Old boys back on merry-go-round

THREE former NorthEast managers clambering back aboard November’s managerial merry-go-round sparked my curiosity.

Sam Allardyce, Alan Pardew and David Moyes re-emerged from their hiatuses to accept highprofile jobs at Everton, West Brom and West Ham respectively.

Their spells in Tyne and Wear were mostly unimpressive. Allardyce (inset, top) was sacked during his first season at Newcastle in 2008, but he did save Sunderland from the drop in 2016.

Pardew (inset, middle) took Newcastle to fifth in 2012, but his football rarely excited Toon fans and he left for Crystal Palace in 2014.

Moyes’ (inset, bottom) dire one-season reign at Sunderland was calamitous, ending in relegation.

What intrigued me about this trio was similarities their CVs shared with three other managers of similar vintage.

Comparing Allardyce, Pardew and Moyes with Roy Hodgson, Mark Hughes and Tony Pulis revealed striking links and a pattern.

The careers of the six bosses are mainly associated with nine clubs – operating outside the Big Six, although Hughes, Hodgson and Moyes had brief spells at Man City, Liverpool and Man United.

Palace, for example, employed four of the six – Pulis, Pardew, Allardyce and Hodgson.

Some replaced each other: Allardyce for Pardew at Palace; Moyes for Allardyce at Sunderland; Pardew for Pulis at WBA and Big Sam for Hodgson with England. None of this ‘old boys’ club’ has ever won a major managerial honour. They are seen by owners as safe hands or firefighters.

Their priority is survival.

But, as Everton have shown with Allardyce’s £9million, 18-month deal, splashing the cash on a quick fix remains the last resort.

Allardyce will keep Everton up. But to move forward they need a more progressive thinker.

Right now the route to the Premier League for bright, young British coaches is blocked.

Until owners wise up and encourage younger managerial talent, we will fall further behind the rest of Europe.