Sam Allardyce New England Manager

[CPFC G]

Would never want BFS anywhere near Palace but I think he suits the situation well at England. He has enough football knowledge and man management skills to do a decent job.

Good luck to him.

Buggers Sunderland up too

 

[Pavilionaire]

The FA have passed on him in 2006, 2008 and 2012 but after the amazing job he did at West Ham and the incredible job he's done at Sunderland they simply had to give him the gig.

Under Big Sam England's survival is assured.

 

[Triggaaar]

We seem to do well in qualification, but then go to pieces at the finals. Is this down to the manager? Although people would say, no, it's down to the players, responsibility ultimately rests with him.

I think it's best to take each game on merit. Players can have bad games and the blame can lay with them, or it can be down to team selection and tactics. Generally, I feel the blame lies with the manager.

England players always claim they care - Rooney criticising the 'loyal' England fans for booing, which was great coming from a player who has spectacularly underachieved at finals since 2004.

I know this isn't a popular opinion, but I agree with Rooney. I don't believe for a minute that he doesn't care. If we have some players who don't seem to put enough in, then it's up to the manager to drop them.

In this day and age of highly-paid, pampered players, I'm beginning to think that it's an impossible job.

Other countries manage it, so we should be able to. Ultimate responsibility lies with the FA, and they are so shit that Greg Dyke stood down. It's the FA that needs to change, then we can have a decent team.

 

[Carrot Cruncher]

On the plus side, it'll mean the resurgence of the NotBigSam twitter account. A parody account that is actually funny.

https://twitter.com/TheBig_Sam

 

[Worried Man Blues]

Big Sam should be in charge of the FA, those b.... need sorting out

 

[Doc Lynam]

On the plus side, it'll mean the resurgence of the NotBigSam twitter account. A parody account that is actually funny.

https://twitter.com/TheBig_Sam

Slightly surreal his parody account has 100k more follows then the genuine article!

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

Despite it not being an exact science, football fans continue to state this is a "good" or "bad" appointment.

No one knows!!! Clearly the FA like the direction he wants to take but as for how well the footballers will kick the football, we just don't know.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Despite it not being an exact science, football fans continue to state this is a "good" or "bad" appointment.

No one knows!!! Clearly the FA like the direction he wants to take but as for how well the footballers will kick the football, we just don't know.

Completely agree with this. It could go either way. For what it's worth, if we were sticking with an English manager, I think Allardyce is the best option. Personally would have given up with that criteria but, as the FA have not, it is the only logical choice. Will be interesting to see how he does. First test, will he continue to play woefully out of form players with big reputations over less high profile ones who are on form.

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

I think Rooney will be the key, what will Big Sam do with him?

Personally I think it's time to build "the next generation", develop Gareth's lads and bring through thos eshowing the right attitude. There must be a desire to wear the shirt, there must be a desire to give everything on the pitch and to "listen" and understand what's expected of you. I don't think Sam will fall into the trap of picking the best 11 players for the 11 positions available and will build a "team", as Wales, Iceland and, we hope, Brighton have!

 

[Dorset Seagull]

It's hardly a progressive appointment but seems to me one aimed at avoiding abject humiliation in tournaments so in that sense is not a bad choice. I hope he'll pick players on form and merit rather than reputation and then play them in their proper positions. A game plan would be nice too and dare we mention a plan B or even C? Not too much to expect from an international manager but it's been far too much of many an England manager over the last 20 years or so.
He surely cannot do any worse than Hodgson. We'll see.

I think maybe picking players on form is a mistake as it leads to inconsistency with constant turnover of individuals. Get a playing style, get a team to play it as best as possible, and play them every time regardless of their form at the time. This gels teams and gets them playing consistently and as a unit

 

[Pavilionaire]

I think Rooney will be the key, what will Big Sam do with him?

Personally I think it's time to build "the next generation", develop Gareth's lads and bring through thos eshowing the right attitude. There must be a desire to wear the shirt, there must be a desire to give everything on the pitch and to "listen" and understand what's expected of you. I don't think Sam will fall into the trap of picking the best 11 players for the 11 positions available and will build a "team", as Wales, Iceland and, we hope, Brighton have!

I am SO SO bored of England "building the next generation". I'd argue that too many have been given chances, caps have been handed out too cheaply and Allardyce needs to identify a squad of 23 now and pretty much stick to that for the next two years, barring one or two changes for injury.

Here is a team of "The Next Generation" that has had adequate chances but failed to take them:

1. Ben Foster
2. Phil Jones
3. Kieran Gibbs
4. Chris Smalling
5. Jack Rodwell
6. Jack Wilshere
7. Tom Cleverley
8. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
9. Theo Walcott
10.Raheem Sterling
11.Ashley Young.

Hodgson would probably have been better off picking three or four honest pros with character like Mark Noble, Danny Drinkwater, Michael Carrick and Phil Jagielka in his squad rather than the largely young and inexperienced bunch that collectively froze against Iceland and underperformed against Russia and Slovakia.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I am SO SO bored of England "building the next generation". I'd argue that too many have been given chances, caps have been handed out too cheaply and Allardyce needs to identify a squad of 23 now and pretty much stick to that for the next two years, barring one or two changes for injury.

Here is a team of "The Next Generation" that has had adequate chances but failed to take them:

1. Ben Foster
2. Phil Jones
3. Kieran Gibbs
4. Chris Smalling
5. Jack Rodwell
6. Jack Wilshere
7. Tom Cleverley
8. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
9. Theo Walcott
10.Raheem Sterling
11.Ashley Young.

Hodgson would probably have been better off picking three or four honest pros with character like Mark Noble, Danny Drinkwater, Michael Carrick and Phil Jagielka in his squad rather than the largely young and inexperienced bunch that collectively froze against Iceland and underperformed against Russia and Slovakia.

I had the same argument with a friend at the weekend.

You name a squad of 23 - 25 players for the next world cup now.

The only way you are dropped is if you lose form dramatically or injured - the players then know where they stand and we can play to there strengths.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I'd argue that this clamour for youth is partly borne out of desperation for quick success and partly because there is a notion our game plan should be about speed and fitness.

We've tried plenty of young players over recent years and the return has generally been poor. If a player has 10-12 good games he's in the squad (i.e. Rashford) and if he has a good season (Kane, Alli) then they're suddenly in the 1st XI and carrying our hopes

Players need to get more life experience and more game time before they reach this point - the likes of Stones, Barkley, Alli and Kane are not just carrying the weight of England on their shoulders but also the title aspirations of Spurs and the Champions League aspirations of Everton.

Pick a squad of 23 men - players with character and fight about them. Given them one job to do, and only one - do not confuse them, i.e. do not tell your main striker to take corners, your winger to be a ball-winner in midfield, your goal poacher to play out wide on the left or your short players to mark their big players at corners.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

I had the same argument with a friend at the weekend.

You name a squad of 23 - 25 players for the next world cup now.

The only way you are dropped is if you lose form dramatically or injured - the players then know where they stand and we can play to there strengths.

Will be interesting to see what happens to Sterling under Pep Guardiola. Can the greatest coach in the game re-energise him? Or is Sterling an overpriced flash in the pan? Time will tell. Sterling had a poor tournament but wasn't the only one, by any means. Yet some of the vitriol handed out to him was horrendous and way over the top. I'd give him another chance.
We do have some very good young players: Shaw, Stones, Dier, Ali, Kane, Rashford. That's the basis of a very good team. It's long overdue that England's footballers delivered something to shout about.

 

[Albion my Albion]

My American friends asked "when did Sam become the MLS Revolution manager?"

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

I am SO SO bored of England "building the next generation". I'd argue that too many have been given chances, caps have been handed out too cheaply and Allardyce needs to identify a squad of 23 now and pretty much stick to that for the next two years, barring one or two changes for injury.

Here is a team of "The Next Generation" that has had adequate chances but failed to take them:

1. Ben Foster
2. Phil Jones
3. Kieran Gibbs
4. Chris Smalling
5. Jack Rodwell
6. Jack Wilshere
7. Tom Cleverley
8. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
9. Theo Walcott
10.Raheem Sterling
11.Ashley Young.

Hodgson would probably have been better off picking three or four honest pros with character like Mark Noble, Danny Drinkwater, Michael Carrick and Phil Jagielka in his squad rather than the largely young and inexperienced bunch that collectively froze against Iceland and underperformed against Russia and Slovakia.

That's my point, the next generation shouldn't follow the previous policy of just giving caps to "headline" players, but develop a team, you are 100% correct the likes of Noble, Drinkwater etc nipping at your heels in training and creating a greater team ethic is precisely what we need.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Will be interesting to see what happens to Sterling under Pep Guardiola. Can the greatest coach in the game re-energise him? Or is Sterling an overpriced flash in the pan? Time will tell. Sterling had a poor tournament but wasn't the only one, by any means. Yet some of the vitriol handed out to him was horrendous and way over the top. I'd give him another chance.
We do have some very good young players: Shaw, Stones, Dier, Ali, Kane, Rashford. That's the basis of a very good team. It's long overdue that England's footballers delivered something to shout about.

If you're being brutally honest then Sterling's end product is woeful, Shaw is almost starting again after a massive injury lay-off while Ali and Kane both need to get physically and mentally tougher and go the full distance of season to the end of June, rather than peter out in March.

I agree that if all six improve and play to their potential they'd be sure-fire starters for England.

 

[Bald Gull]

But that's the strange misconception, we didn't actually do any better under El Tel, he only had a 48% win percentage compared to that abject failure Roy Hodgson who achieved a 59% win percentage and Sven-Goran Eriksson at nearly 60%!

Not sure it is. I couldn't care less about win percentages to be honest as it is all about tournament football. Venables' team was the last one to do anything of note at a major tournament. Since then, we've done well in friendlies, qualifiers etc and then underperformed when it really matters. If Allardyce can change this, then great!

 

[joeinbrighton]

But that's the strange misconception, we didn't actually do any better under El Tel, he only had a 48% win percentage compared to that abject failure Roy Hodgson who achieved a 59% win percentage and Sven-Goran Eriksson at nearly 60%!

Not really sure you can compare the win ratio percentages meaningfully there in as much as with the exception of the matches played at Euro '96, all of the matches Terry Venables took charge of were friendlies and so the win percentage would have been less (I seem to recall a lot of draws) when he experimented with players and formations. Hodgson and Eriksson's win percentages will score higher because they tended to preside over successful qualification campaigns for tournaments, their problem coming when they actually got there.

 

[joeinbrighton]

after the amazing job he did at West Ham and the incredible job he's done at Sunderland they simply had to give him the gig.

The amazing job he did at West Ham where they finished 13th in his last season in charge when they dropped like a stone after Christmas and where Slaven Bilic significantly improved them in his first season in charge.

I mean, he did a decent enough job at West Ham in terms of getting them back into the Premier League after they got relegated, but West Ham never escaped the bottom end of the table under him and he wasn't exactly missed by West Ham fans when he left.