quality of the football improves and that we score more goals but that is more down to the owners than the manager.

Sam has said something similar on the clubs official website. More goals and improved individual performances will see us have a successful season next season. As for the comment by Harry on this season being a fortunate one, much to the contrary. We have been unfortunate in many games, games where we could and should have picked up maximum points but didn't as happened on Saturday.

With a good striker and creative midfielder added to the squad we can come on leaps and bounds next season. Look at Sunderland, they are on the same points as us with a 25 goal a season striker! With players like N'Zonzi and Olsson staring week in week out, Junior doing chomping at the bit to break through, Phil Jones playing like a mega millions signing and a little more cash to spend in the closed season, to me next season seems very bright indeed.

I think we've more than just survived this season, a majority of us would have taken the position we are in before the season started. We've got to be realistic about our expectations of the club and remember to be patient as Sam slowly improves our squad and position in the league.

Love it. I'm a 'retard' because I'm not a fan of Sam. Heaven only knows what you'd think if I voted Labour.

You're old enough to vote?

[Harry Balls]

Yeah sorry, bit grouchy today, I did try to edit that out!

I deliberately tried to avoid subjective things, I just picked on the stats. I can understand people not being a fan of Sam.

I notice you haven't mentioned the 44 points thing, despite it being wrong.

No worries. I am indeed a retard, so it's all good.

Regarding the 44 point thing; I guess the point that I was trying to make is that although it has sitting pretty comfortably in mid-table this season, it probably wouldn't in most other seasons. You can obviously turn that around to say that we've been unfortunate not to have not gained more points than that and I would agree. However, I would also argue that had our manager shown more ambition in many of the games that we had been unfortunate in, then we would not be sitting here speaking of our lack of fortune. To which you would no doubt reply that had we been more ambitious then we may have lost several points along way, leading us back to where we are currently sitting. And we would have continued on down this futile line of discourse until the end of eternity (or at least until Sam was no longer our manager).

So, for that reason, and that reason alone, I decided not to mention your point. Although statistically you are indeed correct.

[broadsword]

It used to be that 42 points was the magic number required to ensure you stayed up.

Then it was 40, these days, if you get 38 points, you have a pretty good chance of staying up. Just goes to show how poor 2/3rd's of the top flight is these days.

Has anyone really, truly, been entertained by the football this season?

Sam has said something similar on the clubs official website. More goals and improved individual performances will see us have a successful season next season.

You're old enough to vote?

That isn't necessarily the same as quality football. It may just be the same style of football, but more chances put away.

[unluckymorton]

It used to be that 42 points was the magic number required to ensure you stayed up.

Then it was 40, these days, if you get 38 points, you have a pretty good chance of staying up. Just goes to show how poor 2/3rd's of the top flight is these days.

Has anyone really, truly, been entertained by the football this season?

That isn't necessarily the same as quality football. It may just be the same style of football, but more chances put away.

The same style of football with the end product is far more entertaining Bryan.

[Hughesy]

To be honest the only real complaint we can have against Sam is the style of football. It is pretty dire to watch, even out wins are usually not that pretty. I hope what Hughesy has said about the style is true rather than a bit of Sam PR - when did Sam say these comments btw, would like to read them - not just because the football can be pretty turgid to watch but also because we are rather good when we play decent football as we've shown at times. We have to remember that is a team in transition, which coupled with the budget means that it'll take a while to get exciting football be it of the long, short, or as I hope/suspect mixed ball variety.

Part of his interview is on the official site - mentions open play goals, more clean sheets, better away etc

[jim mk2]

But the one thing that really sticks in my throat is that Sam is sucking the life and soul out of this club. There is no ambition, no guts, no glory. If for no other reason than that, I will never be able to accept him as our manager.

Allardyce has his deficiencies but then so do many managers. And yes there have been some poor games this season but there have been some exciting ones too. Just like under Hughes's management, and Souness for that matter. To suggest Allardyce is "sucking the life and soul out of the club" is dramatic nonsense - true fans will support the club whoever is in charge which is obviously not the case with you. Have you thought of spending your Saturdays doing something else - pottery-making classes for instance ?

[Amo]

The only defence of our playing style is that it's a circumstance of our poor finances and quality. Apparently Ince tried to turn us into a footballing side and that only proved it leads to relegation. I'd say Ince's problem was the lack of organisation and respect from the players which caused his downfall, not necessarily the playing style. The point I wanted to make is that, to an extent, we cannot compete with a lot of Premiership teams in the footballing department. However, if you're saying we cannot control possession FULL STOP, then I ask what we're paying our players multi-million wages for. Because that's what people are implying, that our players are only capable of hoofing it whenever they receive the ball, and to ask them to attempt anything else would be suicide. Sorry, but I'm not buying into that ONE BIT.

[philipl]

Sam is doing a damned good job now but he is not as good as Sparky was. We were spoilt rotten by what Sparky achieved for us but despite making more mistakes than Sparky did and playing more rigid systems, I wouldn't bet against Sam lifting us into Europa contention next season one way or another regardless of how tight the purse strings are this summer.