by Bashmachkin Sun Dec 02, 2007 2:10 pm
I dont think Allardyce will be sacked whatever happens in the Arsenal game. I think if we had performed against Blackburn as we did against Liverpool last week, and if after that we went and lost at home to Arsenal, then he might have gone. But our performance against Blackburn was much more positive, our football much improved, our side more balanced. And so I think hes safe for the time being.
That said, Im not sure whether he should be safe. Its true that certain things take time and require patience, and to see the benefit of Allardyces fitness regime we will need to wait a while. I dont know much about his training methods, but, with the rumours that some of the players have been unhappy with them, its also true that it will take time for the players to adapt to any unusual or new approaches to training. The problem is the number of bad decisions he has made this season when it comes to team selection, to tactics, to substitutions; his negative mentality; and the fact he seems to confuse the team and appears to struggle to motivate them. The game yesterday was a significant improvement because, in playing a 4-3-3, we had a more balanced line-up whilst the players looked up for the game. As I said yesterday, considering Allardyce looks unlikely to go for a 4-4-2 with two proper wide players and full backs, then a 4-3-3 might be the best formation for us, because it gives more balance. In his 4-4-2s to date Allardyce has sacrificed one wing entirely in order, presumably, to make us more solid defensively - but it doesnt work because it means the team lacks balance, players are suited for their positions, whilst the style of play where we hoof the ball means that we are constantly under pressure.
Yesterday was certainly more positive, and we played perhaps our best football so far this season. Whether it marked a conscious, fundamental change in Allardyce's outlook after last weeks nadir, or whether it was simply a one off and less of a change in style than a consequence of hyped up players - this remains to be seen. The hope is that Allardyce is going to be more flexible from now on and play in a more positive way. It would certainly be about time, and so far this season hes shown a remarkable ability to ignore problems, a failure to learn from mistakes, a stubbornness. And its obviously still a big concern that hes picking favourites like Smith and Geremi. Really, the midfield could do with a big shake up.
Perhaps he does deserve longer. As debaser says, after the Arsenal game, the next four matches shouldnt be too difficult. But after that we have a dreadful run of ten games from the end of December until early March - we play all of the top four, Arsenal and Liverpool away and Man Utd twice, as well as Villa away, and I think we play City and Blackburn too. And that emphasises that our start to the season has been an easy one - this little run of Liverpool, Blackburn, Arsenal is by far the toughest we have faced so far. So really the owners are in a tricky position, because if Allardyce does survive the Arsenal game then the next little run takes him up until the January window, at which point it will be harder to change managers. And so if hes still here after Arsenal, in a sense we are relying on him for the rest of the season. Incidentally, I wouldnt look forward in the slightest to January with Allardyce here. Id guess we'd bring in more Smiths and Geremis, and there have been rumours that we would try to bring in Ben Haim, which wouldnt improve us. Allardyce has an eye for supposed hard working and experience rather than talent.
I wouldnt want Shearer as manager at the moment, because I think a little more time away from the game might be beneficial in giving him a broader perspective. Id actually like a foreign manager, who could look at the club from a fresh perspective and who wouldnt pick based on nationality or on supposed hard working but would pick on ability, and who would bring a positive, expansive outlook.
That said, I think its ridiculous how many people presume Shearer would be a bad manager. I have faith that he will in time be a good one. Every pundit about in England talks in banalities and half the managers in the Premier League do the same, and its absurd to judge him based on his Match of the Day appearances (incidentally, he was a better pundit when he appeared on Sky - the BBC adds to the banality). Shearer is a very level headed guy, one of the best players the Premiership has seen, who was sufficiently clever and nuanced as a player to alter his game after long term injuries, coming back still as effective as ever, which in itself shows a certain understanding of the game. Hes also worked under various managers, two of whom, Robson and Keegan, are the best English managers the Premiership has seen; he has a lot of experience; he lead by example on the pitch. Judging him fairly, everything would suggest that, in terms of experience, in terms of respecting fellow professionals, in terms of footballing intellect, he is a class above the likes of Keane, Hughes, Bruce, Coleman, all of whom have more or less recently made the move from player to manager after little time out and with degrees of success.
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