Rejoice Blackburn fans, for although you may not know it, the first tentative steps towards the big time have been taken by the removal of the self proclaimed “Big Sam”. While the decision to remove a manager who has managed to take the club to roughly where most expected them to be, the wrong side of mid-table, may have come as a shock it is a huge, positive statement of intent from a new board and is a complete contrast to the decision taken by the wretched Mike Ashley only close to a fortnight ago.
The myth that Allardyce is a highly skilled and upwardly mobile British manager is one that has persisted since the days of Bolton Wanderers. They were a side that punched well above their weight and their excursions into Europe brought about something that even the club’s most ardent fans never dreamed of. Of course, Colossal Sam was on hand to take all the plaudits even if most raised an eyebrow over the questionable style of football that the team played.
They had mastered the art of the long throw some time before Stoke made headlines with the same technique. They brought back the kick and chase game, which had been mostly absent from the league since the spectacular collapse of Wimbledon. They also appreciated the benefits of simply roughing up an opponent, a tactic Gargantuan Sam loved to promote, a throwback to his days as a crude centre-half.
Yet there was more than a glimmer of fortune around the success of Bolton. At a time when other leagues around Europe were having to slash wage budgets, even a premier league side with the stature of Bolton was willing to compete with the likes of the Serie A and La Liga elites. Huge Sam took full advantage, making a series of risky free transfer signings that mostly paid off and helped add some quality to the team.
Alas, since then his transfer market record has been less than sterling. Remember, this is the same player that brought an embarrassingly overweight Mario Jardel to the Premiership, his breasts on display through a tight, white Bolton top like something out of a girls gone wild DVD. Large Sam responded publicly by saying that he’d put his player on the Atkins diet. It was like something from Mike Bassett, the manger that most closely resembles Allardyce.
The same was true of his tenure at Newcastle. Signing players like Rozehnal, Cacapa, Beye and everyone’s favourite footballing criminal, Barton. He revolted the fans with his insistence on long ball tactics and was instrumental in the club eventually imploding and getting relegated. It was clear that whatever collection of circumstance had come about in order to allow bolton to successful, the magic wasn’t likely to repeat itself anytime soon. He appeared a manager out of his depths in the top flight, out of ideas and unable to spot a quality footballer if his job depended on it… Which, it did.
Then on to Blackburn where their inconsistency has been remarkable, which is more than can be said for his signings. Under new ambitious ownership it was only a matter of time before he was found out and all the press conferences proclaiming that you are good enough to manager the likes of Real Madrid won’t alter the facts that season after season of transfer mismanagements, married to poor technical football on the pitch, do not make Giant Sam a viable option for a serious club.
Just to underline just how out of touch this manager is with what the squad needs, upon signing Nikola Kalinic for £6million he declared that he would instrumental in firing the club into Europe. His four goals in 36 appearances tell a very different story. At the same time as making signings such as these he badly handled the talismanic Morten Gamst Pedersen and looked to offload him at one point following a contract row. It is incredible that he has managed to hold on to so many jobs in the Premiership and thanks to his friends in the media, including an apologetic BBC, as well as his well documented – well, mainly by Humongous Sam – association with Sir Alex Ferguson it’s likely he will soon be installed in another one. Let’s not forget, he was supposedly in the frame for the England job prior to Capello’s appointment, and what odds on him being touted again, his lack of transfer savvy being spun into a positive for international management.
Of course, Vast Sam said it was a disagreement over transfer policy. I think the disagreement lay with him wanting to make BAD signings and the board wanting to prevent this. Power to them. When a captain of a ship is clearly deranged it’s generally an idea to take his hand of the rudder and lock him in the brig. It was summed up succinctly by the chairwoman of the group that now owned the club, Anuradha Desai. She said:
“My father once told me that out of 10 decisions you must get at least seven right – you can get two or three wrong, we’re not gods. But to get nine or 10 wrong is not good and things have been going wrong with transfers, that’s a fact.”
That was before adding that it was in fact his negative attitude that was the real reason for his dismissal. A valid point – there aren’t many managers that continually talk about their side’s deficiencies, or how they need money to improve, especially before big games. It’s likely Gigantic Sam thinks this sort of “plain speaking” makes him seem endearing to Joe Public, without really considering the impact it has on his team. After all, a man of that size always likes to be the centre of attention.
The good news is that in his absence things can likely only get better for Blackburn. An ambitious board with a positive outlook, they have realised quickly that if they want to move in the right direction it is a change of management that is needed. Tellingly, they have no-one lined up… They just believe that anyone would be better than Allardyce. Well, almost anyone. Maradona has been sternly ruled out too. Still, as Sam bags another pay-out for his failings the fact that it’s the time of the year when those who can stave off relegation are highly sought after means that he will likely be given another shot at another desperate club. Have West Ham already been in touch?
There was probably a point where Allardyce could have walked the walk as well as his insistence on endlessly talking the talk. Since that brief flicker it has been a downward trajectory and it’s one that shows no signs of abating. Bad news for him, good news for a club that is now free from his influence. If only the size of his ambitions and his talents could match the descriptions of himself.