Surely if Glenn Roeder can get another management job in football, Sam Allardyce can decide to change his football philosophy away from home.
Thanks to the readers of this column, I’ve been informed of some rather alarming comments made by Newcastle’s manager on Sky Sport’s Goals on Sunday programme last weekend. One of the first rules of journalism is to check something and then double check it, but I’m willing to take your word on this one.
Sam, apparently, was on the show alongside best pal and former Sunderland manager Peter Reid and, when asked what he could do to improve Newcastle’s away form, suggested sacrificing a striker for a five-man midfield. What!?
Hmm, that’s an imaginative one, pack the midfield, look to squeeze the space and stifle the opposition, perhaps nick a goal from a set piece or a quick break away..... fantastic.
Newcastle have a wonderful array of strikers, each with different strengths and weaknesses. In fact, it is probably the best set of strikers the club has had since the Kevin Keegan years. So why on earth would you want to sacrifice a striker to play five in midfield?
To be fair, I can perhaps see the sense if you were playing at Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United, but in every away game? Surely not. I’ve got to be honest, the thought, well, depresses me!
From what I can gather, Newcastle created virtually nothing at Reading - as they didn’t at Derby or Manchester City , while the two goals against Boro were individual moments of magic from Charles N’Zogbia (on the bench at the Madjeski) and Mark Viduka (get used to him being injured by the way).
And still a new-look defence with a defensive midfielder sat in front of them ( Nicky Butt) leaks goals away from home like a paper boat in a force ten gale in the middle of the Atlantic ocean!
So what’s the solution? Stick another defensive midfielder in front, leave the strikers on the bench, get men behind the ball, and see if that works! Maybe it will, but at the moment Newcastle are playing like Bolton away from home and they don’t even have the luxury of being hard to beat!
However, I refuse to get too despondent about things because Newcastle are still well-placed in the Premier League and, given that the first-team squad was completely over-hauled in the summer, it’s been a good start for Sam.
For me, the Magpies have a good chance of finishing in a Uefa Cup berth at the end of the season and, given the mood at the end of Roeder’s regime, that will be a big achievement in the circumstances. It’s early days and things are not suddenly going to improve with a wave from Big Sam’s magic wand (God forbid), but I have to admit, I cringed when I heard those comments. Hopefully it’s just a short-term means to an end.
Talking of wands and cringing, it’s Halloween tonight so keep a high-powered water pistol by the door and shoot any trick or treaters in the face when the little greedy so and sos come knocking on the door asking for sweets. Either that, or send an electric current through the garden gate or front door bell and watch them scream when they find out what a real shock is!
As for horror shows, poor old Norwich have got Roeder as their new manager. Some friends of mine have been asking me what they can expect from the former United boss. Well, there will be lots of talking about West Ham getting relegated with a record number of points, his conversations with Arsene Wenger and how he used to be coach with England under Glenn Hoddle.
Actually, Roeder has always had an instant impact on clubs when he takes over and so Norwich will almost certainly get out of relegation trouble. However, as fans of Gillingham, Watford, West Ham and Newcastle will testify, it’s the second season you have worry about with Glenn!
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