Big Sam hopes every Claud has a silver lining
EXPECT FIREMAN TO TURN UP THE HEAT
CLAUDIO Ranieri said yesterday that his dream had died.
But the devastated Italian may just have left a great legacy for other Premier League managers fighting relegation for the rest of this season.
Ranieri used to talk of gladiators and fighters in his team but in the end he was clearly stabbed in the back by his own centurions at Leicester. So expect many of those under-pressure bosses not to use kid gloves with their players in the remaining 13 games. The ink was barely dry on Ranieri’s sacking statement, but Sam Allardyce looks to have played a clever psychological ploy to make sure player-power doesn’t also rear its ugly head at Selhurst Park. Fireman Sam’s bid to turn round struggling Palace has been pretty lukewarm so far. But he came out with all guns blazing yesterday declaring that his players had failed to respond so far to his methods and messages. Clever that, Sam. His pre-match message is crystal clear to everyone now. The players must be backing the boss, not backstabbing him. We expect a positive response today. The Eagles are 23/20 (Paddy Power) to soar above goal-shy Middlesbrough. Talking of tough guy managers, West Brom’s Tony Pulis is no shrinking violet himself. But the current form of the Baggies is doing all the talking at the moment. They have lost just one of their past six matches and they face a Bournemouth side who have a recent record to rival..Leicester. The Cherries have collected just two points in 2017 so far, shipping 18 goals this year already. We simply couldn’t believe our eyes that WBA are odds against for the visit of Eddie Howe’s underperformers today. We’re punting on Pulis and his players at 23/20 with Betfred.