WILL BIG SAM JUMP SHIP IF JANUARY DOESN’T GO HIS WAY?
It’s an intriguing situation with sam allardyce and west Brom.
when the Baggies pinched a point at anfield, it was ‘ my players’. allardyce spoke about how the team executed his smash- and- grab tactics to perfection against the Premier League champions.
But after losing 5-0 to Leeds, 4-0 to arsenal and getting knocked out of the Fa Cup by League One Blackpool, allardyce has attempted to distance himself from the group.
they definitely weren’t his players at Bloomfield Road on saturday. allardyce made sure we knew that in his post- match interviews. He explained how his job in January is to sell and buy as many players as he can, because he does not think this current lot are good enough to secure Premier League survival.
‘ what we are not good at is keeping a clean sheet and, at the other end, we are not good at scoring a goal,’ added allardyce, in a rather blunt assessment of the struggling side he has inherited. allardyce knew what he was getting into when he took the job. west Brom had no recognised striker against Blackpool. Callum Robinson wasn’t risked. Charlie austin was in London signing for QPR on loan until the end of the season. Up front they used Matheus Pereira, who is more of a No 10. so it wasn’t a surprise to hear allardyce say that’s an area they must strengthen this month. the trouble is west Brom aren’t a club with a £100million war chest. they cannot go and snap up a striker who will score the goals to win them Premier League games and pay him £100,000 a week in return. so as much as allardyce would like to sign a
Mohamed salah on a free transfer and on modest wages, the odds of that happening are slim.
I look at west Brom now and find myself wondering whether allardyce will even see out the season.
If he does not get his way in the January window, and results continue as they are, then he may elect to jump ship.
It could come down to pride. He has never been relegated as a manager, and one way to keep that record intact is to leave before it comes to that, especially if things do not go his way in the market.
that will be a situation to keep an eye on. west Brom have some very big games coming up. Notably Fulham at home on January 30, followed by sheffield United away on February 2. the window shuts in between those fixtures.
since that 1-1 draw with Liverpool, it’s all gone downhill for west Brom. allardyce is a good manager. His record in the Premier League, with zero relegations on his c.v., tells you that. But right now, that gap to 17th place only looks like growing.