Sam Allardyce as England manager – Five reasons he should get the top job and five reasons he shouldn’t
Sunderland boss is in talks with FA over succeeding Roy Hodgson as Three Lions boss but is he really the right man for the country?
SAM ALLARDYCE is in talks with the Football Association over taking over from Roy Hodgson as England manager.
Sunderland have grudgingly given permission for their boss to speak to the FA - but have urged them to make a decision quickly.
Big Sam has the support of a host of names in the game, with former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson recommending him for the post.
And the 61-year-old is now the clear favourite to be handed the job of leading the Three Lions through their World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign and finally delivering success for the national team.
But his appointment may not be popular with some football fans around the country who question whether he has the tactical know-how to lead England.
SunSport brings you the case for and against Allardyce becoming England manager - then have your say in our straightforward vote.
The Case For
Organisation
There is no stand-out team in international football, a side so good they outclass everyone they meet.
Both Euro 2016 and Copa America have shown over the summer that being organised and playing to your strengths is the secret to going deep in a tournament.
England’s biggest problem in France was they lacked a plan, organisation and philosophy. Hodgson appeared to be making it up as he went along.
Allardyce would never be so ill-prepared.
A meticulous planner, he would drill into his players exactly what their jobs were, what tactics they should play and the way in which they should play.
Allardyce would settle on a plan that works best, not cram players into his eleven and then come up with a game-plan just to accommodate his choices.
He gets results
Like him or not, Allardyce has a track record of delivering and meeting the needs of his employers.
Bolton achieved promotion under him to the Premier League, then defied the odds to stay in the top flight time and again – largely because of Allardyce.
West Ham were a shambles when he took over, but he made wholesale changes, organised the team and won promotion back to the Premier League in his first year. Two years of stability in the division followed before he left.
Sunderland were dead and buried last season and heading for the Championship, but Allardyce’s arrival saw a huge upturn in results and performances. The club survived, without him they would have dropped down with a whimper.
No-one messes with him
If you step out of line, or get too big for your boots, Allardyce will soon climb in and let you know where you stand.
Superstar or fresh face, he treats everyone the same. He has the personality and authority to command respect among his players – crucial for an England squad crying out for direction and a sense of purpose.
He can deal with criticism
Big Sam is never afraid to make unpopular decisions or facing up to criticism over his team selections.
Time and again his tactics have been criticised, but he doesn’t cave in under pressure. Instead he sticks to what he believes in and shrugs off the negativity elsewhere.
At West Ham, when fans booed his team after they had won a game, Allardyce actively taunted his critics by cupping an ear to them. Such a thick skin is vital in an England manager.
He’s English
We’ve tried to go foreign and that hasn’t worked as both Sven Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello flattering to deceive.
There’s not exactly a long list of other international managers around who are suitable for the job, so why not go with what you know?
There are no hidden secrets with Allardyce, the FA know what they are getting. They know him, his work and his ideas inside out.
The Case Against
Lack of experience
Domestically, Allardyce has bags of experience, but can he adapt to the demands of the international game?
A brief sojourn into the Europa League with Bolton – eight games to be exact - is about as much as Big Sam has tasted of continental football, he has never even worked at Champions League level.
Setting up a team to perform in the rough and tumble world of English football is one thing. But delivering against other cultures is another.
Not losing is one thing, winning is another
Throughout his extensive top flight career, Allardyce has never been in charge of a team who are expected to win every game.
At every club there have been matches where he has sent out teams as the underdog against the bigger sides. Setting up your team not to lose is one challenge, but to build a side able to unlock teams and win every match is a different task entirely.
Be it in qualifying or in a major tournament, England will often be favourites going into games against opposition who will happily pack ten men behind the ball.
Think Russia or Iceland in Euro 2016. They were set up in a manner which Allardyce is used to, not wanting to concede and hoping to score from a counter attack or set-piece.
What England lacked was a game plan and approach to unlock those defences, and Allardyce has no proven pedigree of being able to meet such a demand.
The closest he has come was perhaps when he took charge of West Ham in the Championship when they were seen as the big scalp for other sides.
That season the Hammers didn’t have much success when faced with such a challenge, and the club only just limped up through the play-offs.
He has played without strikers
When in charge at West Ham, an injury-ravaged side went to in-form Tottenham fearing the worst. But on that day Allardyce decided to play without any recognised strikers, flooded the defence and midfield and came away with a shock 3-0 win.
That was fair enough, but the following week against Manchester City then again against Swansea he adopted a similar approach.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, but not over three successive matches. Those selections belied a manager more worried about not getting beaten than by one going out sending a message to his players that they can win themselves.
Would he ever play without a striker for England?
He has never won anything
When you are looking for a manager to take over England, you want someone with proven pedigree of success. Someone who has shown to be a winner.
Allardyce has won one League of Ireland title for Limerick, and the Third Division at Notts County. And that’s it.
Promotions with Bolton and West Ham both came via the play-offs. Other than that, the cupboard is bare.
Does he know how to win when the chips are down?
