So it's been a while. Football's still the same and nothing big is going on so I've not really been needed.
After all FIFA and Blatter messed up, that's still the same. United beat Arsenal at home and Wenger blamed something other than his team's average performance, no change there then. Benitez is happily going about his business ruining yet another side, I'm seeing a recurring theme here. Oh yes and of course, successful managers are getting sacked whilst those failing are still in jobs, hold on, that's not supposed to be the way.
I was halfway to changing my outlook on this blog, turning it from an all out column about one subject to a blog that featured several short musings from the week in football. Then suddenly Chris Hughton, Newcastle's Championship winning manager, was sacked. "Ahh mayhem at Newcastle" I thought, "could there be a better thing to write about?", indeed it did get better. First they replaced Hughton with Alan Pardew, handing him a 5 and a half year deal and then Pardew went and claimed Newcastle were one of the 5 biggest teams in the country. I can't exactly recall at which point my snigger turned into full out laughter but I think it was between Pardew being named as manager and hearing him call Newcastle one of the 5 biggest teams in the country- I wonder where he thinks they rank in terms of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Everton?
So there I was, laughing at Pardew whilst feeling sorry for Hughton and considering the new layout to my blog, when suddenly, from nowhere, I was stunned into silence by football and it's latest piece of news. How daft is that? I've been a football fan for about 18 years, surely nothing should surprise me that much any more. But Sam Allardyce being sacked?!? What the hell?!?!
Now I'm sure if you're reading this there's a good chance you may not like 'Big Sam', after all he seems to be the 'Marmite Man' of football, you either love him or hate him. His brand of football isn't always the most aesthetically pleasing in the world and he has a self confidence perhaps more suited to a manager who has won everything the game has to offer, like a Mourinho or Ferguson, so you can see why people may not like him. But, and I know we're going over old ground here, good football doesn't always win you prizes and being confident in your own ability often does.
Surely, love or hate him, you can't argue that 'Big Sam' is a man who knows how to be successful in the Premier League. I'm of course not talking about the kind of success that wins you the league, I'm talking of the relative success that teams such as Bolton, Blackburn and dare I say it, Newcastle would wish to achieve. At Bolton Sam finished in the top 8, not once but four times in a row, an amazing achievement for a team on such limited resources. He then moved on, wanting to win silverware. He believed he could do at Newcastle and started building a decent squad around him and found himself in mid table. This time he was sacked, with the increasingly intelligent Mike Ashley believing mid-table and 'unattractive' football was not enough for him. Brilliantly his team ended up mid-table that season followed by relegation the season after.
But, as usual, I digress, it is now his time at Blackburn, and now his sacking, which is most pertinent and bewildering at the same time. Only last season's top eight have gained more points than Blackburn during his reign at Ewood Park, if that doesn't put into some perspective how good he was during his time there I don't know what will. Perhaps that he finished 10th last season or kept Rovers up in his first season when all looked lost under Paul Ince will. The very fact that the man from Dudley has been linked not once but twice to the England job tells you how highly thought of in footballing circles, in fact only last week Fabio Capello named Sam along side Harry Redknapp as the two men who could replace him when he leaves the post of England manager in 2012.
So 'Big Sam' is a highly rated manager with lots of experience who brings relative success to sides without spending excessive amounts of money and is now out of a job because Blackburn's new owners demand attractive football. Apparently they want Diego Maradonna to take over as manager- a man who is known to act insane, has no real experience at club football and who's Argentinian side played lovely football at the World Cup but found themselves knocked out in the quarter finals despite having the world's greatest player in their ranks amongst other brilliance players. Sounds like a good swap to me.
Of course this shouldn't all be about Allardyce it should also be about Hughton and the stupidity of the owners of not just Blackburn but of Newcastle as well.
Newcastle's reason for getting rid of their manager was his lack of experience, which might be all well and good if he hadn't just won the Championship at a a canter last season and had taken Newcastle into the top 10 this season. Amongst this seasons victories he had seen his side beat Arsenal and Chelsea and best of all destroy local rivals Sunderland. Hughton seemed to have built a rapport with his team of 'misfits' including the ever lovely Joey Barton and the headline grabbing Andy Carroll. I wouldn't like to comment on Pardew's ability to manage the team but surely there was no need to risk the harmony at the club and current good form just to turn to a manager, who though, experienced, has hardly brought success, even in relative terms, to his previous clubs.
Here's hoping these two managers are back in jobs soon, although in 'Big Sam's' case he's certainly too good for the West Ham job is rumours are to be believed. And, as some one who has nothing against either Newcastle or Blackburn, here's hoping their owner's risky strategies pay off.
