[Archived] Sam Allardyce

[S15]

Everything den says is spot on.

People get far too hung up on tactics, the reason we did so well against Chelsea was because for the first time in weeks the PLAYERS ACTUALLY PERFORMED.

Maybe this takeover will kick a few up the backside.

[BuckyRover]

Whose responsibily is that?

That's the point!

[S15]

Whose responsibily is that?

That's the point!

The players responsibility.

They've all been out in their number recently saying what a great manager he is, so maybe it's them who should take the flack more often.

Allardyce is far more proven at this level than a lot of our players.

[Miker]

The tactics and formation didn't change from the usual, it's just that we actually started playing like we're supposed to in Sam's style. There was more support in attack and passes actually reaching their targets.

Sam obviously wants us to play the way we played against Chelsea, not to hoof it aimlessly. Anyone that believes otherwise is kidding themselves. He was just finally able to get us playing the way we're meant to.

[den]

The tactics and formation didn't change from the usual, it's just that we actually started playing like we're supposed to in Sam's style. There was more support in attack and passes actually reaching their targets.

Sam obviously wants us to play the way we played against Chelsea, not to hoof it aimlessly. Anyone that believes otherwise is kidding themselves. He was just finally able to get us playing the way we're meant to.

Exactly right Miker.

[Miker]

Also I think we stopped with the long throws because Pedersen reads these boards and all the criticism has got to him! (that's my bogus theory for this thread anyway)

[Neil Weaver]

Coincidence that I found quite interesting, no doubt our resident soothsayers will read all sorts into it..........

Remember playing Chelsea in the League Cup last year? Everyone was thinking we'd get thumped and play our familiar 'long ball' game. Whilst it wasn't as strong a Chelsea side as Saturday, still very decent. We played well above my (and probably most here) expectations without as much 'long ball' as we'd grown used to. Draw your own conclusions.

[den]

Coincidence that I found quite interesting, no doubt our resident soothsayers will read all sorts into it..........

Remember playing Chelsea in the League Cup last year? Everyone was thinking we'd get thumped and play our familiar 'long ball' game. Whilst it wasn't as strong a Chelsea side as Saturday, still very decent. We played well above my (and probably most here) expectations without as much 'long ball' as we'd grown used to. Draw your own conclusions.

Honest question for you.

Do you think the long ball is highlighted more, when you have a striker/s that struggle to bring that ball under control? Drogba was bringing long balls down all afternoon quite brilliantly, but I doubt the Chelsea fans have a problem with that.

[ABBEY]

didnt see /hear the game as i was in london ,like this weekend too. had a few beers with some stoke fans who detest there way of playing too and they are not renewing at the end of the season.

[Miker]

Exactly right Miker.

I played football for years and not once did I have a coach that encouraged us to hoof the ball non-stop and not try to score. Even when I played in a really horrible team, we were instructed to play it simple at the back, but when we finally had possession of the ball, we were expected to do something with it by the coach, not punt it aimlessly up field or pass it back once in the opponent's half. Any poor play was down to the players, not the coach.

The coach needs to motivate the players, mould the right system for all 11 players and ensure they're completing their duties effectively on the pitch. Everything else is down to the players.

[Neil Weaver]

Honest question for you.

Do you think the long ball is highlighted more, when you have a striker/s that struggle to bring that ball under control? Drogba was bringing long balls down all afternoon quite brilliantly, but I doubt the Chelsea fans have a problem with that.

Den, I'm really not pushing any agenda, I'd guess our views are not far apart. To your question, yes I think it is, a large part being the amount of time involved (eg from a free kick 10 yards in our half, out trots Robbo to take it, Samba trots forward, and 30 secs after the ref has given the free kick, we take it). By the way I don't remember Drogba bringing a long ball down brilliantly all afternoon, I do remember Malouda doing for their first goal though! Apologies if I've missed one or two though, it's age! Mostly though I seem to remember Chelsea's long balls forward just being flicked on - if our defence didn't get there first.

[MarkBRFC71]

What is your problem with everyone? You're not even making any points, just making snide remarks about others.

Double post.

[MarkBRFC71]

No I wasn't disagreeing with you there Sambo. There's every chance that he thought that looping long throws onto the heads of Terry and Alex, with Czech waiting to mop up the rest, wouldn't yield much.

Every credit to the manager eh?

Well some folk who reckon that Sam can't, and never has played anything other than hoofball, are now saying he did it just to impress the Indians. Hardly consistent is it? It's ridiculous.

Again, what did he change tactically? How was the formation any different? He didn't and it wasn't.

Bottom line is that Rovers played well. Benjani made a big difference in the way that his movement gave Chelsea problems all the time he was on. He could turn and run at them, while getting shots away, he was also bringing the other front runners into the game better and the result of that was a far better brand of free flowing football.

This wasn't the only reason for the really good performance though, because there were some really good performances from other players as well. Unfortunately, we still don't have the quality of player to be able to do that week in, week out. When we are put under pressure, particularly in away games, we can't cope as well. Only the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd have the players who can play exceptionally well, week in, week out.

So, good positive performance, put Chelsea under pressure most of the afternoon, with better quality up front. Player performances coming together better than of late, all making to what we saw.

Tactically, the team got the 4-5-1 right for once. It gave us the strength of numbers in midfield, while the contribution of Benjani and Roberts, who gave the opponents back four far more to think about, always encouraged the midfielders - in particular the two Dioufs, to get forward. Their back four was never allowed to settle.

Nothing to do with the manager seeing the errors of his ways, or the manager trying to impress new buyers. In my opinion, it was a display that he's been trying to achieve since he's been here.

and no, I'm no Sam apologist. I have mixed views on him, but he doesn't deserve most of the bile that he gets on here.

Say what you want Den, but the single biggest reason for the improvement was that we didn't resort to launching it long almost every time, which is what we've done all season apart from the first half against Arsenal. The stats someone quoted re: long passes and failed passes etc back this up.

If we can play like that against Chelsea - the Champions - then there is no excuse for not doing it against the Wigans, Fulhams and Sunderlands of this league.

The manager changed the tactics, the team hoofed less and passed short more, which slowed play down, and compensated for our lack of pace and mobility in midfield. It suited the team better, which is what many on here could see was required but for some reason BFS refused to change. Thank God he has now.

[den]

Den, I'm really not pushing any agenda,

No, I know you're not. Didn't mean to imply you was.

[47er]

Personally I'm starting to think that a major factor in our improved performance on Saturday was that Kalinic wasn't playing. That plus a higher level of skills from Benjani and Mame Diouf meant we retained the ball for longer and could threaten more. I'd definitely like to see Saturday's line-up continue for the foreseeable future.

I'd also highlight again the huge contribution from EHD who has been excellent just about every game. Bargain for 2M.

[den]

Personally I'm starting to think that a major factor in our improved performance on Saturday was that Kalinic wasn't playing. That plus a higher level of skills from Benjani and Mame Diouf meant we retained the ball for longer and could threaten more. I'd definitely like to see Saturday's line-up continue for the foreseeable future.

I'd also highlight again the huge contribution from EHD who has been excellent just about every game. Bargain for 2M.

Agree with all of that.

[MarkBRFC71]

mould the right system for all 11 players

Unfortunately it's took Sam until Saturday to realise what this was.

[47er]

Unfortunately it's took Sam until Saturday to realise what this was.

Were you one of the many on here who spent the summer calling EHD a waste of space , a drain on the wages bill and an example of the manager's ineptitude in the transfer market?

[beerwins]

Were you one of the many on here who spent the summer calling EHD a waste of space , a drain on the wages bill and an example of the manager's ineptitude in the transfer market?

In all fairness he was guff last year and is hardly a fans favourite but you have to give the guy credit this year he has been our best player by a country mile.

[booth]

In all fairness he was guff last year and is hardly a fans favourite but you have to give the guy credit this year he has been our best player by a country mile.

A good mate of mine went to Sydney and said EH Diouf was great with the fans and was one of the only ones to take time out to hang around with them. Said he was in better shape too. Looks like he really worked on his game/fitness during pre season.

On topic, he said Sam didn't even acknowledge the fans that had travelled.

[Amo]

Benjani is a better target man than Kalinic, but our overall approach to the game was different. I hardly remember us lofting it up for Benjani to do all the donkey work. Players passed and moved the ball forward with poise and confidence, actually giving us strength in numbers, instead of lagging behind the lone striker. The lack of those stupefying long-throws also encouraged us to get the ball down, instead of playing for flicks and knock-ons. It's the kind of performance we saw towards the end of last season.

We all know Sam is about prioritizing matches. Who's to say he didn't see the Chelsea game as a write-off and let the team play with more freedom? As much as Den et al refuse to believe it, it would certainly add up with Saturday's first-half performance. It's also ironic that a few of you credit Sam for our performance but chalk the rest of the season to the players. And you say *I'M* biased?

[LeChuck]

We all know Sam is about prioritizing matches. Who's to say he didn't see the Chelsea game as a write-off and let the team play with more freedom? As much as Den et al refuse to believe it, it would certainly add up with Saturday's first-half performance. It's also ironic that a few of you credit Sam for our performance but chalk the rest of the season to the players. And you say *I'M* biased?

Bloody hell, give it a rest!

You used to be a good poster, but it's just constant nonsense now. The above is a perfect example. I suspect if you read that in a couple of months you'd agree with me. At this present time you've just lost all rationality.

Why don't you try not posting about Sam for a couple of weeks? There are other things to talk about. See how you feel after a Sam-free break. I can count the number of people I've put on 'ignore' on one hand, and it's not a flattering list to be on!

[John]

Wow.

I remember some fans used to dislike/hate Souness but this is taking things to a complete new level. You would think we were cut adrift at the bottom of the table staring relegation in the face.

Also, a reminder, we did not actually get any points at the weekend for all the pretty football we played (yes, surprisingly like most teams do at home, we raised our game against the champions).

[Mattyblue]

A good mate of mine went to Sydney and said EH Diouf was great with the fans and was one of the only ones to take time out to hang around with them. Said he was in better shape too. Looks like he really worked on his game/fitness during pre season.

On topic, he said Sam didn't even acknowledge the fans that had travelled.

I'll stand up for Sam... I'm steering clear of the tactics chat for one day! But my cousin is over in Oz travelling, he had a chat and a photo with Sam in Sydney and sang his praises to me.

[thenodrog]

The manager changed the tactics, the team hoofed less and passed short more, which slowed play down, and compensated for our lack of pace and mobility in midfield. It suited the team better, which is what many on here could see was required but for some reason BFS refused to change. Thank God he has now.

If you think that Allardyce has changed his thoughts on football you are just daft.

btw non of the happy clappy born agains has commented on the amount of space our formation on Sat afforded the opposing full backs. They had the freedom of the park culminating in Ibramovich scoring the winner from close in.

How do we stop other teams exploiting our flanks guys?