CALL ME MR MARMITE
Big Sam jars with fans but still hopes to spread some love
There is an episode of The Office in which the cringeworthy protagonist David Brent eagerly awaits the arrival of his blind date in a bar.
‘I spoke to her on the phone and she seemed quite nice,’ he tells the camera, before adding that his prospective belle had told him she would be wearing a white chiffon scarf so he would be able to spot her.
right on cue, a slightly plump lady walks towards Brent wearing said white scarf. It is safe to say he is not impressed. ‘ Oh, for f***’ s sake,’ he says, disappointment etched all over his chubby face.
It is safe to say that when everton announced the arrival of Sam Allardyce in November, it will have prompted similar reactions across the blue half of Merseyside.
The joke in The Office was on the brilliantly deluded Brent. he regarded himself as something of a catch, despite his quirks, dodgy goatee and questionable ethics. he thought he deserved better than the lady in the chiffon scarf.
Do everton’s supporters fall into the same category? On Saturday Allardyce oversaw another efficient victory which plunged huddersfield into real danger.
Goals in either half from Cenk Tosun and Idrissa Gueye did the trick, but it was not enough to win over the club’s supporters.
The win further cemented everton’s revival since Allardyce’s appointment and all but assured an eighth-place finish. No matter. The travelling fans unfurled a banner calling for his removal and continuously chanted for his head using the same expletive as Brent muttered in the bar.
rightly or wrongly, they too feel they deserve better. ‘I’m marmite, aren’t I?’ shrugged Allardyce afterwards when asked about the stick.
The complaint from everton’s supporters is that his pragmatic style of football leaves a sour taste.
This was not what they expected following a summer of heavy investment and there is sympathy for what followed. It is not pretty and it was not meant to be like this.
Unlike Brent, the club’s owners knew exactly what they were getting when, with an unthinkable relegation suddenly becoming a distinct possibility, they turned to the former england manager. Points rather than panache have followed.
Not that Allardyce feels his side have not been easy on the eye. ‘The players are the key element for me,’ he added. ‘ They’re the ones I have to work with to get the best out of, get results and entertain the fans.
‘For me they’ve been doing that. I don’t think this squad can do any more than we’re doing.’
he may have a point. Tosun, whose opening goal was a fine finish, was an Allardyce signing — as was Theo Walcott, who followed up his winner in the 1-0 win against Newcastle last Monday with another encouraging performance.
Whether Allardyce will be at the helm to bring in more new faces in the summer, however, remains to be seen.
huddersfield can only dream of such dilemmas. A win here would have saved them and completed what David Wagner refers to as ‘the miracle’.
They have 35 points, three above the red line. Wagner does not feel that is enough. Trips to Manchester City and Chelsea await, before Arsene Wenger brings Arsenal to West Yorkshire for his Premier League finale.
The German, whose side wasted early chances but ran out of steam, has to lift his players. he is confident he can do that.
‘I will look in everybody’s eyes and I will use the right words,’ he said. ‘Game on.’
The magnitude of the task is not lost on Wagner. ‘It’s against very difficult opponents,’ he said. ‘It is still possible to steal some points. All of them have something special — we play Man City and I think they get the crown this day.
‘We play Chelsea and they maybe really need the points to fight for the top four.
‘And then we play Arsenal, Arsene Wenger’s last game of his Premier League time.
‘every game has an exciting story and we are part of each story,’ he said. ‘We have to make sure that at least one of the stories is positive for huddersfield.’
While survival talk dominates, Wagner still found the time to show sympathy for Allardyce.
‘To moan about the style, I think this is a little bit unfair,’ he said. ‘But this is anything but my problem. I have more exciting things to solve.’
HUDDERSFIELD (4-2-3-1): Lossl 5.5; Hadergjonaj 5, Jorgensen 6, Schindler 6, Kongolo 6; Mooy 6, Hogg 5 (Malone 62min, 5.5); Quaner 5 (Billing 59, 5.5), Pritchard 6.5, Van La Parra 5.5 (Depoitre 75, 5.5); Mounie 5.5.
Subs not used: Coleman, Smith, Lowe, Stankovic. Booked: Hogg.
Manager: David Wagner 5.5 EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Pickford 6; Coleman 6.5, Jagielka 6.5, Keane 6.5, Baines 6.5; Gueye 7, Schneiderlin 6.5; WALCOTT 7, Rooney 5.5 (Davies 63, 6), Vlasic 5.5 (Funes Mori 75, 5.5); Tosun 7 (Niasse 73, 5.5).
Subs not used: Robles, Bolasie, Martina, Baningime. Scorers: Tosun 39, Gueye 77. Booked: None Manager: Sam Allardyce 7. Referee: Lee Probert 7. Attendance: 24,121.