Why Sam is the Right Man!

Here I go again, thinking. The last time I did that I convinced myself Martin O'Neill would become our next manager. I don't think I was that far off since by many accounts he was offered the job but declined, although it could have been Lambert that said no. Either way an experienced manager of that pedigree was my point.


Big Sam must have been plan 1B, which I think of a bit differently than a backup plan like Chris Hughton or Dave Jones. In fact, if O'Neill hadn't stunned all of us by even considering the job back in January I would have thought of Allardyce as our "biggest" target, pun absolutely intended. And I for one am very happy. Here is a manager that took Bolton up and kept them there, had four top 8 finishes, was touted for a bit as a possible England manager, and was wrongly sacked by Blackburn. I know many supporters have voiced upset over the very idea of him, but I think that may be unfair and unrealistic. Here's why;

1) After what we have been through, what we need more than ANYTHING is a manager that can pick a team and organize it. Allardyce can do that.

2) He also is adept in the transfer market. He even was able to get some schmuck to pay 8 MILLION QUID for a medical experiment named Dyer! And that was after reneging on a 6 million pound deal for him. If we are going to have to sell people, I like the idea of him being part of the deal.

3) To those that are concerned about our style of play, let's give him a chance. Beggars can't be choosy. We just need a job done. We can be pretty again down the road. I'd also like to share something from one of my sports over here, basketball. In the 1980's, The LA Lakers won 4 NBA titles with Magic Johnson leading the way. They played a free flowing, fast paced brand of basketball. The press called it "Showtime". It was to basketball what we saw Barcelona do the other day. Pure artistry.


In 1991, Riley became coach of my team, the New York Knicks. Totally different group of players, and a totally different style of play. It was smash mouth basketball. You want to slam dunk on me? Fine, but you will PAY and PAY DEARLY. "Commentators admired Riley's ability to work with the physical, deliberate Knicks, considering that he was associated with the fast-paced Lakers in the 1980s" says Wikipedia. He didn't win the championship in New York, but he came close.

The point is, a good coach/manager can adjust based on what is needed. I wanted O'Neill, and I thought SuGoBrat would offer the moon to him. Maybe they did and he still said no. But next to O'Neill, considering who was available, Big Sam was who I wanted. I'm going to give Allardyce the benefit of the doubt here. With him calling the shots I have every confidence we will come back up sooner than later.

Article Submitted by USA Dave