Big Sam Allardyce

brucey72

My mate has just pointed me in the direction of an interview he gave recently and he came out with "I would be more suited to Inter Milan or Real Madrid................It wouldn't be a problem for me to manage those clubs because I would win the league every time"

WTF???????? Granted, as a Newcastle fan, I don't hold him in the highest regard but this was either a wind up or his ego is as large as his comedy sized head.

ratsbeyfus

This young man springs to mind:

pneumatic

He's obviously miffed that Harry Redknapp is getting all the headlines this week for jobs he hasn't even applied for.

I reckon Big Sam could get a job at Barcelona - parking buses in front of the stadium. :roll:

finchy

As a Bolton fan who is still pissed by the way he resigned to take time out of football and then takes the Newcastle job just a few weeks later, costing us £x million compo money, I say:

He's possibly right. He did an absolutely fantastic job with Bolton, got some great players like Okocha and Djorkaeff, effectively revitalising their flagging careers. Took us from the second tier and into Europe for the first time ever. All that on a budget which could accurately be described as f**k all. People go on about his negative play, but that was only in the last 18 months of his reign at Bolton, when Okocha and Djorkaeff had age catch up with them and he wasn't able to replace them. Before that Bolton were fantastic entertainment.

OK, he failed at Newcastle, but let's face it they've been a comedy club ever since they kicked Robson out. Back at a more sensible club he's doing a decent job once again.

If he had a job at a big team and had all that money to spend I'm sure he'd be winning trophies pretty soon.

He is a bit of a mouthy tw*t though, and that counts against him.

drewfromrisca

Big Sam is a tw@t!!! There sorry I had to say it!

Smokin Joe

Big Sam does a good job getting keeping industrial teams in the top flight, but that's his limit.

fluff.

I think he must of meant on Football Manager 2010 on the PC.

finchy

Smokin Joe wrote:

Big Sam does a good job getting keeping industrial teams in the top flight, but that's his limit.

How do you know that's his limit when he's never been given a chance at a big club?

-spider-

johnfinch wrote:

Smokin Joe wrote:

Big Sam does a good job getting keeping industrial teams in the top flight, but that's his limit.

How do you know that's his limit when he's never been given a chance at a big club?

Maybe he is not being given a chance because he is not good enough.

finchy

-spider- wrote:

johnfinch wrote:

Smokin Joe wrote:

Big Sam does a good job getting keeping industrial teams in the top flight, but that's his limit.

How do you know that's his limit when he's never been given a chance at a big club?

Maybe he is not being given a chance because he is not good enough.

You don't take a club from the second tier to regular top half PL finishers and a place in the UEFA Cup without being a damn fine manager. (Although doubtless all of his detractors would easily be able to do this).

-spider-

johnfinch wrote:

-spider- wrote:

johnfinch wrote:

Smokin Joe wrote:

Big Sam does a good job getting keeping industrial teams in the top flight, but that's his limit.

How do you know that's his limit when he's never been given a chance at a big club?

Maybe he is not being given a chance because he is not good enough.

You don't take a club from the second tier to regular top half PL finishers and a place in the UEFA Cup without being a damn fine manager. (Although doubtless all of his detractors would easily be able to do this).

Does a good boss ever say "I'm too good for you lot" - which is, in effect, what he just said to the Blackburn squad.

The guy is an average manager - not bad and certainly not brilliant. If he was any good the top clubs would go after him. Clubs like Torquay or Annan Athletic, for example.

Ben6899

Big Sam in charge of Inter Milan = Serie A wins. Have you seen the squad there, in terms of ability and stature? Awe inspiring.

And the Italians are happy with 1-0 every week. He would get on in Spain.

IronHorse100

'Big' Sam Allardyce (the big part refers to his head), gets the best out of average teams by playing god awful route one hoofball and resorting to thuggery. Anyone who seriously thinks that a.he would have the nous and necessary skills or b.that a big euro club would seriously give him a moments thought have a rather poor grasp of modern football.

finchy

IronHorse100 wrote:

'Big' Sam Allardyce (the big part refers to his head), gets the best out of average teams by playing god awful route one hoofball and resorting to thuggery. Anyone who seriously thinks that a.he would have the nous and necessary skills or b.that a big euro club would seriously give him a moments thought have a rather poor grasp of modern football.

Even if that were true (which it isn't, teams with Okocha and Djorkaeff don't play thuggish route 1 football), what would you expect him to do? How is small team like Bolton expected to go out and compete against teams who have spent 100 times as much? I think that in the first few years of Bolton being back in the Premier League Allardyce spent a grand total of £500k, all on 1 player - Djorakeff. Even Phil Brown at Hull had more money to play with than that.

Given the resources that he was given, he worked miracles at Bolton, and the fact that he's a gobby, selfish, arrogant git is all that stops people giving him the credit he deserves.

Still, like I say, I'm sure his many, many detractors would do a far better job, they'd probably have won the Champions League now with Bolton or Blackburn.

Smokin Joe

Allardyce's teams would win the Champion's League if they put the goals on top of the stands and abolished passing.

finchy

Bolton under Big Fat Sam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyOHbCBApus&feature=fvw

This is what we got to watch at Bolton, even if Football365 tells you we didn't. :P

IronHorse100

johnfinch wrote:

Even if that were true (which it isn't, teams with Okocha and Djorkaeff don't play thuggish route 1 football), what would you expect him to do?

yes it is true, one (or even 2) players does not a team make. I have watched Bolton, Newcastle and Blackburn and he employs the same tactics. I would expect him to try and play football like Holloway, Martinez, Hodgson etc....have done with 'smaller' teams.

johnfinch wrote:

Given the resources that he was given, he worked miracles at Bolton, and the fact that he's a gobby, selfish, arrogant git is all that stops people giving him the credit he deserves.

that's an insult to people's intelligence.

johnfinch wrote:

Still, like I say, I'm sure his many, many detractors would do a far better job, they'd probably have won the Champions League now with Bolton or Blackburn.

and that's just facile and a 'last resort' argument.

Ben6899

IronHorse100 wrote:

'Big' Sam Allardyce (the big part refers to his head), gets the best out of average teams by playing god awful route one hoofball and resorting to thuggery. Anyone who seriously thinks that a.he would have the nous and necessary skills or b.that a big euro club would seriously give him a moments thought have a rather poor grasp of modern football.

Where do I start?

IronHorse100

Ben6899 wrote:

Where do I start?

how about starting with his win percentage average with all teams (a feeble 40%), his record when finally getting a shot with a 'big' club (Newcastle) - a pi$$ poor 33% and lets look at his Palmares -1 League Title (Limerick FC!), 1League Cup runner up (Bolton)!

...I'm amazed Real are not beating a path to his door!

Ben6899

A lot of football managers have similar records to his. It's laughable to refer to his time at Newcastle as his chance with a big club.

He does what's necessary with the resources he has.

Smokin Joe

Ben6899[b] wrote:

A lot of football managers have similar records to his.[/b] It's laughable to refer to his time at Newcastle as his chance with a big club.

He does what's necessary with the resources he has.

That's why they're not managing Inter, Man U or chelsea

finchy

IronHorse100 wrote:

johnfinch wrote:

Even if that were true (which it isn't, teams with Okocha and Djorkaeff don't play thuggish route 1 football), what would you expect him to do?

yes it is true, one (or even 2) players does not a team make. I have watched Bolton, Newcastle and Blackburn and he employs the same tactics. I would expect him to try and play football like Holloway, Martinez, Hodgson etc....have done with 'smaller' teams.

Holloway is in his first season in the PL. Let's wait and see where Blackpool are after 38 games, not 5.

Martinez is, unfortunately, taking Wigan backwards - 9-1 against Tottenham, 8-0 against Chelsea, 4-0 against newly-promoted Blackpool? Yes, please, that's just what Bolton wanted.

Hodgson had greater resources at his disposal at Fulham - Bobby Zamora cost more than the entire Big Fat Sam era Bolton team put together.

I don't watch Blackburn that much, I'm only really talking about Bolton - I watched them week in, week out. They weren't playing ugly, route one football until the end of his reign. Any Bolton fan would admit that the football became dire when he couldn't find replacements for Okocha and Djorkaeff who were our main playmakers. Just because fans of other clubs don't remember that isn't my problem though.

IronHorse100 wrote:

johnfinch wrote:

Given the resources that he was given, he worked miracles at Bolton, and the fact that he's a gobby, selfish, arrogant git is all that stops people giving him the credit he deserves.

that's an insult to people's intelligence.

It's true though. Are you seriously telling me that Allardyce gets the credit he deserves for what he did at Bolton? All he ever gets is criticism. I don't like him as a person, but how can anyone knock him as a manager? This isn't the 1980s anymore, there won't be another Clough, who can manage a team and take them from the second to the top division and win the league. Allardyce had to compete with teams spending gigantic sums compared to him. Which other manager has had so much sustained success from such a low starting point and such a small budget in the modern era? And tell me, who do you support?

IronHorse100 wrote:

johnfinch wrote:

Still, like I say, I'm sure his many, many detractors would do a far better job, they'd probably have won the Champions League now with Bolton or Blackburn.

and that's just facile and a 'last resort' argument.

No it's not. It's an entirely suitable reply given the way people talk about Allardyce as if he were a shite manager.

Ben6899

Smokin Joe wrote:

Ben6899[b] wrote:

A lot of football managers have similar records to his.[/b] It's laughable to refer to his time at Newcastle as his chance with a big club.

He does what's necessary with the resources he has.

That's why they're not managing Inter, Man U or chelsea

Look at Wenger's league record at Nancy and Monaco. Distinctly average.

IronHorse100

I think we'll have to agree to disagree here! I make my mind up by what I see from his teams on TV, his actual record and these two factors coupled with his unjustifiably inflated opinion of himself. This thread was, after all, supposed to be about the ludicrous comments he's just made about his credentials to manage one of the biggest clubs in world football. I'm quite accepting of pragmatic football when survival is needed - what I don't accept is hoofball and dirty tactics in 'the best league in the world'. Oh, and I support Brentford.

finchy

IronHorse100 wrote:

I think we'll have to agree to disagree here! I make my mind up by what I see from his teams on TV, his actual record and these two factors coupled with his unjustifiably inflated opinion of himself. This thread was, after all, supposed to be about the ludicrous comments he's just made about his credentials to manage one of the biggest clubs in world football. I'm quite accepting of pragmatic football when survival is needed - what I don't accept is hoofball and dirty tactics in 'the best league in the world'. Oh, and I support Brentford.

OK, fair enough. It's true that he gives the impression of being a man with a gigantic ego and a chip on his shoulder the size of the Reebok Stadium.

I personally think that he'd do well with a budget, but in the brave new world of modern football, where big English clubs can't afford to take chances with managers who haven't proven themselves with another big club, we'll probably never see that happen.

It's a pity that the likes of Allardyce don't do a Steve McClaren/Roy Hodgson and go and work in a smaller foreign league where they can still have success based on nothing but their own talent, and build up a reputation as being big name managers, instead of staying in England with small town teams, being hampered by a lack of a budget and then whining about it.

IronHorse100

.. fair points, and I wasn't trying to belittle your experience of watching them first hand - I'm sure they were a better footballing team back in the days of Djorkaeff and he does deserve some credit - it's just hard to afford him any when he acts like a blert.

finchy

IronHorse100 wrote:

.. fair points, and I wasn't trying to belittle your experience of watching them first hand - I'm sure they were a better footballing team back in the days of Djorkaeff and he does deserve some credit - it's just hard to afford him any when he acts like a blert.

I understand entirely. If I weren't a Bolton fan, I'd probably hate him as well.

Any Blackburn fans on here? What do you lot make of him?