Newcastle hot on Sam but is he really what we need?
Posted by JamesB in Newcastle | 7 May 2007
Whilst browsing on another Newcastle fan site (www.newcastle-online.com) I came across an opinion poll asking fans whether they would be in favour of Allardyce coming to Tyneside. Out of curiosity I viewed the results and out of 651 votes, a whopping 55% were in favour. I ask those fans, why?
Allardyce has made a name for himself by getting the best out of players who are supposedly ‘Past their best,’ and making shrewd signings on a shoestring budget. Despite thinking he could not have gone about it in a less inspiring way than the method of long-ball football he employed, I do acknowledge that he took the Trotters to a level very few others could have.
However, what good is a manager with these assets to Newcastle United? Getting players with little reputation to perform is all well and good, but having a manager that could do this would not solve the problems we have at all. Our team is littered with players who have huge reputation and pressure to perform, but are just not coming up with the goods on the pitch; practically the opposite to Kevin Davies and the likes. Whatever the solution may be, you are already talking about a completely different mental ball park, and Allardyce has done nothing to suggest he has the calibre to bring the best out of players with the potential class of Dyer and co.
His other asset, working with a shoe string budget, is also fairly useless to us. Whoever is in charge with us usually has financial backing in abundance – it’s about all Shepherd does well, so a manager who has rarely looked in the financial bracket of the transfer market that we can afford gives little confidence that he could sign the players we need.
I’m not oblivious to the other side of the coin – I do accept that being able to find a bargain is an asset whatever club you are at, with the same applying for the ability to bring the best out of players that we thought were past it. I just don’t feel that Allardyce’s strengths solve Newcastle’s problems at the moment in the slightest. This is before we have even considered the type of football we would have to endure; few things send me to sleep quicker than watching Allardyce’s Bolton hack the ball up field to the big boys in the hope of scrapping a goal from a few yards out. English football’s successful teams of the past and present have not used such tactics, and in recent years the Man Utds, Arsenals and Chelseas of this world have always entertained, showing there is no reason to resort to such ‘style’.
I for one hope this poll was not representative of the Geordie consensus. I admit there is no proof that he would not be a success for us, but there is little to inspire me with any confidence whatsoever. Then again, with Shepherd in charge, what kind of pulling power does this club hold for managers? There was a time not long ago when I would have backed us to bring in practically any manager we fancied, how things have changed…
Comments
Whilst you make some provocative comments about Allardyce, you haven't mentioned who you would like to see in the Hot Seat! I think Allardyce could be what we need at this time - a no-nonsense manager who can motivate players to get the best from them.
Many times this season have I saw NUFC give up easily and concede stupid goals (the Birmingham match springs to mind!) - maybe someone willing to kick a*** and not mollycoddle would be better?
The other name being bandied around is Eriksson ... why? Again, like Roeder, he seems to lack backbone and unwilling to stand up to overpaid and underachieving players.
Like I asked earlier, who would you like to see as our next manager??
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