Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BULLY BOY SAM’S GONE A BIT SOFT
Palace boss admits his teams aren’t as aggressive as they used to be... and he’s given up teaching players how to tackle
SAM ALLARDYCE used to love it when his teams bullied the Premier League big boys into submission.
And never more so than when Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal side were on the receiving end.
Which is why it was so surprising to hear him claim he no longer coaches his men in the art of tackling, and that teams can no longer be bullied these days.
Equally as surprising is the fact that Allardyce (right) also came to his old sparring partner Arsene’s defence in his battle with the Emirates boo-boys.
Big Sam’s Crystal Palace side made it four wins on the spin by beating Chelsea last weekend, but are still deep in a relegation battle after losing to Southampton on Wednesday.
And he said: “It’s difficult to bully a team now because of the laws of the game and the protection players rightly get.
“So even a good tackle now can be a yellow card because it’s said to be over-aggressive.
“I will never accept that a player who takes the ball and then takes the man is overaggressive, it’s just a nonsense.
“But, unfortunately, FIFA brought that rule in and the referees have to try to apply it, and assess what is over-aggressive or not.
“I don’t think you can bully teams that were perhaps bullied a bit more in the earlier days when I first started managing in the Premier League.
“Tackling we don’t coach any more – because it’s very difficult to get away even with a good tackle today.
“So we train players to intercept and stay on their feet and pinch and nick balls now rather than go around tackling like they used to.
“It’s too easy for a player to get booked and then that player continues to get booked and you lose him for two games.”
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola copped plenty of stick when he said as much earlier this season.
Allardyce added: “Those who were slaughtering him don’t really know what the game is all about today, so whoever was slaughtering him has not been a manager in these times.
“The game changes and if you don’t move along with the game, you don’t survive.
“Pep Guardiola is one of the best coaches in the world, and I’ve been doing this for 25 years because I change the way I coach and manage to suit the modern game – in fact, to stay ahead of the modern game – and that’s why I’m still here.”
Allardyce insists his old rival Wenger, who is getting more flak than ever over his contract saga, has had to evolve as well.
He said: “There’s no doubt about that. Arsene has been the catalyst of why the club is what it is.
“OK, the fans and Arsene himself would want to win a lot more, there’s no doubt about that, but the current circumstances of all the teams spending more and more makes life more difficult.
“Back in the early days – when they were the Invincibles – it was usually fought out between Manchester United and Arsenal.
“Manchester City were nowhere near them, Chelsea were just starting on their venture in becoming one of the greatest sides in Europe.
“So life has become much more difficult. Where it used to be, more often than not, a two-horse race, it has now become a five- or six-horse race.”