[Archived] Sam Allardyce

[Parsonblue]

at half time i was certian dunn or tugay would enter the fray,they offer far more than the axe,but then again skill is not the most important footballing quality in any lardarse team

Dunny is not really fit but I agree that Tugay is far more creative. However, on Saturday it was the holding role that Mokoena was chosen to fill and both Dunny and Tugay are better in creative roles. When we appointed Big Sam as manager we knew that we were getting a manager who is more pragmatic in his approach to the game. With little or no money available to him he is going to have to adopt a style that will get the best out the the resources we have. Sam has given us a chance of staying up which under Ince just didn't look possible.

At the end of the day those who don't want to watch the football on offer at Ewood can vote with their feet and stay away. Those who see the club's survival as more important than style will turn up and back the team.

Whoever we had appointed as manager would have struggled to provide attractive, free-flowing football with the limited resources we have. If Big Sam can do for us what he did for Bolton I suspect that the majority of Rovers fans will be more than happy. At the end of the day, if we stay in the Premiership, the number of season ticket renewals for next season will give a good indication of how Sam's style of football is viewed by the fans. I must admit that I personally don't have a problem with Big Sam as manager. He was the guy I wanted last summer and I am delighted that he is finally here.

[Plastic Head]

The Stoke game should be fun!

It'll be like Steve Backley v Jan Zelezny all over again.

[kandi]

Long ball stuff or what ! Blackburn may need to chage their shirts to white with reebok badges on !

I am convinced the only reason pederson is in the team is because he can throw in a ball like Rory Delap.

It needed someone with skill and speed on Saturday, someone like Matty Derbyshire.With Santa Cruz looking like he will not play for us again, I am amazed that we continue to let Derbyshire be away on loan. Get him back and in the team I say .

Santa Cruz will play for Rovers again,why should he not?

[gumboots]

Santa Cruz will play for Rovers again,why should he not?

Presumably because he's injured and may not "recover" sufficiently well to play again before the end of the season. There are also those who claim he hasn't played this season so far when he's been on the pitch so perhaps he's referring to that too.

[kandi]

Presumably because he's injured and may not "recover" sufficiently well to play again before the end of the season. There are also those who claim he hasn't played this season so far when he's been on the pitch so perhaps he's referring to that too.

The Doctors from our Nationalteam have checked him on Thursday,and they told us he will be fit again in 20 to 25 days...

[thenodrog]

Dunny is not really fit but I agree that Tugay is far more creative. However, on Saturday it was the holding role that Mokoena was chosen to fill and both Dunny and Tugay are better in creative roles. When we appointed Big Sam as manager we knew that we were getting a manager who is more pragmatic in his approach to the game. With little or no money available to him he is going to have to adopt a style that will get the best out the the resources we have. Sam has given us a chance of staying up which under Ince just didn't look possible.

At the end of the day those who don't want to watch the football on offer at Ewood can vote with their feet and stay away. Those who see the club's survival as more important than style will turn up and back the team.

Whoever we had appointed as manager would have struggled to provide attractive, free-flowing football with the limited resources we have. If Big Sam can do for us what he did for Bolton I suspect that the majority of Rovers fans will be more than happy. At the end of the day, if we stay in the Premiership, the number of season ticket renewals for next season will give a good indication of how Sam's style of football is viewed by the fans. I must admit that I personally don't have a problem with Big Sam as manager. He was the guy I wanted last summer and I am delighted that he is finally here.

Correct. And thats why I rather hoped in January that we could have picked up Ivan Campo from Ipaswich on a short term contract to share deep midfield duties with Tugay.

[rover6]

Long ball stuff or what ! Blackburn may need to chage their shirts to white with reebok badges on !

I am convinced the only reason pederson is in the team is because he can throw in a ball like Rory Delap.

It needed someone with skill and speed on Saturday, someone like Matty Derbyshire.With Santa Cruz looking like he will not play for us again, I am amazed that we continue to let Derbyshire be away on loan. Get him back and in the team I say .

Derbyshire has skill? If you're talking skill at running with the ball and being creative, I think you have the wrong man.

The only genuinely skilful Rovers players are Tugay and Villaneuva.

As a general point, I admit that it's hard to argue against long ball football when you see how high Villa and Everton are.

[AggyBlue]

And thats why I rather hoped in January that we could have picked up Ivan Campo from Ipaswich on a short term contract to share deep midfield duties with Tugay.

Bl00dy hell Gord, that would've caused uproar on here

[RevidgeBlue]

Well it's not about to get any prettier ... from the LET

Samba is Rovers key

Has he only just noticed that Samba is 6'5??

Smacks a bit of desperation that to me. Chucking the centre half forward should be a last ditch tactic employed in the final few minutes of a game if the scoreline is going the wrong way.

If we persist in being quite as Stokesque as we were on Saturday I feel we'll go down or at the very best it will be a coin flip as to whether we'll survive. Just as it's a complete lottery as to whether a chance will come our way every time the ball is launched into the opposition area.

We have better players than that surely.

[47er]

Derbyshire has skill? If you're talking skill at running with the ball and being creative, I think you have the wrong man.

The only genuinely skilful Rovers players are Tugay and Villaneuva.

As a general point, I admit that it's hard to argue against long ball football when you see how high Villa and Everton are.

Liverpool scored on Sunday when Reina punted it long and the Liverpool guy lashed it in on the volley. 2 touches, end to end------goal!

Commentator's reaction--------"outstanding goal". If we'd scored that way it would have been "route one'.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

I think thats patently unfair. We looked like scoring all game, more than in any game I can recently remember! We just didn't unfortunately.

I have generally been critical of the style under Allardyce, but I can't see how anyone thought the game was not entertaining on Sat. It was edge of the seat stuff as we battered them.

How many saves did there keeper make? Not many

[Stuart]

How many saves did there keeper make? Not many

Well we had 12 shots on target and scored once so someone was in the way!

[den]

Stimulus for the "Sam's long ball tactics" debate.

Sam reckons this proves that we aren't a long ball team.

[Hughesy]

Here's the stats:

Match stats

(Rovers figure first, West Ham second)

Shots 16 6

Shots on target 4 2

Crosses 24 3

Final third entries 82 37

Penalty area entries 79 15

Possession 50.5% 49.5%

High intnsty distance 7.5km 7.2km

High intnsty activities 978 921

Forward pass 55.1% 52.6%

Average pass length 16.4m 14.8m

Passes from own half 36.2% 58.6%

Passes from opp half 63.8% 41.4%

Passes recvd own half 25.1% 46.3%

Passes recvd opp half 74.9% 53.7%

Pro-zone stats dont lie - West Ham were negative, we dominated them and they didnt deserve a point.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Stimulus for the "Sam's long ball tactics" debate.

Sam reckons this proves that we aren't a long ball team.

But nor does it not prove either , and the reason why I detest Pro zone and the reliance that is put upon it.

its the very reason why stats should not be used to purely win an argument.

The question that should be being asked is, if we had all those balls into the box - why the hell are we not scoring more and what the bloody hell is each player doing?

In addition, with the exception of McCarthy why put crosses/ balls into the box to players that can't head the friggin ball especially when the only other player with any decent heading ability is putting the balls into the box.

I am more interested in how many times the ball hits the back of the nets rather than how many chance we have in trying to force just one save from the opposition keeper. The idea if you have chance is to make sure at least the keeper is made to work - otherwise questions need to be ask about the effectiveness about what you are doing or the ability of the players concerned.

Whichever way Saturday is looked at , it is 2 points dropped again -and only the inability of Newcastle keeping us out of the bottom three.

Yet again the chance was there at home and we failed to take it - how many more chances do they need? As I have said previously there is no doubt that one of the seemingly 'expected' wins will not happen and too many have them down as a forgone conclusion including Sam himself , ironically I had us down for a draw anyway so in terms of my expectations we are for the moment bar the loss against Villa ( I expected a point) virtually as what I thought we would be.

Yes we will get points, the question is will it be enough and we need to ensure we start turning the home games into victories.

[Hughesy]

Part of our problem with all the balls flinging around the box is our lack of ability in the air - without a doubt. Very good point about Pedersen being good in the air, maybe the club need to use his heading ability more, like United do with Ronaldo.

I also dont understand why nelsen goes up for corners, he never scores so why does he bother. We would be best having Stevie Warnock on the edge looking to rifle in any rebounds.

[trueblue]

Part of our problem with all the balls flinging around the box is our lack of ability in the air - without a doubt. Very good point about Pedersen being good in the air, maybe the club need to use his heading ability more, like United do with Ronaldo.

I also dont understand why nelsen goes up for corners, he never scores so why does he bother. We would be best having Stevie Warnock on the edge looking to rifle in any rebounds.

Surely it's a nuisance factor... he goes up for corners etc, and gives the opposition something to think about

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

Sam reckons this proves that we aren't a long ball team.

At the end of the day the main statistic that should matter to Mr Allardyce is the Premiership table. We are just two points away from being in the relegation zone. We're in a major desperate battle and in the last couple of weeks our goal difference has got significantly worse due to the shambles at the Emirates Stadium.

Our goal difference is worse than Newcastle, Portsmouth and Sunderland and I'm not looking forward to going to Anfield on the 11th April because if the defensive shambles against Arsenal is anything to go by then our goal difference could take another pounding against Liverpool.

If, God forbid, we are relegated, then frankly some of those stats that Big Sam has dished up about high intensity activities and average pass length will become meaningless. It's Premiership points that matter from now on rather than brownie points on the Pro Zone list. The concern I've got is that it's so tight and congested near the bottom of the table that goal difference could well come into play on the final day of the season. We concede too many goals and don't score enough, which is a bad combination.

Ultimately the most telling quote from Big Sam in that article in the LET is when he says: "Home and away we have lacked the cutting edge when we have been the predominant team in the game and we have not converted those opportunities into wins."

The reason why this season could end up in the disaster of relegation is that as well as appointing an unqualified manager from League Two in the summer who was completely out of his depth from the start, we've lacked a cutting edge in home and away performances throughout the season - especially at home.

Too many gilt-edged chances in matches have been wasted - the obvious one being Jason Roberts missing a chance away to Sunderland that most strikers could have put away blindfolded. We've wasted opportunities, lacked pace and quality in midfield and at times have been toothless and ineffective up front.

Despite our territorial domination against West Ham, I note that the actual possession stats are only very marginally in our favour - 50.5% to Rovers compared with 49.5% to West Ham. We have the tendency to give the ball away too cheaply.

League One and League Two teams can get away with giving the ball away cheaply because the lower-league opposition they face lack the quality and ability to keep hold of the ball properly for any sustained period. In the Premiership losing possession cheaply can lead to disaster.

I fear that Big Sam throughout his career has not completely understood the importance of keeping possession. Passes that go astray can be punished severely in the Premiership, but it seems as if Big Sam gives himself a pat on the back about high intensity activities and penalty area entries. Allardyce's ugly percentage football nearly got Bolton relegated in the 2001/02 season when they stayed up with 40 points and again in the 2002/03 season when Bolton finished 4th from bottom, just ahead of relegated West Ham.

There was an improvement in Bolton's Premiership performance from the 2003/04 season onwards, but in Rovers' case we simply can't afford to wait too long before we see an improvement.

We desperately need wins at home, not draws. Rather than being blinded by a Pro Zone list, perhaps the most worrying statistic that Sam should be concerned about is that we have failed to win any of our last four Premiership matches at home and have won only three matches at Ewood Park so far this season, which is simply not good enough.

I dislike the ugly direct football that Big Sam has been associated with in his career. Aesthetically it's not attractive to watch but I'm prepared to put up with it through gritted teeth this season if we can somehow manage to survive.

I accept that for the remainder of this season Premiership survival is of paramount importance rather than playing flowing attractive football. For the next couple of months, until after our final match at home against West Brom on the 24th of May, it's Premiership points that count rather than the number of passes or the length of passes.

However in the longer-term I tend to share the concerns of Tris, who posted the piece below at the weekend:

The manager should have us safe by now but he's doing it the hard way - it's hard on the viewers, the fans and the players. Things have moved on since he did well with Bolton - there's more cash around, other clubs have better players, and percentage football won't work like it used to do in his Bolton days.

I'll give him the time of day for now, but if we start next season playing these prehistoric tactics we are doomed in the longer term.

[waggy]

the liverpoo game is between the 2 champions league games v chelsea,lets hope it,s a draw at anfield

[Hughesy]

His home record isnt bad - beat the teams around you and dont lose too many to teams higher in the league.

Big Sams home record.

H - Stoke - Won 3-0

H - Man City - Draw 2-2 (Matty threw away 2 valuable points)

H - Newcastle Won 3-0

H - Bolton - Draw 2-2 (Good result considering we were 2-0 down)

H - Aston Villa - Lost 2-0

H - Everton - Draw 0-0

H - West Ham - Draw 1-1

To be fair to Sam, except for the Villa game, we have been the best team in each of those games. I honestly believe we will be fine with the likes of Pompey, Wigan & West Brom all to play at home.

[CAPT KAYOS]

To be fair to Sam, except for the Villa game, we have been the best team in each of those games. I honestly believe we will be fine with the likes of Pompey, Wigan & West Brom all to play at home.

That's the problem though Hughesy - best team has not transformed into victory - what happens when we are not the 'best' team - still no victory - so where are the victories coming from.

Pompey - still fighting for their survival also - they will be seeing us a game to pick points up in

Wigan - could still have an outside chane of Europe and their best finishing position ever

WBA - unlikely to stay up but could still be in thefight come this game.

Nothing is a forgone conclusion as many appear to think, as I say again we have only managed to win 3 games at home this season which is very very worrying and doesn't give rise to suggest this will change after Saturdays victory .. whoops.

There needs to be a siege mentality not this percentage do not lose attitude.

Its going to be very close and could well end up us relying on the other teams results against each other in this closing few weeks rather than what should be/have been us making sure without a doubt.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

Well we had 12 shots on target and scored once so someone was in the way!

Yes there defenders as the box was packed. Anyway Hughsey stats say 4 shots on target.

[Hughesy]

Yes there defenders as the box was packed. Anyway Hughsey stats say 4 shots on target.

The pro-zone stats they are. There was never 12 shots on target.

[McClarky]

The longer the BFS era goes on the more I am growing to dislike the bloke. In fact his constant banging on about prozone stats make even more dislikeable in my eyes. I really hope we don't go down but I am not looking forward to his smug self congratulation if we do stay up. The MGP dive sums him up for me, cheating get who plays 7 at the back and has no respect for the game at all.

Can't stand him much longer.

BFS OUT!

[ABBEY]

been sniffing haggis urine have we?