[Archived] Poll Time - Rovers Under Big Sam Part 2

[Guest Kamy100]

Can't reset the previous poll, but it is prudent to ask this question again, many people said that the last poll was started at a time when the team was struggling so that affected the result.

Well now the team has secured Premier League status and is pushing for a top half finish.

Same question again - Over a year on are you happy with the direction that the club is heading under the management of Sam Allardyce? To avoid confusion, THIS IS NOT A BACK OR SACK SAM POLL, it is to judge whether people are happy with the direction the club is heading in under Sam.

[thenodrog]

I think you need more options Kamy. Yes/No is a bit too black and white.

e.g.

1. Yes very happy.

2. Yes.

3. Yes with some reservations.

4. Neither happy nor unhappy.

5. Unhappy.

6. Stupidly painted oneself into a corner and cannot respond without losing face completely.

7. Suicidal.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Matters are moving in the right direction.I was furious after the City away game but we have slowly turned it around.

CARRY ON SAM!

[Amo]

I don't see how anyone can disapprove of our current direction. Sam's taken us from relegation certainties to mid-table security in one season. There's certainly room for improvement in specific areas, but our overall progress has been positive. I'd really like to hear from those who aren't pleased with proceedings.

[Tim Southampton Rover]

I'm happy with how he's changed the club from a side struggling relegation into a mid-table club but I, along with the majority, are hoping to see some improvements when it comes to the style of football we play. Even if it means keeping our current tactics but having a player or two who will excite the fans with their ability similar to how Okocha excited the Bolton fans.

[Sandiway Blue]

I think you need more options Kamy. Yes/No is a bit too black and white.

e.g.

1. Yes very happy.

2. Yes.

3. Yes with some reservations.

4. Neither happy nor unhappy.

5. Unhappy.

6. Stupidly painted oneself into a corner and cannot respond without losing face completely.

7. Suicidal.

8. WAGGY

Missed one out Gordon!

[DE.]

Have to admit when the first poll was put up I had almost totally lost faith in Sam and the team, but he's done a tremendous job coming through the hard times and has given us a very good end to the season. Question marks remain over the style of football we employ, but if it leads to us taking points off the big boys and climbing the table I'm willing to endure it. A definite yes from me.

[Hughesy]

Cheers Kamy....Thing have certainly changed since the last poll. The introduction of Olsson & Jones....the improvements in performances against the big 4, Salgado has proven his worth, Kalinic has shown much more & the teams now seems free of the Bennis moddy influence.

[BuckyRover]

I'm happy with how he's changed the club from a side struggling relegation into a mid-table club but I, along with the majority, are hoping to see some improvements when it comes to the style of football we play. Even if it means keeping our current tactics but having a player or two who will excite the fans with their ability similar to how Okocha excited the Bolton fans.

I was talking to somebody at work today about next season and I said to him I wonder who our Okocha will be.

Exciting times.

[tcj_jones]

Imagine if we'd have sacked him when so many were calling for it...

[BuckyRover]

Edit

[John]

Imagine if we'd have sacked him when so many were calling for it...

Some have wanted him out since day one.

[Fylde Coast Fan]

I voted Not Sure.

I'm very happy with our form at the moment. I'm not convinced by the tactics, and I think it'll be a harder league next season than this, so I'm continuing to reserve judgment. This time next year if we're in the same position or higher I'll be very happy with the way things are going, I just can't see how we can afford to bring in the two or three players we need to get to that level.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Has to be "Yes" - for the first time in a while we have young talent coming through the ranks and we have at last started to get results against the big four. We have a long way to go - but at last Sam has made us difficult to beat (as Bolton always were). His next target has to be to add some flair to our play. But anyone that expects us to play like Barca or Arse are in clown cuckoo land - we just don't have the players or money to buy the calibre of players necessary. Lets just enjoy being a small town in lancashire

[Fife Rover]

I think you need more options Kamy. Yes/No is a bit too black and white.

e.g.

1. Yes very happy.

2. Yes.

3. Yes with some reservations.

4. Neither happy nor unhappy.

5. Unhappy.

6. Stupidly painted oneself into a corner and cannot respond without losing face completely.

7. Suicidal.

Theno, you missed out:- No.8 I'm with Waggy

Edit: Dammit beaten to it by Bacup Blue. Ah well great minds think alike as they say!

[Blue n White Rover]

Cheers Kamy....Thing have certainly changed since the last poll. The introduction of Olsson & Jones....the improvements in performances against the big 4, Salgado has proven his worth, Kalinic has shown much more & the teams now seems free of the Bennis moddy influence.

To be brutally honest I don't think he really has. We saw glimpses of the potential he has but that's all, glimpses. He hasn't done anything spectacular or something to make us all stand up and see how good of a player he is.

On the McCarthy point, how do you know he was causing unrest within the camp? May well have been the bad run of form, or did you hear "inside info" on the whole saga?

What will the expectation be for next season? Improve on this season or will the Ewood faithful want European football?

[RibbleValleyRover]

I voted yes as I think Sam is the best man for the job. I just can't see any alternatives out there that would do a better job on this budget- Hughes of course could but he's not an option.

I would be lying if I said I was 100% happy, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.

[tony gale's mic]

To be brutally honest I don't think he really has. We saw glimpses of the potential he has but that's all, glimpses. He hasn't done anything spectacular or something to make us all stand up and see how good of a player he is.

On the McCarthy point, how do you know he was causing unrest within the camp? May well have been the bad run of form, or did you hear "inside info" on the whole saga?

What will the expectation be for next season? Improve on this season or will the Ewood faithful want European football?

Problem with this is that European qualification is going to be much harder than the days when we qualified. In Hughes' first seasons (until Villa got money), Spurs went from pushing CL qualification to pushing relegation, City were in the lower leagues, Everton were just starting to become a force under Moyes so outside of the big 4 it was hard to see anyone who was leagues ahead of us in the race for the European slots. In 05-06 when we finished 6th, Villa finished 16th!

Now things are much different. City..well we all know whats happened to them, Everton have consolidated their position and for all Moyes bleats about money theyve managed to spend a combined £25m on two CMs the last two seasons, Villa have been able to splash the cash too and Spurs now have quality running through their team and have got their act together. When added to the big 4 that's 8 clubs who are almost certain to finish ahead of us every season with much more cash than us. Considering top 7 max get into Europe (and thats if the cups are kind), it could be a long time till we see European football at Ewood again.

[Mozzer]

i hope all those fans who were calling him every name under the sun have a good at there selves ..

fact is allardyce is doing a top job for us - as i felt he always would ...hes working on a limited budget , not afraid to drop under performing players and we actually look a team (im comparing this to the shambles under paul ince ) ...

obviously we still need a striker , and a central midfielder - but hes been in the job for over a year and im sure he knows this himself - im impressed with the job he is doing and hope fans just get off his back .

[47er]

I'm happy with the way the direction in which we're travelling but I was always of the view that Sam's vast experience of managing in the Premier League would come through in the end. Much of the football has not been pretty but making us hard to beat was always going to be the priority. I think we have come a long way this season. Next season we have to address the creativity issue because we don't score enough goals.With the introduction of half a team of young players Sam has shown that it isn't just about money. So lets keep looking for that new talent and nurture it. New signings are the cream on top for us.

[Miker]

Interesting to see how the poll has skewed overwhelmingly to the 'yes' side compared to the last poll.

I think we're definitely heading in the right direction and the gradual improvements we've seen throughout the season are evidence of this. Give credit to the manager or don't, the team seems to be progressing nicely at the moment with a lot of young, talented players coming through signalling the start of a new and exciting era for the club.

The key improvements in the squad that I have seen are:

1. Good young players coming through the first team (N'zonzi, Olsson, Jones, Kalinic, Hoilett)

2. Some of the senior players such as Samba, Nelsen and Dunn have been brilliant for us when it's mattered and have helped us a lot. Robinson as well has been much improved this season.

3. Majority of Sam's signings have delivered. I love Salgado and Givet, great additions to building a solid defensive foundation already consisting of Samba, Nelsen, Jones and Olsson. Diouf: I have my reservations about him, but he's come up big when it's mattered. N'zonzi of course has been a brilliant buy. Kalinic a good one for the future. Jacobsen and Chimbonda are a bit 50/50, but both did well for us early on.

4. Improved tactics and good substitutions have allowed us to get back into games we were losing and frustrate the bigger teams. The latter being something we couldn't claim earlier in the season.

5. We've managed to stabilise our finances and look set to finish hire than was targetted at the start of the season, which will mean we're in better shape for next season.

6. Brilliant home form.

7. One, slightly subtle, improvement that I've noticed as well is our ability to deal with pace relatively well. Although we are still exposed at times, we have done much better lately and the best example would be Salgado changing his defensive approach to keep Bale at bay in the second half. These are the sort of key improvements we have to be looking for from the team, where in instances where we're slower than the opponent, we can still outsmart or outclass an opponent.

Key concerns:

1. Emerton has been lacklustre in form and we need to get more out of him if we're planning on keeping him in the squad.

2. Creativity and flair has been seriously lacking all season. Wayward passes and poor movement means we lose possession often in the opponent's half and fail to create as many chances as we should. Whether this is due to the tactical setup, or lack of quality in attack, it needs improvement.

3. The goalscoring record of our current strikers is pretty embarassing and this means we either need to bring in new ones or change our formation around. Alternatively, we need the midfielders contributing more goals, if our lone striker is used more to create space/chances for the team.

For next season, pushing for Europe would be nice, but I'd settle for a top half finish and improved results/performances (either more exciting matches or wins by a greater goal margin/losses by a lesser goal margin). Realistically, a top half finish is the best we can hope for as it's going to be incredibly difficult next season. Unless teams like Everton, Aston Vila, Birmingham, Fulham dip in form ... it will be very hard for us to break into the top 7. I also expect Sunderland and Newcastle to be pushing for the top half next season, as well as Bolton if they stay up because I think they have a team and manager capable of doing what we're doing under Sam.

[Blue n White Rover]

You've failed to mention our horrid away form in your key concerns. I agree with most of your post, but I think sorting out our away form has to be the main target as well as maintaining our excellent home form.

[Miker]

You've failed to mention our horrid away form in your key concerns. I agree with most of your post, but I think sorting out our away form has to be the main target as well as maintaining our excellent home form.

I considered putting it down, but the main reason I haven't is because there's been at least a very slight improvement away from home, whereas earlier we had a pretty horrid losing streak away. At home on the other hand we've shown a big improvement, especially against the bigger clubs, which to me is key.

I'll agree it still needs improvement, but maybe not a key concern at this point. I think away form is more important for the bigger clubs who need to make sure they don't lose any games, but for us it's the home form that's vital currently. I'd change my opinion if our away form was more like Hull or Burnley's though.

[Mr. E]

60/40

He has made us into a stable team, and especially when it comes to defending this is by far and wide the best we've been since the champions season probably. Not even Souness or Hughes could get a consistently solid defense going.

However...we seem to be operating on the bare minimums upfront, and scoring is a huge problem. Kalinic is our best striker, yet he can not work in the formation BFS wants - Roberts is better at that position, but the man simply can not score goals. One wonders if he did his homework with Kalinic and how exactly he expected him to play in this formation.

There has never been any question that BFS will inject the stability that he has, but we are lacking that something extra upfront to take us to the heights of Souness and Hughes. And right now I don't know where it's gonna come from.

[unluckymorton]

60/40

He has made us into a stable team, and especially when it comes to defending this is by far and wide the best we've been since the champions season probably. Not even Souness or Hughes could get a consistently solid defense going.

However...we seem to be operating on the bare minimums upfront, and scoring is a huge problem. Kalinic is our best striker, yet he can not work in the formation BFS wants - Roberts is better at that position, but the man simply can not score goals. One wonders if he did his homework with Kalinic and how exactly he expected him to play in this formation.

There has never been any question that BFS will inject the stability that he has, but we are lacking that something extra upfront to take us to the heights of Souness and Hughes. And right now I don't know where it's gonna come from.

We are operating on bare minimum full stop. The 'heights' of Souness and Hughes are not guaranteed to return under any manager and with any amount of funding. The issue is running the club in an orderly manner and not turning into a Pompey, West Ham, Newcastle, Charlton, Southampton or Leeds.

Sam has had to start rebuilding somewhere, and he has obviously chosen the back first. He's shored up the defence with a couple of good signings and bringing youth through. It will take a long time for Sam to get the squad where he wants it with the limited funds we have available. This closed season will see Sam strengthen the squad again hopefully add a creative midfielder and a decent striker. We will always have problems in certain areas at a club like ours as we can not have the strength in depth as the big clubs have. Once Sam has strengthened all areas over a period of time he will no doubt have to start rebuilding again as players move on to pastures new. It's the nature of the beast for a club like ours, we all need to realise that we are not a big club and as long as we are in the top flight we are punching above our weight.

Comparing against clubs around us and below us, Sam has done a stern job in his short period of time at the helm. We need to be patient and support Sam and his decisions then in a couple of seasons I hope we will reap the benefit with a couple of trips into Europe as we did under Hughes and Sam did at Bolton. Luckily we have a good manager and an excellent board who have the clubs best interest at heart. Compare that to West Ham, Sunderland, Hull.. and the 'mighty' Liverpool! We are a stable and self sufficient club who's manager does not demand mega millions to just exist in the top flight with no improvement (ie Liverpool & Sunderland).

We all need to understand that it is going to take time to break into the top half and challenge for Europe. Challenging against the likes of Villa, Everton & Fulham (yes Fulham!) is the best we can realistically ask for and we are not too far off them now. We are closer to European qualification than we are to relegation and that says to me we are going in the right direction. We just need to be patient and back the manager, support the club and reap the benefits in the not too distant future.