Big Sam ready to rescue another lost cause
– Sam Allardyce once mused that if he had been called “Allardici” it might all have been so different, and given the chance to manage Real Madrid or Inter Milan he was sure he would have the medals to accompany the fashionable continental sheen.
Alas for Big Sam, when he finally did land his dream job as England’s manager last year, he was fired after only 67 days amid controversy and a newspaper sting.
So it was his lot then to throw himself back at the grindstone, back to the unglamorous role that had defined his managerial name in the first place.
Tomorrow, if he can steer Crystal Palace to a point from the basement showdown with Hull City, Allardyce (right) will once again have protected his record of never having suffered relegation from the Premier League.
Considering the other clubs he has overseen – Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham and Sunderland – and often the difficult circumstances in which he took charge, this feat tells of his considerable strengths.
In 2002/03 at Bolton, he avoided relegation with a final-day win. In 2008, he took over at Blackburn in December when they were 19th. Sunderland were second bottom last season when he arrived.
Now, it is Palace who are grateful to have Allardyce on board.
Allardyce said he had been a “fool” when his brief England reign had ended three months earlier after he had been filmed allegedly offering advice on how to “get around” FA transfer rules.
Yet the 62-year-old is nobody’s fool when it comes to rescuing lost causes and even though he lost six of his first eight league matches in charge, once his familiar hallmarks of shrewd signings, clever man management, intensive training and tactical nous kicked in, the makeover was amazing.
Palace won six of their next eight, including victories at table-topping Chelsea and Liverpool and a 3-0 home win over Arsenal.
All this featured excellent performances from three key Allardyce signings – Luka Milivojevic, Mamadou Sakho and Jeffrey Schlupp. Up front, Allardyce freed the talent of Wilfried Zaha as Christian Benteke rediscovered his confidence.
Even their recent three-match losing slump cannot quite persuade Eagles fans that Allardyce will not be the safest pair of hands around for tomorrow. –