[Archived] Goodbye Sam - message to Venkys

[67splitscreen]

A BIG BIG THANKS Sam, not my favourite manager of all time but definitely saved is from the dark side.

I expect we will know in the next 24 hours who will be replacing you.

[AndyC]

Reasons to be gutted

1. He kept us up.

2. He loves giving youth a chance - the first time in many many years that youngsters have been brought in at exactly the right time and taken out and rested at the right time. I honestly believed he cared massively about their development and when to shield them and more importantly when to throw them in.

3. With our budget levels and constantly selling our best players, he must have been a genius man manager to get the results he has done.

4. it fills me with dread that the owners who have publicly stated they know nothing about football, have clearly just blindly listened to kentaro, who have no history or legacy in running football clubs.

Reasons to be hopeful - we get someone in, who likes to play with the ball on the floor.

Thank you Sam - you saved our football club from near oblivion after Ince.

[PAFELL]

A BIG BIG THANKS Sam, not my favourite manager of all time but definitely saved is from the dark side.

I expect we will know in the next 24 hours who will be replacing you.

This is one Nicko didn't see!!!!!

[broadsword]

Strange decision really when you think he only had 6 months left on his contract. I'm not sure whether only having so little of his contract to run means his compo will be neglible, but still.

[Bobby G]

Support from Nelsen, Roberts and Pedersen.

[OsloRover]

Thanks for the good work Sam. Even though in certain matches the tactics made me directly angry, you did a good job in difficult circumstances.

Lately there was an optimistic feeling developing about the team and I for one was looking forward to seeing you taking the team to the next level.

It's imperative that we get the right man in and fast. And please Venky's take a look at newcastle united as the prime excample of how not to run a football club.

[jim mk2]

It's not only the sacking but the timing of his dismissal that appals me. Why now, before a run of crucial games in the middle of the season ? Why not at least give the man until the end of the season before making a decision ?

Also, after the Venkys takeover Mrs Desai also said that as new owners they would respect the traditions and values of the club. Well, I have a message for her: this is not how our club has traditionally conducted its business and quite frankly, it stinks.

[BuckyRover]

I would have waited until the end of the season. But I could see the impending problem of him wanting money when he might only be here for another six months.

It's a big gamble but gambles can pay off.

I await the appointment of our new manager.

[grinder]

Well like many I'm not a fan of Sams style - indeed to the effect it has put me off the long round trip recently BUT there is no denying that he is effective at winning the games he targets.I have no doubt we would have had a comfortable mid season finish but now we could really struggle - get the next appointment wrong and we will sink faster than a brick.

But its the style and abruptness that worries me - this is not how this club has gone about its business in the past and it is what has made us that little bit different - we now look as silly as the Geordies we were laughing at a few days ago.

John Williams next anybody?

[DE.]

I don't like this decision one bit.

I've always been somewhat divided on Allardyce. Part of me appreciates the fact he gets results, by hook or by crook, and on our budget his performance cannot be analysed as anything but a massive success. On the other hand, his football is dire and at times painful to watch. In glimpses we've been good this season, but we look very blunt going forward. A lot of this is down to our personnel, but the style imposed upon the team restricts our creativity heavily. Arguably to the point where, like against Bolton, when we do get the chance to play creatively we don't really know how.

He won't read this, but I'd still like to personally thank Big Sam for saving us two seasons ago and doing a damn good job on the smallest budget in the Premier League. His tenure will not be forgotten, he put his stamp on our team and whether you liked it or not the fact is he kept us safe and improved us immensely from the team Ince had done his best to destroy. For protecting Rovers, I give him my utmost thanks.

Overall I think the timing of this sacking is a big mistake. I appreciate that if Venky's don't trust Sam then they wouldn't want to give him a significant portion of their funds, but Allardyce should have at least been allowed to work on a limited budget until the summer and then released as per his contract running out. To instead sack him in December despite us being in a decent position just smacks to me of unprofessionalism, the type that has never been associated with our club. We do not want to take the Newcastle route.

Disappointed, and very nervous. I'm hoping this isn't the start of a freefall. We all know what happened the last time a new owner came in, thought he knew better, and sacked Big Sam...

[BuckyRover]

There is nothing new in new owners bringing in a different manager. I bet the City owners wish they had been more ruthless when they bought City.

Hughes brought in a lot of players on big money who don't feature anymore.

That being said, I'm still shocked. My heart sank a little when I found out.

[doctorryan]

There seems to be 3 threads touching on the same thing so I'll put this in all 3:

I have to say that while I was always a fan of Sam as a person, even when he was managing at Bolton, I never could take his brand of football. However, he was the right choice at the right time for the predicament we found ourselves in this time 2 years ago. Saddled with owners who steadfastly refused to bear the financial burden of keeping our playing staff up to snuff, he managed us out of relegation trouble to a cup semifinal & a top-half finish. So thank you Mr. Allardyce for keeping us up, for getting Jonesy started in the first team and for bringing us Gael Givet & Mickey Salgado. May your health post-surgery continue to improve and best wishes to your family.

As for why this happened? As the second half wore on yesterday I was thinking: "He's history at the end of this campaign." There was no way after the disaster at Old Trafford or yesterday's huge lost opportunity that they were going to blow £20M + or whatever it is they intend to spend on him. I've the strange sensation this afternoon that Barry Blue'nWhite & siblings have come to the conclusion that the only way to make this work for them is to have the club in the CL on a regular basis and that there was little chance that Sam's brand of football or the type of players it attracts could get us there.

[tony gale's mic]

I think people forget we saved HIS career when no-one would touch him, and he was handsomely rewarded for it, too.

Yet more rubbish from yourself.

The reason why no one would touch him was because he got sacked from Newcastle under circumstances which were almost as ridiculous as this. Possibly more so.

[yeti-dog]

Get a grip guys - you two are the biggest drama queens on this messageboard.

Who's to say we won't kick onwards and upwards from this? Let's at least see what happens before you get all suicidal. You two were very quick to call people for being negative when Sam was here, yet look at you now?

And for the record, I want to say thanks to Sam for saving us, and personally I would have given him until the end of the season before getting shut because, as Jim correctly said, changing a manager during a season is a risk.

But let's move on and I hope you two will be as much behind Martin Jol as you were Sam Allardyce.

Don't forget Philip..there's your trio.

We need to wait before we all keel over from collective hysteria..I'm interested in seeing who's going to be Sam's replacement.

Thanks for your efforts though Sam...

[Stony bloke]

Now all of us who thought that the Venkys were the wrong people to take over our club have been proven correct. This is a diabolical decision probably brought on by Sam's refusal to allow Kentaro dictate to him who to try to sign. I am for the first time in my life ashamed to be a Rovers supporter.

If the Venkys want to turn the supporters against them they are going the right way about it.

Disgusted.

Agreed. I was sceptical from the start. What happened to their promises that they didn't want to change everything and Big Sam was safe. It's time we stopped these ignorant foreigners taking over our football clubs. What next, 'Venky Park' replacing Ewood Park. I despair.

[True Blue & White]

Yet more rubbish from yourself.

The reason why no one would touch him was because he got sacked from Newcastle under circumstances which were almost as ridiculous as this. Possibly more so.

You missed his point.

[67splitscreen]

This is one Nicko didn't see!!!!!

Oh I'm sure he new, remember he was the one who first suggested Sam would be sacked/replaced.

Maybe the change in upper management morale re money to be spent, was just his way of keeping the lid on it, then again a story is a story but some may argue you don't bite the hand that feeds you.

Probably writing his story now for the replacement.

[tony gale's mic]

You missed his point.

No I got it perfectly thanks. Apparently Sam should be thanking us too as we rescued him when no one wanted him. But the reason no one wanted him wasn't really his fault, he'd done a decent enough job at Newcastle and got sacked unreasonably, and did a great job at Bolton. Clubs like us should have wanted him and we were the only wise ones to get him in.

Maybe you'd like to explain what I allegedly missed?

[des]

wrong wrong and wrong, the new owners have got it wrong, while I did not like the style of football, the idea that Sam is sacked is totally misguidged. I have all thought that people should be given a chance to do the job, Sam did not gret that chance.

I hope who ever there bring in gets there full support and backing

[J-2]

Jeez...I wake up late this morning, and the first thing I read is this. My very first thought was why? What did Sam do to deserve to be handed his walking papers? I suppose that answer will come out eventually, but right now, I'm at the very least shocked.

I sure as hell hope the Venkys know what they are doing and already have some kind of agreement in principle with a new (and better) manager, because the last thing this club can afford is to meander about for a few weeks with no one really in charge. And surely the person they have in mind is better than Sam, right? This isn't just a lateral move because of an early contrast of opinion between Sam and our board?

I'm starting to get a little bit worried about the whole "let's play attractive football" mantra the Venkys want to implement. I'd much rather go through an entire season winning every game by a 1-0 scoreline playing the ugliest football possible than losing by a 4-3 scoreline week-in, week-out. Even ManU and Chelsea sometimes find themselves in siuations where they are required to grind out the occasional result rather unattractively. We just have to do it more often, and if that is no longer the plan, then I hope the Venkys are prepared to open the bank vault in a big way, because trying to play a wide open game against Premier League opposition with limited funding is an almost certain recipe for total disaster.

[Rovermatt]

I feel as sorry one can feel for a multi-millionaire who is now free to spend the rest of the year at his villa in Spain. I was no massive fan of Allardyce, nor his football, yet the nature of his departure is alarming. I too would like to thank him for his efforts and in particular his steadying influence on the team in the wake of the Ince debacle.

I'd honestly like to think that this was a decision based solely on football. I'd like to think that the new owners saw how ineffectual our tactics were becoming and took the decision to send Allardyce on his way with a new direction and manager firmly in place. I don't think any of this is the case however. His replacement better have pedigree. Serious money will need to be spent to produce a team capable of playing the kind of football I suspect these new guys want.

[jim mk2]

It's obvious now this decision was taken after the 7-1 debacle at Old Trafford when the new owners were no doubt blinded by the spellbinding football served up by United. They need to understand that if they want that brand of football at Ewood it is going to cost alot more than the paltry mooted £5m - £10m they are looking to spend in each transfer window.

[Doogs]

God help us. Chicken farmers making football decisions,

[Blue blood]

I don't like this decision one bit.

I've always been somewhat divided on Allardyce. Part of me appreciates the fact he gets results, by hook or by crook, and on our budget his performance cannot be analysed as anything but a massive success. On the other hand, his football is dire and at times painful to watch. In glimpses we've been good this season, but we look very blunt going forward. A lot of this is down to our personnel, but the style imposed upon the team restricts our creativity heavily. Arguably to the point where, like against Bolton, when we do get the chance to play creatively we don't really know how.

He won't read this, but I'd still like to personally thank Big Sam for saving us two seasons ago and doing a damn good job on the smallest budget in the Premier League. His tenure will not be forgotten, he put his stamp on our team and whether you liked it or not the fact is he kept us safe and improved us immensely from the team Ince had done his best to destroy. For protecting Rovers, I give him my utmost thanks.

Overall I think the timing of this sacking is a big mistake. I appreciate that if Venky's don't trust Sam then they wouldn't want to give him a significant portion of their funds, but Allardyce should have at least been allowed to work on a limited budget until the summer and then released as per his contract running out. To instead sack him in December despite us being in a decent position just smacks to me of unprofessionalism, the type that has never been associated with our club. We do not want to take the Newcastle route.

Disappointed, and very nervous. I'm hoping this isn't the start of a freefall. We all know what happened the last time a new owner came in, thought he knew better, and sacked Big Sam...

Sums up my thoughts too.

When he's gone it's easier to see what we are missing. Big thanks to Sam for sorting out the Ince debacle and keeping us stable. The means were pretty shocking at times but can't argue with the ends.

[Mr. E]

God help us. Chicken farmers making football decisions,

That's the gist of it.

When they took over Venksy released a statement saying how they respect the history of the club, they value our traditions bla bla total utter bullcrap.

The fact is they are clueless chicken farmers who don't know what the hell they are doing.

Utter joke.