Wretched football, erroneous boasts: Sam Allardyce was an Everton misfit

Friday, 18 May, 2018 8comments  |  Jump to most recent
Andy Hunter writes that Allardyce's sacking ends an ill-judged tenure which confirmed he is a survival specialist but had not one impressive display.

» Read the full article at The Guardian



Reader Comments (8)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer


Lawrence Green
1 Posted 19/05/2018 at 01:18:47
I wonder what the local and national journalists would have wrote if one of their favourite clubs had employed a manager, who following an away defeat, had the players in for extra training, which his assistant took charge of, but the man himself was back in his luxury Villa in Spain? This story was reported in the Times, but unfortunately it has a paywall so I can't access it properly.
However, ToffeeTV do have the story:-

After an away defeat during Sam Allardyce’s time as Everton manager, the squad had an extra training session on a Sunday morning, which began with a speech from former Everton assistant manager Sammy Lee, urging them to stick together during a difficult period. After the speech, one of the Everton players asked where Sam Allardyce was, as he was not present at the extra training session. The Everton squad were informed that he was at his house in Spain. (Source: Times)

It's that sort of dedication to the cause that endeared him to the media and former players and all the other talking heads, but it was never going help him with Evertonians. Be careful what you wish for, indeed, it would be just so great if we had a manager who could at least try and earn his corn.

Ron Marr
2 Posted 19/05/2018 at 01:57:55
I couldn't agree more about Allardyce and also the mediocrity of Kenwright. It was Allardyce's chance at a big club and he couldn't be arsed. His game plans against Arsenal, Citeh and the RS's reserves were pathetic.
Chris Davies
3 Posted 19/05/2018 at 04:42:48
Comments above are too true. I hated Martinez reign at the end. I also watched his teams play “bigger and better” teams off the park.

Fuck pragmatism. Davey Moyes did that to death; Allardyce... well 🙉🔫

Darren Hind
4 Posted 19/05/2018 at 06:03:25
I thought this was hard hitting when I read it, an opinion I haven't changed after reading it again. Hunter does not mince his words.

One thing is puzzling me. Hunter reports that a rival manager branded Sam's game as "Conference football". Although I suspect their were a few who would have thought it, I cant find anything to tell me who actually came out and said it.

Anyone know ?

Tony Abrahams
5 Posted 19/05/2018 at 06:47:31
It's not something I've ever heard said Darren, so my own guess would be that it came in a private conversation between Hunter and Klopp?

I wish more Liverpudlians felt like him though, because I'm not sure that many of them are happy that our austerity hit council, could be receiving £7 million a year, and I honestly fear for Joe Anderson's job, because of the real snide bitter bastards in our city.

Mark Tanton
6 Posted 19/05/2018 at 07:09:31
Contrast this with what Michael Dawson says about Silva in the first training session at Hull - where he amazed everyone by stopping a game to grab Tigers captain Dawson by the bib and physically manoeuvre him.

“No, no - here, here” he instructed Dawson, and repeatedly stopped the game thereafter to do the same to the others.

City were not allowed a day off - “you have days off when you’re winning, when you’re bottom you don’t deserve it.”

They got their first day off after beating the shite 2-0. Well deserved, alright. He’s worth the fuss.

Seb Niemand
8 Posted 20/05/2018 at 01:32:31
What they don't take into account is the inordinate amount of bad faith that hiring Allardyce generated between the club and the fan in the street. How much it lowered our age-old perception of this club's principles and values and showed us up just to be another tawdry, desperate club with a retarded sense of moral principle.

The very least the club should do is apologize to us – not for forcing us to watch dreadful football (because, like it or not, we got a single-digit place finish, which looked unlikely when the Fat Controller came on board), but for dragging the flag of our club through the mud by choosing to associate with the kind of lowlife Sam Allardyce is. We deserve better than him and the club ought to know that.

Paul Birmingham
9 Posted 21/05/2018 at 11:47:52
Ill-fated and poorly planned, he should never have been considered.

Massive damage incurred for the Everton brand and the club is even further away from being genuine top 6 contenders.


Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.


About these ads