“All I’ve done is stop them conceding goals”

Thursday, 14 December, 2017 54comments  |  Jump to most recent

Sam Allardyce says that his top priority since being appointed as Everton's new manager has been to tighten up what was, briefly, the leakiest defence in the Premier League.

Speaking to Jim White on Talksport, the 63-year-old said that, "things are moving in the right direction" at the club now that the team has been stabilised in the wake of Ronald Koeman's sacking and David Unsworth's difficult stint as caretaker boss.

Since beating West Ham 4-0 in Unsworth's last game in charge, Everton have kept three clean sheets in four games, culminating in last night's 1-0 victory win at Newcastle.

Asked about his start to life at Goodison, Allardyce, who has admitted he is baffled as to why the defence he has inherited was so porous before, said: “Things are moving in the right direction after what was a very disappointing run for Ronald, which ended up losing him his job.

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“In the end, I've helped the players to organise themselves to stop the goals going in — that's all I've done.

“The rest of the football in possession I've left to them, I've left it to them to get on with their qualities to try and create goals.

“I've just given them the solid base to build from. I said to them - ‘Get a clean sheet. It's a big, big problem at the club at the moment and if you just do that first, you will get results and confidence will grow' — and that's exactly what's happened.

“I'd say that we're not playing at our best yet, but when confidence is growing the football should hopefully become more fluent and we'll become a more attacking and adventurous side when that confidence grows.”

Quotes sourced from TalkSport



Reader Comments (54)

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James Morgan
1 Posted 14/12/2017 at 16:37:17
Good interview from Sam with Jim White today. He expects us to improve with the ball and when players like Bolasie, Barkley (if he stays) return that we will play more fluid football. He’s done his first job which was to stop conceding goals. In fact he’s done the second job which is to win games albeit early in his rein.

I’d love to see what he could do with a fully fit squad and some new additions. Three signings plus returning players would give him a great headache. I imagine we could do with shipping a couple out as we have quite a big but unbalanced squad.

Michael Kenrick
2 Posted 14/12/2017 at 17:13:48
That is a great interview. Good questions from Jim White. I don't think anyone could find fault in anything Big Sam says... but there's always one, I guess!
John G Davies
3 Posted 14/12/2017 at 17:28:34
There will be Michael :-)

Biggest impression on me is the simplicity Sam has brought.

Ian Burns
4 Posted 14/12/2017 at 17:37:06
Sam Allardyce hasn't said a thing wrong thus far – another good interview with understated influence.

He is however going to have to work his way upfield – better possession and good service to the strikers – whoever they happen to be. However, so far so good and praying for another improved performance on Monday night.

Duncan McDine
5 Posted 14/12/2017 at 17:57:34
I like what I see and hear so far from the big fella, and to be honest I was never against him coming in to do a short term job... lets face it, they were desperate times just a couple of weeks back.

We have to take into consideration that we've beaten three of the worst teams in Premier League, so the point at Anfield was what probably impressed me the most. This said, before he came in, there was no chance of taking 10 points from the last 4 games, so credit for that.

The thing that concerns me is when this honeymoon period fades, will we be able to prevent turning shit again?... both Koeman and Martinez had a very positive early impact.

Jay Harris
6 Posted 14/12/2017 at 18:00:53
The secret is in the statement "All I've done is stop them conceding goals".

That in itself is a monumental achievement given that we have been defending like a non league team all season v even a bunch of Cypriot League players put two past us at home.

I love the fact he is not satisfied with our passing,ball retention and attacking play.

"Watch this space" as the saying goes.

Len Hawkins
7 Posted 14/12/2017 at 20:59:55
He is also adept at using the media to get results, I remember when he was at Bolton and they were playing Everton next game all week he kept going on about Tim Cahill fouling when he goes up for the ball and sure enough Cahill kept getting penalised he never got a sniff. I remember SA grinning on the touchline knowing he'd taken one of the best players out of the game without a player putting a finger on him.
Pat Waine
8 Posted 15/12/2017 at 07:55:28
In nearly all the matches under Sam, we had periods where we got the bounce of the ball. In most, we never tried to go forward. If we play like we have so far, we will never and I mean never play attractive football and we will never win anything.

Settle for mid table? Is that our ambition? I don't think it should be. This always happens when you get a few results and fans forget about the way we are playing the game... but the way you play the game has a way of coming back to bite you on the arse and so it will here too.

Paul Kossoff
9 Posted 15/12/2017 at 14:36:50
Big Sam can't take the credit yet, he had nothing to do with the West Ham result, I'm sure it's the new broom sweeps clean syndrome with these players. As Duncan said, when the honeymoon is over.

Let's see where we are come January; then, if a marked improvement is still evident, he can take all the credit he wants.

John Keating
10 Posted 15/12/2017 at 15:22:04
Unbelievable from some on here.

Before Allardyce was announced as manager, this team was absolute pure crap. Couldn't score, shipping goals left right and centre, no plan and absolutely no confidence.

John Keating
11 Posted 15/12/2017 at 15:33:06
Just to follow on.

Today we sit mid table, have a few points in the bag and more important clean sheets. Confidence is slowly coming back and players seem to have some sort of system they can work too.

Nobody is saying we won't have reverses along the way but there for sure is progress and if people can't see it then I don't know why. "Attractive football"?? Right now, bollocks to attractive football. Getting results and points on the board is far more important. We can play "attractive football" later in the season when we're safe and have some confidence. What would people have said if we'd played attractive football at Mordor and shipped 5 goals??

We seem to be hung up on the West Ham game. For sure Unsworth took the team and rightly takes any credit going but I also think that the players knowing that Allardyce was there and was the new manager at least made them make more of an effort.

Allardyce has only been here 5 minutes and people just can't get over it. Difficult as it is try and give him and his team just a little credit.

Steve Jones
12 Posted 15/12/2017 at 16:31:48
We've had one good result against the red mess and you can hardly call that good in any sense of the concept of what the game of football is about. The West Ham result wasn't even his team selection.

I appreciate Sams honesty (irony in that to be sure!) in coming out and saying that he's not done much yet. I'd agree with him as well. I think we'd have been battered by Liverpool, if Unsworth had the reins still, as pride wouldn't have allowed him to play the way Allardyce did. The other three results though would have been just as they played out with Sam at the helm – because those three sides were poor, full stop.

When we start going up against the better sides sooner or later were going to need more than the "dig-in and lump it away" mentality. That's when he's going to need to prove he's worth some of money he's being paid.

Paul Kossoff
13 Posted 15/12/2017 at 20:22:12
John, give the team credit? What for? They have been a bloody disgrace and a laughing stock; they win a couple of games and all of a sudden bums like Williams are the greatest, and Kenwright can do no wrong, all is forgiven.

No, no credit to any of this side until they prove themselves, and over the last two seasons they haven't even earned a wage.

I hope we do finish with a decent placing this season, and big Sam is so successful he gets a longer contract, but let's wait and see.

Frank Crewe
14 Posted 15/12/2017 at 20:23:15
Amazing. Apparently winning isn't enough. Now we have to win like Man City. Well once we've spent a billion quid on players maybe we will. Until then, I'll settle for winning any way we can.

You know if we won every league game 1-0 we would win the league regardless of how many goals the other teams scored because you don't get any extra points for goals. It's three points, 1-0 or 10-0. This is professional football. Win first; looking good doing it comes a distant second.

Brent Stephens
15 Posted 15/12/2017 at 20:26:36
Paul, John said "try and give him and his team just a little credit" [my emphasis].

Seems churlish not to want to give them any credit at all for the recent performances.

Ciarán McGlone
16 Posted 15/12/2017 at 20:27:23
I have to admit, he does come across very well and says the right things.

He is likeable... hopefully his football can match that.

Jay Woods
17 Posted 15/12/2017 at 20:40:54
Pat Waine... So you think we should be playing like Champions League contenders after playing for so long like we'd struggle to stay in the Championship, never mind the top flight?

I can only assume you're a kid and will give you a pass accordingly.

Jay Harris
18 Posted 15/12/2017 at 20:42:47
Totally agree with John.

Is there any (honest) Evertonian that after the Atalanta and Southampton games could see us getting a result against anyone let alone go 5 games unbeaten.

You can let Unsy take the credit for the West Ham game but IMO that 5 minute chat from Sam Allardyce did a lot to ease tension and let them know they had to keep a clean sheet.

I have to be honest and say at that point I didn't see a worse team than us in the Premier League and quite a few better teams in the Championship, so we were well and truly up the creek without a paddle.

At least now we have a chance of attracting good players in January, imagine if we were in the mix with the bottom 3.

I love the fact we have a professional backup team too – not Kenwright's version of Dad's Army.

Dermot Byrne
19 Posted 15/12/2017 at 20:43:44
Any improvement is welcome. I will be interested to see how the club backs him in the January transfer window.
John Keating
20 Posted 15/12/2017 at 21:00:21
Paul the team has been a laughing stock, a complete disgrace, an embarrassment to all of us, including themselves. I totally agree with what you say.

However, as we all accept, well most right-minded fans, we were definitely relegation looking and had things not changed, had we not sacked Koeman and put Unsworth back to the U23s I reckon we would presently be in the bottom 3.

For whatever reason, we have improved. It's a fact we have stopped shipping in goals. We are getting points and slowly moving away from the scrap at the bottom.

I have no doubt when we play the better teams we will suffer so we have to beat the lesser teams, so far, so good.

Our slight improvement hasn't happened because the weathers getting colder. Allardyce and his team have tweaked the team, stopped the weekly chopping and changing and set us up, not to play open football, which will come, but to stop us getting hammered every week.

The players are looking a bit more confident. Players who were dire such as Williams, are improving. Slowly the team are turning things around.

Again, I suggest Allardyce and his team should be given just a little credit.

Peter Gorman
21 Posted 15/12/2017 at 21:08:16
Yes John, we have improved our results but an awful lot of players have so much more to prove to the fans.

I'm not exactly going to moan about the team when they win but, in all honesty, I'd be glad to see the back of Williams and Schneiderlin to name but two bums and realistically we won't see any improvement from McCarthy and Besic.

Jagielka and Baines are well past their best and never exactly blessed with a winner's mentality in any case so, all things considered, we still need a hell of a lot of wise spending in January to forge a team that won't roll over and be tickled at the first hint of adversity.

Dave Abrahams
22 Posted 15/12/2017 at 21:47:26
Before the Bournemouth and Watford home games, I asked the Blue who sits next to me was he confident about winning those games. He said no he wasn't and neither was I, it was pretty much the same versus West Ham, and even 2-0 up in that game when the Hammers started battering us for a good period at the start of the second half I got the same feeling. God knows what would have happened if they had scored the penalty.

Since then against Huddersfield, Liverpool and Newcastle, there has been steady improvement in the defence, we don't look like crumbling with nearly every attack by the opposition, we are more solid, yes three poor teams but we have collected the points. Did we look like gaining any points before these last four games?

Another three points on Monday, yes, against another very poor team, will take the pressure off relegation further. But the main point is every match before Sam Allardyce came, we looked poorer than all the poor teams we have played against; now, we don't.

Dave Ganley
23 Posted 15/12/2017 at 21:59:49
So far so good for me. I was never a big advocate of Sam being our manager but to date he has said all the right things and results have been good so I have no complaints.

I shall reserve judgement before going overboard to see how the season pans out. We are definitely moving in the right direction and the performances to date under his guidance I couldn't have imagined 3 weeks ago. I suppose that says more about the previous regime more than Sam.

I will be more than ready to eat humble pie if Sam can carry on with the way he's started and getting us into a winning habit and ultimately playing decent football.

Another acid test coming up against the chaps a week tomorrow so that will tell us a bit more about how we are progressing. Onwards and upwards COYB

Darren Hind
24 Posted 15/12/2017 at 22:02:21
Dave @22

That post took me back to when Moyes first took over some 15 years ago. I distinctly remember having a similar conversation.

I watched the debate about Allardyce – once we knew he was in the frame – with interest, every now and again somebody would mention that Moyes always seemed to finish above him.

Who would your money be on to finish the higher of the two this season?

John G Davies
25 Posted 15/12/2017 at 22:13:22
Dave (#22)

Every Blue I spoke to was of the same mindset. Now, every Blue I speak to is more relaxed.

Bottom line is we were a shambles before Allardyce took over. We haven't turned into Man City but we are undeniably more solid defensively. That was always step one.

P4 W3 D1 L0 GF 7 GA 1.

Gavin McGarvey
26 Posted 15/12/2017 at 22:15:43
Well, he's not my preference as manager, but you can't argue with the results. I imagine he'll do fairly well, just to annoy me for vehemently not wanting him to be our next manager. Still, it's about the club not the manager, and as long as he does a good job, I shall pretend he's not there.

Those people talking about style etc... well it's a bit early in the day to be talking about that sort of thing, to say the least. I imagine he'll expect to get results against the poorer teams and be more defensive against the bigger teams. Anymore than that will depend on whether Moshiri believes in him and is willing to give him hundreds of millions to spend on players that may or may not work out. We'll see.

Tony Hill
27 Posted 15/12/2017 at 22:24:09
Dave (#22), straightforward and true, as so often.

It's not just about Allardyce, it's about the strength behind him, especially Lee, and the nous they can muster together. It's about tough, disillusioned men with a desire to prove themselves in the teeth of lazy opinion.

This has all been arrived at under fire, and it feels tempered accordingly.

Laurie Hartley
28 Posted 15/12/2017 at 22:34:17
Paul # 21 – fair go for Williams – he has played in 5 games that we have only conceded 1 goal. His back four partners during that time have been two youngsters and a player playing out of position.

The other point I would like to make is that if ever this side was going to crumble, it was at Anfield when they conceded a goal just before half time. They didn't – they dug deep and came back to equalise.

Lev Vellene
29 Posted 15/12/2017 at 22:40:12
Pat #8

That is what our lack of confidence caused! Hesitancy about pushing forwards, and as he said, he only told them to close the leaks! The rest he left up to them!

I never wanted Allardyce, but from what I can see this far, he's stopped the rot! Now, I'm waiting to see if he can deliver on his promise to NOT be the stereotype Big Sam we all expected when we got him!

I think his players' confidence in themselves will determine how that view pans out. But I accept he might need a successful January transfer window to truly make this team his own...

Laurie Hartley
30 Posted 15/12/2017 at 22:50:08
Correction @ 28 - 4 games not 5 for Williams
Kevin Prytherch
31 Posted 15/12/2017 at 22:51:51
I posted a couple of times that, if we got a manager in before the West Ham game, they'd look good due to the run of fixtures.

Unsworth had 5 out of 6 games away (not counting Atalanta), so we were always going to improve from West Ham onwards.

That being said, I'm impressed with Allardyce and think that Unsworth should be learning from him if he ever wants to take the reigns full time.

Peter Warren
32 Posted 15/12/2017 at 22:53:13
Pat Waine (#9) – did you watch us at Newcastle or just read the reports? We were class at Newcastle – slow start but some really good passing moves without end product, mostly obviously involving Sigurdsson and Rooney.

Like most people, I have a bias against Allardyce – nearly every Evertonian does. However, no need to predict future yet, judge every game on its merits and it's only the derby we got lucky! Every other game we've well deserved 3 points.

Raymond Fox
33 Posted 15/12/2017 at 23:06:02
I have to say some on here would complain if they won the lottery.

We have not won a trophy in 20-odd years, do some supporters not ask themselves why we haven't?

It's too easy to keep blaming the manager, might it not be because of the players who pull on the blue jersey?

At this time, I don't give two hoots how we play as long as we win. Give me a win every time, or else "Oh, we knocked the ball about lovely today, didn't we? We got beat but I'm still happy" – do me a favour!

When we have Man City's (et al) money and players, we may be able to do both but we haven't, so I'm grateful for small mercies.

Give me a win every time.

Stan Schofield
34 Posted 15/12/2017 at 00:08:42
Well, again, Allardyce just seems to talk sense. He seems to inhabit a bullshit-free zone. And deliver on the pitch, thus far. So no complaints from me. I am fascinated to see what he can do with this squad, because I don't think he's had the opportunity in the past to have such resources of player quality.

Of course, it could all go tits-up, which is what we've become hardened to. But, on that front, there may be underlying problems with Everton that are beyond the mere influence of Allardyce, which is a separate and bigger subject entirely.

Don Alexander
35 Posted 16/12/2017 at 00:34:55
Stan, you seem, like me, to be somewhat resigned to something horrible emerging from the boardroom/owner. I just hope the horrible engulfs Kenwright and not Moshiri for purely monetary reasons in terms of affording a successful, and dare I say entertaining, future.

That said, Moshiri's acumen as an owner and spending power has rightly come under scrutiny and, in my opinion, his plans re the new stadium are the most impressive thing about him... damaging as the city not winning the Commonwealth Games tournament will probably be.

I trust he otherwise feels like most, if not all the fans do; disappointed to put it mildly by events on the pitch for the past 18 months, obviously, and even more disappointed by events in the boardroom, and at Finch Farm, and in the player recruitment departments.

Stan Schofield
36 Posted 16/12/2017 at 01:14:16
Don, I'm hopeful, but at the same time a bit cautious, as I'm sure many of us are. Maybe Moshiri is the same. Our interest is in Everton because it's in our blood, his interest is in Everton because it's a big investment with bigger returns resulting from better results on the pitch. His caution shows itself by steadying the ship, taking control, appointing Allardyce, to start moving us forward. Here's hoping.
Laurie Hartley
37 Posted 16/12/2017 at 10:40:06
Stan & Don – Sam Allardyce appears to have been Farhad Moshiri's choice. He said after the appointment that:-

"He will bring stability to the club in the top half of the table providing us with a platform to move forward."

What I read into that is, for the stadium to go ahead, he needs that platform of stability. He has backed Sam Allardyce's ability big time and I think he will deliver, so I am not concerned that we will see Moshiri bailing out.

Another couple of things I have noticed is that:

A) Steve Walsh's position looks secure – he and Sam Allardyce go back a long way.

B) Bill Kenwright is keeping a very low profile.

The winds of change seem to be blowing over Goodison Park once more.

Frank Crewe
38 Posted 16/12/2017 at 11:06:01
I think Kenwright and Moshiri have both learned a lesson here. Kenwright wanted a young up-and-coming manager like Moyes so he appointed Martinez. The rest is history. Moshiri on the other hand wanted a big name manager so he went after Koeman. Ex top player who did a decent job a Southampton. Unfortunately once again for whatever reasons it didn't work out.

Now we have gone for Allardyce. A manager who has been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt. For the time being at least he appears to have stopped the rot and things are looking up. He gives off an aura of calmness, reliability and reassurance but it's still early days.

Remember Martinez went a whole season before he started to come off the rails and Koeman almost had 7th place sown up by Xmas in his first season. So there is still plenty of time for things to go wrong. As fans all we can really do is get behind the manager and players as much as we can and hope the current improvement continues.

Brian Harrison
39 Posted 16/12/2017 at 11:48:20
Although I didn't want him Allardyce has steadied the ship and got good results in the games were he has been in charge. As he said he has organised the defence and stopped us shipping goals, and that is something he has always been good at, organising a defence. But going forward I think we all want to see a bit more attacking style of football, and that's the hard part. Pulis, Allardyce, Moyes and Pardew have all been able to organize defences, but when you have to adapt to play more offensively is when all these managers have a problem.

So, while we are all delighted to be moving away from the relegation zone and probably for the rest of the season we will hope to see a steady progression. But for me the test will come next season were the match-going fans will not accept a game based on a defensive style set-up. Can Sam play that type of game I don't know his past records say he won't but I hope he proves me wrong. And he has surrounded himself with 2 other men who have managed clubs in Lee and Shakespeare.

Listening to Allardyce talking over potential transfer activity, he said it would be a collective approach, and he presumed he would have the final say. So I guess it leaves plenty of opportunity to point the finger elsewhere if the policy fails. I am also not comfortable about the role of Steve Walsh, again according to Sam he will have a major input into our purchases. Seems he was the one pushing for Allardyce and Shakespeare to be appointed as he knew his position would not be threatened if they were appointed. Seems like despite his part in failing to bring in a couple of strikers, he seems to have been absolved of any blame and given a more prominent role in the buying of players. The guy is a scout, that's it; you can give him all the fancy titles like Director of Football but he is a scout at the end of the day, and judging by Sandro which was undoubtedly his purchase, not a very good one at that.

Dave Abrahams
40 Posted 16/12/2017 at 21:30:29
Darren (24), I would hope it would be Allardyce but Moyes had another good win today with a clean sheet. I'd say Moyes has a more balanced squad than Sam at the moment to work with. Let's see how those squads are added to in January; we need at least three, whether permanent or on loan.

I hope we are not still in trouble along with West Ham at the end of the season... I think we play each other in the last game of the season – what a game that would be to save our bacon.

Tony Hill
41 Posted 16/12/2017 at 22:20:35
Allardyce is creating a serious club ethos, he is making sure at the moment that everyone is getting a namecheck. His latest comment is about the analysts and their major contribution technologically to our coaching intelligence.

Not a dinosaur and, most importantly, he's ensuring it's not all about him. That's a very clever approach and one which will greatly strengthen us.

Darren Hind
42 Posted 16/12/2017 at 22:21:43
The thought of Davey Moyes coming back here made my blood run cold Dave. Especially given the way he acted after he had left... but Allardyce is Moyes lite He has always been Moyes lite.

I don't get all this "credit where credit is due lark", especially as I don't see where credit is due (except to the youngsters who have turned things around) Allardyce came in at time when we had been steered away from the relegation Zone. I saw no danger and I said so at the time.

Everton had thumped West Ham and many rejoiced at the thought of Moyes being humiliated and relegated again – me included, but ask yourself this; if your house depended upon who would finish the higher of the two, all known history would tell you that Moyes would be the guy to put your mortgage on.

Allardyce took over a team which had just put Moyes's side to the sword, They were in far deeper shit than we were. We were 8 points clear of them this morning and we will probably be 8 points clear of them at ten o'clock on Monday, so there should be no problem stretching the lead... should there ?

I mean TGT is finished and Big Sam is exactly the right man to take over our multi million pound squad – right ?

Sam's first task as far as I am concerned is to dispel the nightmare idea of Moyes climbing above us in the league, but given Allardyce has inherited a squad which cost twice as much as TGT's and he'll be given more to spend in January, we should at least be able to expect he gets as least as many points between now and the end of the season.

Given the massive 8-point gap and superior spending power Sam has inherited over his West Ham counterpart, the least we can expect is we keep the miserable fucker at harms length. If he is to justify all these claims that he is exactly what we need right now, that is the very least we can expect.

These two are dinosaurs who should never have been mentioned when the Everton gig came up. They belong at smaller clubs because they are expert at playing the percentages and making their teams hard to beat. They will not win anything.

I guess the football lovers amongst us are back to square one – hoping and preying that the latest no-nonsense leopard can changes his spots.

Jon Withey
43 Posted 16/12/2017 at 22:23:53
I'm happy that he has brought in a strong management and coaching team. At the very least, we'll be organised – and we really weren't under Koeman.

I got the feeling from Koeman that he and his brother weren't the best coaches.

I expect Sam is a pretty decent man-manager too which didn't come across from Koeman – he was too much the opposite of Martinez in that respect.

He has a cast-iron ego which is healthy for a football manager but usually also their downfall.

Finally, I get a better feeling that he is made up to have the job – whereas Koeman seemed to think he was doing us a favour – he wasn't.

Paul Mackie
44 Posted 16/12/2017 at 22:43:41
So he says 'the right things' and we can excuse shite football. Fucking awesome.
Tony Hill
45 Posted 16/12/2017 at 22:44:48
Unlike the dazzling stuff we've been playing for so long before he arrived. Fucking idiotic.
John Keating
46 Posted 16/12/2017 at 22:54:03
Yes Paul spot on.

Oh for the days of Martinez and that fantastic Koeman.

We were really spoilt, weren't we. Probably would have won the league if they'd kept Koeman and all his exhibition stuff.

Never in a relegation situation, as so many experts have said.

Tom Bowers
47 Posted 16/12/2017 at 23:12:16
Hard to believe but Everton are the only team to have taken a point off Man City this season and the best attack in the Prem. could only score one late goal against arguably at that time was a defence easy to breach.

It's also hard to believe that, after that game, Everton deteriorated under the Koeman malaise and gave us long suffering fans fits about being relegation fodder.

Whilst results have since improved, there is as we all agree, a lot of work still to do.

After the Swansea game, they play Chelsea and Man Utd followed by Liverpool again in the cup, so we all hope the turnaround gets better.

Len Hawkins
48 Posted 16/12/2017 at 23:18:39
Well, all you Marco Silva fans must be getting jittery now... many more games like today and he'll be knocking on the door doing his best Yosser Hughes impression: "Giz a job".
Colin Glassar
49 Posted 16/12/2017 at 23:39:21
Len, rumours were he wanted the Everton job and has lost his focus since his pleas went unheard. We will see how the rest of the season pans out for him.
Peter Lee
50 Posted 16/12/2017 at 23:56:37
Colin, sounds like we dodged a bullet if he is so easily disaffected.
Neil Copeland
51 Posted 17/12/2017 at 00:28:10
To all those saying we have played poor teams recently and should expect to win, you are talking shite! We were the worst team in the Premier League prior to the West Ham game. You can only beat the team that is put in front of you, any win in the Premier League is a good win.

Not including the West Ham game, Sam has had 1 game at home and 3 away out of which he has won 3 and drawn 1. Yes, we have much sterner tests to come but 1 game at a time hey? The confidence is definitely growing and as mentioned in other posts above, we played better at Newcastle.

So, be patient guys and give the team and the manager a break, you never know they may even surprise us all.

Paul Tran
52 Posted 17/12/2017 at 11:39:58
Darren, interesting stuff. I'd agree that Moyes and Allardyce are two similar peas in a pod. My money would be on Allardyce and here's why.

As a man who also follows the turf, I'm sure you understand the importance of form. The bare form says that Moyes's teams finish consistently higher than Allardyce's. What I've learnt down my punting years is the importance of collateral form over bare form. Moyes consistency stemmed from his good work and almost total security of tenure. Allardyce has managed to find the three clubs more badly run than ours (Blackburn, Newcastle and West Ham), plus his two escapology acts at Sunderland and Palace. I'd argue that his more recent form of improving teams and his lack of exposure at a bigger club makes him the better bet.

That said, they've both landed on their feet, inheriting half-decent squads that will improve for a bit of organisation and fitness. I wouldn't put my money on either of them turning their clubs into major forces.

I do suspect that Allardyce will leave his successor with a better situation to manage.

John G Davies
53 Posted 17/12/2017 at 11:47:25
Thanks for the analysis, Paul. I have taken it on board and will back Sam £50 each way. 😁

Ernie Baywood
57 Posted 17/12/2017 at 12:17:14
You can't argue with the upturn in results since Sam came in.

You can argue with anyone who thinks that the manager is saying 'all the right things'. We always like what our managers say when we're winning.

Let's just wait and see if this early improvement turns into proper form before we start hailing him as something that he's never been before in his long career.


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