SAM PLAN FOR GLORY
His style motivated world-class players at Bolton... He’ll plan for everything and make the England team feel 10 feet tall
How Allardyce will win over millionaire stars
ILAST saw Sam Allardyce at a birthday party in Marbella a few weeks ago. We talked football, how he kept Sunderland up, and then he went off to boogie with a group that included my wife Emma.
Sam’s dance moves were so energetic, they became an internet hit. That’s him, work hard and enjoy life too.
It was my good fortune to spend four great years working with Sam at Bolton. His knack was getting the best from players like me, at a crossroads in their careers, and also World Cup winners such as Youri Djorkaeff. That’s why I believe he’ll be a hit with England.
He has the same qualities as Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson but without their faults. His players will feel 10 feet tall every time they walk out for their country, and he’ll stamp down on anyone who takes liberties, no matter how big the name. Everyone will be treated the same.
He changed my career with a chat in a hotel room in Austria during a Bolton pre-season tour in 2003. I was 26 and on trial, having struggled at Blackburn, Southampton and Millwall. Sam wanted to know where it had gone wrong for me. He was very candid but humorous with it. I left the room 20 minutes later know- ing this was a manager I wanted to play for.
That approach worked for genuine world stars like Jay-Jay Okocha, Fernando Hierro, Ivan Campo and Djorkaeff as well. They’d won the world’s biggest prizes but came to Bolton because of Sam’s ambition and drive.
They respected him and were given the Bolton Bible like the rest of us every season with a list of what — and what not — to do. Miss a public appearance and you’d be fined two weeks’ wages. It might sound Draconian, but it wasn’t like that.
We all played to a plan laid down by Sam and there was a lot of fun and laughter in there as well.
If it was good enough for Okocha and Djorkaeff, it will be good enough for any England player. They seem to be a good bunch in any case, but Sam won’t stand for any primadonnas should it arise.
My only cap came under Capello. Everything was regimented, even down to synchronised times to eat. It was organised and disciplined but there was a lack of empathy between manager and players.
In contrast, Hodgson’s England appeared too relaxed. I took my coaching badges at St George’s Park and the squad was there. Roy was very calm, the players could have a round of golf when they liked. It was friendly, but to me lacked purpose and leadership. Sam will have a firm plan like Capello, in which the players will know what to do. But he’ll have that human side to give the players an arm round the shoulder or a little kick, depending on what they need.
If I needed building up, he’d invite me in and show me a list of stats about my contribution. Once, he proved I was involved in 78 per cent of Bolton’s goals. I went out the next game and played very well.
Nearly all Sam’s former players love him. Campo, Stelios (Giannakopoulos) and Okocha still feel great affinity to Bolton even though they played for bigger clubs. It’s down to Sam, and everyone remembers his dance with JJ after staying up in our first Premier League season.
I think Sam has been planning for years for this job. He’ll have studied it closely and will have a good idea what he needs to do. At the next World Cup, you won’t see an England team lacking passion, direction or courage, which has happened in the past. Every England fan was envious of what Wales and Iceland had at the Euros, but Sam can give that spirit to England.
At club level, he did due diligence on signings so they’d fit into the dressing-room. It will be the same with England. He’s got a lot of contacts and he will find out what the players’ characters are like. If two players have a problem with each other — and I’m not saying that’s the case — he’ll know about it and fix it one way or another.
We had 18 or 19 different nationalities at Bolton and the togetherness was great. There’s no reason it can’t be done with England.
Sam was one of the pioneers when it came to using science and technology to aid performance. Players were rigorously tested for hydration levels and everything else at Bolton a decade ago. A day after matches, we’d have data ready telling us our pass completions, headers won, distances covered and everything else. It’s copied by everyone now.
England players won’t have to worry about not knowing the opposition. If an England winger turns up against Slovenia, he’ll get a video and report on everything the Slovenian full-back can and can’t do. There will be no excuses.
I’ve played for managers who were frightened of having intelligent coaches or staff around them. Sam embraces it, he likes as much information and input as possible. It shows his confidence as a person, which is essential for a real leader.
He knows players, too. He’d work us hard at Bolton. Then with five or six games to go, he’d drop it in that if we won at the weekend, he’d give us time off until the following Thursday. It worked. Our fitness levels rose again and Sam always followed through on the promises he’d made.
If Sammy Lee joins him with England, it would be a good fit. Sammy is a very good coach and was an important part of the success we had at Bolton.
Sam won’t let the country down. He’ll have a plan meticulously worked out. The players will buy into it I’m sure, and anyone who doesn’t won’t last long.