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Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Sam Allardyce is coaching a Premier League club.
Yes, the English manager is back in the EPL after not having his contract renewed with West Ham United at the end of last season. This time, he takes the reigns of a struggling Sunderland, who have a mere three points in eight games. If it wasn’t for an equally unimpressive Newcastle United, they’d be rock bottom in the table.
For Allardyce and the Black Cats, the goal for the season is very simple: avoid relegation. Of course, in the Premier League that’s easier said than done. Therefore, the question is: is Allardyce the right man for the job?
If his track record is any indication, he should prove to be a more than adequate manager. “Big Sam,” as he’s affectionately called, has consistently assumed a managerial role in the EPL since bringing up Bolton Wanderers in the 2001–02 season.
What’s more impressive, he took his Bolton side from struggling bottom feeders to UEFA Cup contenders, all on a very limited budget. His track record was so impressive that he was even a finalist for the England job in 2006 before losing out to Steve McLaren.
And, since voluntarily leaving Bolton at the end of the 2006–07 season, Allardyce has had stints with Newcastle, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham. But his departures since the Bolton exit have been less pleasant, particularly from the front office of the respective clubs. What’s more, his resignations aren’t entirely performance-based.
It all stems from the style in which Allardyce teams typically play: the long-ball technique. It can be an effective method of play – particularly with the right personnel such as a tall striker up front – but it leaves fans with a sour taste in their mouth. The results are there, but the football isn’t pretty.
It has even drawn the ire of his peers.
Take Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, who last year claimed Allardyce’s West Ham was playing “19th Century football” after The Hammers secured a 0–0 draw with The Blues.
To Mourinho’s credit, it was an abysmal affair, as Chelsea totaled 39 shots, to West Ham’s one.
"It's very difficult to play a football match where only one team wants to play. It's very difficult," Mourinho said after the game.
Yes, it was difficult, but West Ham got what they wanted in the end. They got a draw. They got their point. In response, Allardyce believes high-profile managers like Mourinho are using his team’s style of play as an excuse after their teams are either held to a draw or defeated.
Additionally, it’s quite likely that this unattractive football is part of the reason why Allardyce wasn’t appointed England manager back in 2006, and the same reason he has yet to coach a high-profile club in the EPL. His tactics work for a middle of the road club, looking to stay alive at the very least, and at best land a spot in the Europa League.
But that’s exactly where Sunderland are at the moment. Fans want their club to stay in the EPL, and if it means resorting to less-attractive means to achieve results, so be it.
And they need the results immediately. It’s still early, but none of the recently promoted clubs — Norwich City, Watford and Bournemouth — have struggled mightily, and all of them are outside of the relegation zone. It’s quite possible they will slip down the table as games progress, but there are no guarantees, especially in the Premier League.
The Black Cats are already five points out of safety, and that includes a 16th-placed Chelsea. The Blues have been awful thus far, but it’s nigh impossible to imagine a scenario where that’s going to last long-term.
But Allardyce has been here before, and he’s already said he’s going to do it his way at Sunderland.
"I've got to get going and get stuck into the players, stuck into the staff and start getting everyone working my way and hopefully my way will be as good for Sunderland as it has been for the other clubs I have worked at, particularly West Ham, my last one,” he told reporters.
Of course, it remains to be seen how patient the supporters will be down the road. But in the meantime, there isn’t a better choice for the job.
