[Archived] Sam Allardyce

[LeChuck]

Hughes never had the amount of money to spend that Allardyce had last season.

But then Hughes was never asked to drop the value of his squad by £15 million in a single window, which is basically what Allardyce had to do last summer.

It's very misleading to mention the amount spent without also mentioning the amount sold!

[92er]

But then Hughes was never asked to drop the value of his squad by £15 million in a single window, which is basically what Allardyce had to do last summer.

It's very misleading to mention the amount spent without also mentioning the amount sold!

I can't actually see the relevance of this and never have done.

Allardyce was able to replace a striker who was regularly injured and had what was by our standards a reasonable transfer fund.

As a club who at that stage had to sell, the funds not spent on new players went towards covering other expenses/debts, which I find more than reasonable.

[S15]

I can't actually see the relevance of this and never have done.

Allardyce was able to replace a striker who was regularly injured and had what was by our standards a reasonable transfer fund.

As a club who at that stage had to sell, the funds not spent on new players went towards covering other expenses/debts, which I find more than reasonable.

No, he had to sell Santa Cruz for £17m and Warnock for £7m. That's £24m worth of player gone and roughly £8m to replace them.

Can never recall Hughes working at a deficit of £16m.

[92er]

No, he had to sell Santa Cruz for £17m and Warnock for £7m. That's £24m worth of player gone and roughly £8m to replace them.

Can never recall Hughes working at a deficit of £16m.

You can't spend a deficit.

You can, however, spend £8 million.

Hughes never had such a transfer fund.

[T4E]

...........because he never sold £24m worth of players.

BTW - in 2005 Hughes paid £5m for Bellamy without bringing in a fee for anyone. 2006-07 he spent £11m (Roberts £3m, Benni £2.5m, Ooijer £2m, Dunn £2m, Warnock £1.5m) and only recouped £4.5m (all according to Soccerbase).

Those days are long gone.

[rebelmswar]

All this "When Hughes was here he made water into wine" stuff is begining to sound trite and frankly sad, sounds very much like the uncle in Napoleon Dynamite reminiscing on how great a football player he was, and how he could throw a football over a mountain. It is water under the bridge and no one should forget that he pimped himself out to get out of here. He knew what was coming and bolted.

We have Sam now - with the burnt out husk of a team that Hughes steered to those victories. Sam has been given little money and with what he has been given he has spent rather wisely. People have bemoaned the lack of youth, he has rectified that: Zonzi, Jones, Olsson, Niko have all been given their chances and done very well, and have all come about in the Sam era. People gnash their teeth about the wages of Salgado but he has more fire and determination than a player half his years and if you think for one second that that is not rubbing off on the players you are mad.

Sam may not be the best but he is trying with what he has - we are one of the very few clubs that have actually made more money on transfers out than we have spent on transfers in. Cut the man some slack. I am still amazed that he kept us up with that cluster (Please don't use that word again) that was our team when he took over.

[AJW]

the whole "i'd rather have Hughes than Allardyce" debate is pointless ..Hughes chose to leave us ..get over it... i dont like Allardyce , i don't like his version of football, i dont like his negative outlook to games , i dont like his stubborn persona , i don't like the way he conducts his interviews in that awful monotone brummie accent, i dont like the fact he would rather pick 11 athletes rather than 11 better footballers , i dont like his blinkered faith in some players but i cannot think of a better manager for a club wanting to stay in the PL with no money , he will get points to keep us up , he will pick up a pigs ear and turn it into a silk purse , he has transformed the club from the debacle that Paul Ince and we have a crop of talented young players that will get even better and if Uncle Ali really is going to pump some cash in the future looks good

Allardyce is knowhere near perfect but he'll do ......for the time being

[waggy]

the whole "i'd rather have Hughes than Allardyce" debate is pointless ..Hughes chose to leave us ..get over it... i dont like Allardyce , i don't like his version of football, i dont like his negative outlook to games , i dont like his stubborn persona , i don't like the way he conducts his interviews in that awful monotone brummie accent, i dont like the fact he would rather pick 11 athletes rather than 11 better footballers , i dont like his blinkered faith in some players but i cannot think of a better manager for a club wanting to stay in the PL with no money , he will get points to keep us up , he will pick up a pigs ear and turn it into a silk purse , he has transformed the club from the debacle that Paul Ince and we have a crop of talented young players that will get even better and if Uncle Ali really is going to pump some cash in the future looks good

Allardyce is knowhere near perfect but he'll do ......for the time being

great post apart from the last line

[rebelmswar]

great post apart from the last line

i cannot think of a better manager for a club wanting to stay in the PL with no money , he will get points to keep us up , he will pick up a pigs ear and turn it into a silk purse , he has transformed the club from the debacle that Paul Ince and we have a crop of talented young players that will get even better and if Uncle Ali really is going to pump some cash in the future looks good

I am so glad that you finally agree with all of the rest.

[Sysagent]

great post apart from the last line

I have just fallen of my seat...

[92er]

...........because he never sold £24m worth of players.(BUT HE DID WELL TO SPOT THE TALENT IN THE FIRST PLACE)

BTW - in 2005 Hughes paid £5m for Bellamy without bringing in a fee for anyone. 2006-07 he spent £11m (Roberts £3m, Benni £2.5m, Ooijer £2m, Dunn £2m, Warnock £1.5m) and only recouped £4.5m (all according to Soccerbase).

(the price quoted in the papers re Bellamy was £3.75 mil. Did he buy Roberts and Benni in the same season?)

Those days are long gone.

[gumboots]

Do I assume you believe that it was the players who turned in the brilliant first half performance because they ignored the manager's instructions. But in the second half they followed his instructions and were therefore shocking as a result. The players I was watching last night were the same at the start of the second half as those that had dominated the first. The difference was that Villa upped their game and our players found it difficult to live with them.

I'm not sure how the manager can be blamed for Emerton losing his footing in front of goal with an empty net in front of him. Is it the manager's fault that the right side of midfield and defence went missing on the first goal and that the goalkeeper got his angles all wrong and gave Heskey three quarters of the goal to aim at? Is it the manager's fault that we failed to do the simple things like passing and marking - which we had done brilliantly in the first half? Was Samba following the manager's instructions when he was caught - like the rest of his fellow defenders - ball watching for the third goal?

Ultimately, players must take responsibility for some of this and last night they simply switched off in the second half. When Villa upped their game and became a little more direct at getting at our back four our players began to panic. The pass and move play of the first half disappeared as they struggled to find space.

At the end of the day the players should be able to hold on to a single goal lead far better than they are doing at the moment.

Of course people can dislike the manager but lets be honest, the manager doesn't have a chance with a section of our support. The facebook brigade who didn't want him are never going to give the guy credit - how often have we heard on these boards that anyone could have saved us after Ince. Unfortunately, the fact that Sam is so disliked means the players now have a shield to hide behind when they turn in the type of performance that they did in the second half last night.

I can't talk about last night's match. I couldn't go because I was on directed time at school and had to be there. However, I do know the vibes I was picking up on Monday after the weekend's performance and they were mainly negative. I'm not advocating sacking the manager - I don't think that's necessarily the answer, but I do think that we should be asking some serious questions about what is going on and why it is impossible for our players to hold onto leads and play consistently for 94 or 95 minutes. Now I know allardyce is not on the pitch and can't therefore directly affect the play but his choices, half time talks and insructions, his use of subs and the way he sets the team up have to be questioned if we keep throwing away leads. I never wanted the man as is well-known but I've tried very hard to be fair to him because he is the manager we have. However, I feel that the patience of many of the fans I speak to is wearing thin. Yes, he had little to no cash to spend, but with the players he has I still feel we should be able to go on to get a second goal and close games out some of the time.

[47er]

Nicko has stated Allardyce had some money this close season-just not enough to buy his targets.

Hughes never had the amount of money to spend that Allardyce had last season.

Not enough to buy any targets apparently!

[Miker]

I'm not advocating sacking the manager - I don't think that's necessarily the answer, but I do think that we should be asking some serious questions about what is going on and why it is impossible for our players to hold onto leads and play consistently for 94 or 95 minutes. Now I know allardyce is not on the pitch and can't therefore directly affect the play but his choices, half time talks and insructions, his use of subs and the way he sets the team up have to be questioned if we keep throwing away leads. I never wanted the man as is well-known but I've tried very hard to be fair to him because he is the manager we have. However, I feel that the patience of many of the fans I speak to is wearing thin. Yes, he had little to no cash to spend, but with the players he has I still feel we should be able to go on to get a second goal and close games out some of the time.

Guys, enough's enough. We're 5 games in - give it a rest. Go find yourselves a day job and take a chill pill because you guys definitely need both.

I suppose everyone's already forgotten our end of season results?

Bolton 3-0 win

Chelsea 1-1 draw

Burnley 1-0 win

Man Utd 0-0 draw

Arsenal 2-1 win

Aston Villa 1-0 win

I suppose everyone's already forgotten we've spent a total of 0 on transfers, while virtually every other club has strengthened.

Come back and have a moan about the manager in a few months if we're struggling at the bottom of the table, doing it now is just embarassing to watch.

[Doaksie]

Sam on last night:

"A game lasts 90 minutes, not 45 minutes, It seems to be quite a problem for us the second half. We have got in front in most games we have played in and not managed to maintain our lead.

"We can't find the right determination to hang on to a lead. We have got in front six times out of seven this year and have only won two games.

"It shows you how well we are doing in the first half but then we just capitulate. We did it again last night and I have to question the lad's attitude about coping with a team that is going to change the way they play."

I really have to question the part in bold. Sam seems to imply that he HAS to question the players, because it can't be his fault. Not that it comes as a surprise...

You know that big pay packet you get in the post every month Sammy-boy. Well, during games, pull your thumb out of your obtusely large posterior and earn some of it please.

[rebelmswar]

Sam on last night:

"A game lasts 90 minutes, not 45 minutes, It seems to be quite a problem for us the second half. We have got in front in most games we have played in and not managed to maintain our lead.

"We can't find the right determination to hang on to a lead. We have got in front six times out of seven this year and have only won two games.

"It shows you how well we are doing in the first half but then we just capitulate. We did it again last night and I have to question the lad's attitude about coping with a team that is going to change the way they play."

I really have to question the part in bold. Sam seems to imply that he HAS to question the players, because it can't be his fault. Not that it comes as a surprise...

You know that big pay packet you get in the post every month Sammy-boy. Well, during games, pull your thumb out of your obtusely large posterior and earn some of it please.

Maybe his ass should stay in the stand for the whole game. Whatever happens happens whenever he comes to the touchline. Maybe the lads understand McDonald better or something, or maybe Sam's sheer sexual charisma puts them off.

[den]

Sam on last night:

"A game lasts 90 minutes, not 45 minutes, It seems to be quite a problem for us the second half. We have got in front in most games we have played in and not managed to maintain our lead.

"We can't find the right determination to hang on to a lead. We have got in front six times out of seven this year and have only won two games.

"It shows you how well we are doing in the first half but then we just capitulate. We did it again last night and I have to question the lad's attitude about coping with a team that is going to change the way they play."

I really have to question the part in bold. Sam seems to imply that he HAS to question the players, because it can't be his fault. Not that it comes as a surprise...

You know that big pay packet you get in the post every month Sammy-boy. Well, during games, pull your thumb out of your obtusely large posterior and earn some of it please.

"Sam seems to imply that he HAS to question the players, because it can't be his fault."

No he doesn't, that's what you would like to believe. I mean, god help those players out there earning tens of thousands a week. They can't be expected to cope with the opposition can they?

[rebelmswar]

I agree Den, I mean what do people expect? Sam to be running around after them with a whip demanding that they agree that their name is indeed Toby?

[Doaksie]

No he doesn't, that's what you would like to believe.

I really wouldn't. Not even sure why I would want that.

[gumboots]

Guys, enough's enough. We're 5 games in - give it a rest. Go find yourselves a day job and take a chill pill because you guys definitely need both.

I suppose everyone's already forgotten our end of season results?

Bolton 3-0 win

Chelsea 1-1 draw

Burnley 1-0 win

Man Utd 0-0 draw

Arsenal 2-1 win

Aston Villa 1-0 win

I suppose everyone's already forgotten we've spent a total of 0 on transfers, while virtually every other club has strengthened.

Come back and have a moan about the manager in a few months if we're struggling at the bottom of the table, doing it now is just embarassing to watch.

Sorry but I already have a day job. And this is just typical of the head in the sand attitude of some fans on here. I'm not moaning. I'm telling you what I'm hearing from season ticket holders I know. I'm asking questions. To be honest, with the games we have coming up we could easily be in big trouble soon. It's no use looking back at last season. Other teams have strengthened. It's no good saying that last night was the Carling cup and therefore matters less. It's just not true. Every game matters. Every loss chips away at confidence. It's no good putting in a half decent performance like at City and then throwing away leads against Fulham at home. And it can't all be down to the players. The manager is paid a large amount to do his job and get it right at least as often as he gets it wrong. At the moment I don't see us scoring enough goals to win a game given that we generally concede at least one. I see strikers isolated, midfielders being bypassed by a defence that puts the ball as far as possible down the field at every opportunity. I see players like Jones out of position in midfield. I'm not hysterical. I don't want the manager's head on a platter. I just want to see a performance where I can take real pleasure in the result and some in the performance. Is that actually too much to ask because if it is, I wish someone had told me sooner.

[rovgers]

Big Sam is doing an interview on talkspurt during the 'drive' segment. He's going to be talking about the 'long ball' tag and his ambitions.

Should be interesting, wonder if he's any news about the takeover!

[gumboots]

That's almost hysterical Gumboots and most unlike you. Anyone can come on here and say exactly what they like but they can't expect to control how others respond because they have the same rights as you! Nobody thinks Sam is perfect or above criticism but we shouldn't forget that a fair few on here wanted Ince to be given more time and wanted Allardyce over their dead bodies.

Personally I don't think we'll amount to much whatever manager we have till a takeover goes through.If Sam isn't good enough then he'll have to go.

Thank you for that. Except there are those who give the impression that to voice concern over the manager's actions and decisions is to fail to support the team. When I go to matches I am not critical- that's not the time for it. But when anyone asks here, is some of the problem we have in closing games out, building on leads etc down to the manager's decisions, it is immediately jumped on. I respect the right of anyone to say they think that the manager is doing a great job if there are those who think that. And just because I personally don't think so I will not accuse them of not supporting the team and club fully. I think questions have to be asked about our manager, some of the publicity he's courted recently, some of the second half performances we've apparently put in this season. And so on. And I was one of those who really didn't want Allardyce, have never felt comfortable with him as our manager, but I don't think that sacking him is the answer either. I don't want a knee jerk reaction, just a sensible debate on what i and increasing numbers of people I speak to see as problems that stem from the way our team is apparently instructed to play, from the manager's decisions etc.

[LeChuck]

Big Sam is doing an interview on talkspurt during the 'drive' segment. He's going to be talking about the 'long ball' tag and his ambitions.

Should be interesting, wonder if he's any news about the takeover!

I was reading This BBC article on Klinsmann earlier, and it says at the bottom he'll also be on Football Focus (with the full Klinsmann piece and Tevez) this Saturday.

It seems like he's doing a media piece every day at the moment. Hopefully the Talksport and Football Focus ones are an attempt to restore some dignity and not create more chaos.

[rovgers]

I don't know but there was a clip played were he said "we've got great players at club" then says " there are better players at other teams"

Sam, sometimes honesty is not always the best policy!

[Paul]

Sorry but I already have a day job. And this is just typical of the head in the sand attitude of some fans on here. I'm not moaning. I'm telling you what I'm hearing from season ticket holders I know. I'm asking questions. To be honest, with the games we have coming up we could easily be in big trouble soon. It's no use looking back at last season. Other teams have strengthened. It's no good saying that last night was the Carling cup and therefore matters less. It's just not true. Every game matters. Every loss chips away at confidence. It's no good putting in a half decent performance like at City and then throwing away leads against Fulham at home. And it can't all be down to the players. The manager is paid a large amount to do his job and get it right at least as often as he gets it wrong. At the moment I don't see us scoring enough goals to win a game given that we generally concede at least one. I see strikers isolated, midfielders being bypassed by a defence that puts the ball as far as possible down the field at every opportunity. I see players like Jones out of position in midfield. I'm not hysterical. I don't want the manager's head on a platter. I just want to see a performance where I can take real pleasure in the result and some in the performance. Is that actually too much to ask because if it is, I wish someone had told me sooner.

Thank you for that. Except there are those who give the impression that to voice concern over the manager's actions and decisions is to fail to support the team. When I go to matches I am not critical- that's not the time for it. But when anyone asks here, is some of the problem we have in closing games out, building on leads etc down to the manager's decisions, it is immediately jumped on. I respect the right of anyone to say they think that the manager is doing a great job if there are those who think that. And just because I personally don't think so I will not accuse them of not supporting the team and club fully. I think questions have to be asked about our manager, some of the publicity he's courted recently, some of the second half performances we've apparently put in this season. And so on. And I was one of those who really didn't want Allardyce, have never felt comfortable with him as our manager, but I don't think that sacking him is the answer either. I don't want a knee jerk reaction, just a sensible debate on what i and increasing numbers of people I speak to see as problems that stem from the way our team is apparently instructed to play, from the manager's decisions etc.

I think these are two great posts. I know three people who have stopped going because "it's not worth it." Each have a longish trek to get to Ewood and find other things to do. As one of them is my son I'm especially disappointed, but I understand. The football is terrible to watch and if I didn't have another son to take with me I've a feeling I might make the same choice for some, though, not all games.

The points gumboots makes are there for everyone to see at every match. Those who criticise people who speak out seem unable to acknowledge there is room for debate. You won't find a fan who thinks about these things sensibly calling for the manager to be sacked, it's true there isn't an alternative. My big worry is I've seen with my own eyes this team can play but it happens so rarely one has to wonder what the manager is instructing them to do.....then absolving himself of responsibility when it goes badly wrong.

We are going to get beat at Blackpool on Saturday because we won't score enough goals.