Big Sam is back! - Mail 2/5/23
The Premier League's survival specialist has spent two years on holidays with his wife in Dubai and working on his aptly-named podcast... now Allardyce has his biggest job on his hands after failing last time out
Sam Allardyce made a shock return to the dugout to take over
struggling Leeds
His appointment came in the wake of Javi Gracia's dismissal
on Tuesday morning
By JOE BERNSTEIN FOR MAILONLINE
Sam Allardyce has enjoyed himself in the two years since he
was last in a football dug-out at West Brom.
He's made regular visits to his favourite holiday
destination of Dubai, been abroad for punditry work, spent quality time with
his grandchildren and hosted a popular podcast 'No tippy tappy football'.
Wife Lynne was glad her husband, who underwent heart surgery
during his time at Blackburn, no longer had to endure the everyday stresses of
football management. And in a recent podcast, Big Sam himself gave a realistic
take on what the job entails, which explained why he'd turned down offers
during his long sabbatical.
'You manage the madness in the Premier League and it's never
been as mad as this season,' he said. 'It's the biggest battle we've ever had
going into the last few games with so many teams still involved in the fight
against relegation. It's a very tricky business.'
But when Leeds United come knocking, it's a big call to turn
down the chance of one last big innings. The Yorkshire club are in emergency
mode having already sacked Jesse Marsch and seen his replacement Javi Gracia
take only one point from the last 15, leaving the club out of the relegation
zone only on goal difference.
'Even my friends call me Red Adair,' joked Allardyce when he
went into West Brom with a reputation of saving clubs in trouble.
On that occasion, he couldn't work the magic at The
Hawthorns and suffered a first relegation on his CV – sunk in part by an
injury-time winner scored by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson.
As he headed for the exit, disappointed West Brom didn't
want to keep him on to get back out of The Championship, and he probably felt
his management career was over.
Yet this season has already proved you're never too old. The
success of 70-somethings Roy Hodgson and Neil Warnock after answering SOS calls
at Crystal Palace and Huddersfield has convinced the Leeds board that Allardyce
still has something to offer.
With only four matches left, any new manager has to get his
instructions over quickly and clearly, and that's something Allardyce has been
renowned for during his career with eight other Premier League clubs - Bolton,
Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Everton and West
Brom – and a brief spell with England.
He always found it difficult to court popularity in the
long-term but over shorter spells, he was very successful in guiding Everton,
Palace and Sunderland away from trouble when there didn't seem much hope, even
though Everton then declined to keep him on..
Leeds fans won't be looking beyond the next four matches
however. They have conceded an alarming 18 goals in their last five matches and
they need to stop, particularly with their two remaining home matches - when
Elland Road needs to be a fortress - against Newcastle and Spurs.
Big Sam can expect a healthy bonus if he can keep Leeds up,
and nobody will blame him if the worst happens because the damage has been done
already in the first 34 matches.
Leeds are the third club to have three managers this season,
following Southampton and Chelsea. Allardyce will demand work-rate, passion and
loyalty from his players and staff.
The name of his podcast 'No tippy tappy' gives a clue was to
what tactics Leeds may employ under him, though Allardyce insists the long-ball
image was exaggerated by managers like Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez.
'I would have a bet with my Head of Media before press
conferences that the media would mention my style of football in less than a
minute,' said Allardyce.
Togetherness is also a big trait of an Allardyce-run club,
with long-time No 2 Sammy Lee explaining: 'We had this war room where we
wouldn't always agree on things, but once we left the door, we go in the same
direction.'
