Tom Lappin: Big blustering Sam Allardyce left to rule modest roost with new owners unlikely to ruffle feathers

Published on Friday 29 October 2010 19:42

THE Premier League's capacity for rich comedy continues to impress. One of its most delicious characters, Big Sam Allardyce, can look forward to ever more appreciative audiences for his brand of unwitting hilarity with the news that Blackburn Rovers is being acquired by a chicken factory.

The Venky's people have a rather refreshing sense of realism about their investment, envisaging a mid-table finish as perfectly satisfactory. Their chairperson talks easily about "leasing" players rather than buying them. Presumably such low expectations mean they will be content, for now, with their manager, especially when they notice his close resemblance to celebrity rooster Foghorn Leghorn.

Allardyce will have to reconsider his career trajectory, though. How can a manager better suited (in his own opinion) to managing Internazionale, Real Madrid, Chelsea or Manchester United face up to the ignominy of being an employee of an Indian version of Bernard Matthews? Allardyce might be licking his lips at the thought of all that free chicken, but may be salivating rather less at the paltry 5 million player budget that will be made available.

New owners, however realistic, bring with them a new scrutiny of the way a club is progressing. Blackburn, waiting (or casting around desperately) for a buyer, have been treading water, held together perhaps by Allardyce's belligerence and pragmatic approach to getting results, but also handicapped by his stubborn allegiance to a reductive style of play.

His ebullient personality, talent for self-promotion and estimable consistency at Bolton have given Allardyce a reputation that exceeds his achievements. His spell of surreal fantasy about the ease of harvesting trophies at a major club was a crude dig at Arsene Wenger's recent dearth of silverware. When it comes to winning the game's big honours in reality, rather than in his dreams, Big Sam is in the middle of a spell of consolidation. After reaching the heady heights of securing the second tier of the League Of Ireland with Limerick back in 1992, it's only understandable that he should rest on his shamrock laurels for an 18-year fallow spell.

That estimation of mid-table as "satisfactory" also seems vaguely threatening when you notice that Blackburn presently lie in 17th place, having won only two league games this season, against Everton on the opening day and against Blackpool in September. At times only the excellence of England's forgotten goalkeeper Paul Robinson has prevented Blackburn from being embarrassed.

Certain attributes are readily apparent in an Allardyce team. Combativeness is the first (and perhaps the only), exemplified by his captain, Christopher Samba, a resilient enough stopper, but not a player prone to a great deal of masterly anticipation, intelligent distribution or tactical sophistication.His master's voice, in effect.

Allardyce's other onfield alter-ego is the forward El Hadji-Diouf, a perpetual irritant, physical and petulant, with a victim complex, a litany of complaints against referees and a tendency to upset opponents. One tactic recently added to his armoury is running interference, American-football-style. Against Fulham it worked a treat as Diouf took out the goalkeeper and Samba headed in the cross.

It looked like the sort of black art that had been prepared on the training-ground. Diouf's teamwork has improved considerably under Allardyce. It would help if he would score occasionally; he is still waiting for his first goal in the league this season.

Allardyce is exasperated by his image, by the reputation for ugly football that he feels cost him his chance to be England manager. It was indicative of the dearth of English managerial talent that he was ever in the running, and likely that his candidacy was hurt less by his obvious tactical shortcomings than by the inclusion of Allardyce and his son Craig in that notorious Panorama documentary on football agents' shadier dealings.

His subsequent boycott of the BBC was disappointing, because it denied a mass audience the chance to witness the blustering Allardyce ego, the unwarranted self-regard that fuelled those classic observations about his true managerial metier, among the elite.

He has become a rallying point for a confused and reactionary celebration of "real" English football, as practised at Stoke, Wolves and to a lesser-extent, Birmingham. This exalts "full-blooded" challenges, "committed" tackling, "robust" professionalism, all those solid Anglo-Saxon euphemisms for playing on the edge of what is dangerously aggressive. It's somewhat ironic that Blackburn should be commended for their loyalty to English values, given that Allardyce's entire squad contains only two English outfield players, the teenage defender Phil Jones, and the perennially injured playmaker David Dunn.

Dunn provided most of the rare moments of attacking invention from Blackburn last season, and was the club's top scorer, but he has only started two league games since August. The fans are desperate for investment in a creative midfielder, although it's a breed Allardyce regards with some suspicion.

This afternoon, Allardyce can look across at the Chelsea bench, which by rights he should be occupying, and tell himself that Carlo Ancelotti has it easy. It's unlikely to be a pretty contest, with Blackburn endeavouring to knock Chelsea off their game, break up their fluency, and snatch something from a break or, more likely, a set-piece scramble. Blackburn are resilient at home, but Chelsea are formidable everywhere.

Allardyce's style has found Blackburn's level, 17th in the table, and unlikely to be higher come tea-time.Big Sam's approach prospered at Bolton, but now it is experiencing diminishing returns.

The chicken people are not unrealistic, but the prospect of a plummet out of the Premier League would make them a touch more demanding. If Blackburn are still languishing in January, it might be time for a new recipe. I said it might be time for a new recipe.