Sam Allardyce – CaughtOffside

76-year-old FA Cup winner claims he would’ve loved Leeds job

Jason Pettigrove — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 16:55:34 +0000

Despite the evident problems that encountered Daniel Farke when he arrived at the club, the German still took up the post willingly.

He knew from the outset the good and the bad nature of the role, but that didn’t stop him from believing that he could be the man to bring back the glory days.

So far, he has been proved right, because ahead of this weekend’s fixtures, the all whites remain in a creditable third position and on the coat-tails of the top two.

It’s a far cry from the shambolic way the club were hiring and firing managers willy-nilly during 2022/23.

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Firstly Jesse Marsch, then Javi Gracia and finally, Sam Allardyce. All three of them fared equally as badly as the other, with the appointment of ‘Big Sam’ with just four matches of the season to play being a real head-scratcher.

Things could’ve been different if the club had picked up the phone to Harry Redknapp.

“I would’ve walked there (to Elland Road), I’ll be truthful, if someone would’ve asked me,” he told Kammy & Ben’s Proper Football Podcast.

“My life is good, I’m happy, but I wouldn’t be able to say no, honestly, if someone came along and said ‘Harry will you come and manage us?’ I would’ve dived head first like always and thought about it afterwards. I was never in the running for that job anyway so…”

Like Allardyce and Alan Pardew et al, Redknapp is yesterday’s man and belongs in a different football era altogether.

It’s amost certain that the Leeds faithful wouldn’t have been that accepting of a 76-year-old manager whose best days are well behind him.

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Video: “Nearest thing to Gazza” – Sam Allardyce heaps pressure on Jude Bellingham

Jason Pettigrove — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 16:27:16 +0000

There’s no doubt that Jude Bellingham is enjoying the best of season’s in 2023/24.

At just 20 years of age the Real Madrid and England ace has the world at his feet, and he appears to be thriving under the responsibility.

From Birmingham to Borussia Dortmund to Los Blancos, the youngster has taken each step in his stride so far, and that’s undoubtedly what’s led Sam Allardyce to compare him with Paul Gascoigne.

It’s perhaps pressure that the player doesn’t need, though it’s difficult to argue with any of what ‘Big Sam’ espoused.

?? “The one man difference is massive today. He might be the nearest thing to Gazza we have seen.”

Sam Allardyce on Jude Bellingham. ? pic.twitter.com/jfCu1yoy0s

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 18, 2023

Pictures courtesy of Sky Sports via Football Daily

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Video: Steve Bruce admits he attempted to sign Premier League record-breaker for Newcastle

Jason Pettigrove — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 12:34:38 +0000

This summer has seen the £100m ceiling for football transfers smashed to pieces after Brighton and Hove Albion sold Moises Caicedo to Chelsea for an astonishing £115m, though former Newcastle manager, Steve Bruce, admits he could’ve signed the player for a fraction of the price.

Whether Caicedo has justified such a price tag is a moot point at this stage, though it’s clear he is midfielder of the highest quality.

Had Bruce been able to bring him to St. James’ Park, it raises a question as to whether the Ecuadorian might well have been able to turn the club’s fortunes around.

“When I was at Newcastle we tried to sign Moises Caicedo for £4.5million and I remember thinking what a good player he was,” Bruce said on Sam Allardyce’s No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.

“The chief scout at Newcastle, Steve Nickson, came and told me that I had to see him play and that he was sensational.

“He ended up choosing Brighton instead of Newcastle and that will go down as one that we missed out on because now he’s gone on to become the British record transfer fee for £115million, but he is a top, top player.”

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“I know his agent” – Sam Allardyce says £30 million star has rejected West Ham

Andrew Walker — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:43:17 +0000

Sam Allardyce has claimed Harry Maguire actually rejected the chance to play for West Ham United.

Subject to two bids from the Hammers this summer, Maguire, 30, saw an improved £30 million offer accepted by Manchester United last week.

However, despite being given the green light to finalise a move to the London Stadium, the 30-year-old Englishman failed to make the switch to the country’s capital.

Leeds could sign former Premier League manager on his 47th birthday on Friday

Jason Pettigrove — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 14:30:04 +0000

With the final round of managerial interviews believed to have been conducted at Leeds United this week, a formal announcement as to who has replaced Sam Allardyce could be made as early as Friday.

The Elland Road outfit certainly need to get the ball rolling in this regard as pre-season for the Championship is just a few weeks away, and the new man in charge will want to ensure that his Leeds side are on the same page as he is by the time the 2023/24 domestic campaign begins.

Last season ended up being a bit of a write off as far as the all whites were concerned, the club going through three different managers across the season, none of which evidently had the skill set to keep the club from dropping into English football’s second tier.

Parachuting Sam Allardyce in for the final four games might have been seen as a masterstroke if ‘Big Sam’ had kept the club in the top-flight, but as it turned out, it just looked like a desperate last throw of the dice for this once proud club.

If new owners, 49ers Enterprises, heave learned anything in the short time that they’ve been in charge of the club, it’s that Leeds need stability and direction.

Not to mention a clear vision in terms of the way any new manager would like Leeds’ football to be played.

To that end, it’s possible that Patrick Vieira will be appointed as the new first-team manager, per The Guardian (subscription required), and the appointment could be announced on Friday – the Frenchman’s 47th birthday.

The Frenchman’s last job in management – Crystal Palace – ended in his sacking, the other two manager’s in contention: Scott Parker (Club Brugge) and Daniel Farke (Borussia Monchengladbach), suffering the same fate at the clubs mentioned.

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49ers very keen to keep hold of ace with best goal conversion rate at Leeds United

Jason Pettigrove — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:32:35 +0000

There’s certainly work to do at Leeds United this summer, not least for the new owners, 49ers Enterprises, to be able quickly appoint a new manager and sporting director.

Even if there’s no quick fix for the Elland Road outfit’s issues on and off the pitch, the decisions that the board make this summer are likely to not only affect the Championship club’s immediate future, but it could also skew or enhance longer-term ambitions.

With Sam Allardyce having left the club by mutual consent, there’s currently no agreed direction for the club to be going in which is an obvious pre-requisite when working for a big English football club.

Leeds’ drop into the English second-tier belies their status as one of the country’s biggest and most well supported clubs, and it might be just that which the new owners lean on when trying to persuade players to stay at the club.

According to AS, there’s one player in particular that they would like to keep, and who’ll they’ll surely not want to follow others out of the exit door.

Luis Sinisterra may have only scored seven goals last season per BBC Sport, but his conversion percentage rate was exactly the same as top-scorer, Rodrigo.

Indeed, Rodrigo was the only player in the team to score more goals, and given that the Brazilian is likely to leave because of his astronomical salary (h/t Salary Sport), it’s clear that the Yorkshire-based club would be looking to Sinisterra to bang in the goals.

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Manager with 178 wins prepared to join Leeds this summer

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:08:56 +0000

Whomever Leeds United appoint as their next manager will have a real job on their hands, given that the expectation will surely be that the whites should be one of the favourites to go straight back up again.

They’ll have the added pressure of new owners in 49ers Enterprises clearly wanting a return on their investment after having bought out Andrea Radrizzani too.

In any event, how they approach the summer transfer window is likely to be a marker for how successful they’ll be in the early part of the 2023/24 Championship season at least.

What the club also needs to do is define its playing approach and buy players to fit accordingly. Standards and expectations from the first-team management need to be set and how they’re going to achieve them.

Such a manifesto for want of a better term has to come from the top and filters down, perhaps via a sporting director, to the first-team management who then ensure the players are singing from the same hymn sheet.

According to Ben Jacobs, who was speaking to Give Me Sport, former manager, Sam Allardyce, could be tempted back to the club – but not as first team manager.

“Big Sam has already said that he doesn’t feel he is the right man to lead Leeds as a manager, but that he is prepared to come in, in some other capacity,” Jacobs noted.

Allardyce, who has 178 career wins as manager according to MOT Leeds News, wouldn’t be the worst choice as a conduit between manager and board and, given his extensive experience in the game, would arguably be more of a help than a hindrance to whichever manager is eventually appointed.

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2x Championship winner could be set for Leeds United after 49ers takeover

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 12:51:33 +0000

This summer is bound to be an intriguing one for Leeds United for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, their relegation to the Championship will have seen the make up of the first-team squad undoubtedly change with players coming to the end of their loans going back to parent clubs, others being released at the end of their contracts and even more looking to leave simply because they don’t want to play in the English second-tier.

Not to mention that after having three managers in charge during the 2022/23 campaign – Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allaryce – the club need some stability.

Fortunately, that might now be provided on all fronts after it was confirmed that 49ers Enterprises were buying the club from Andrea Radrizzani.

49ers Enterprises have agreed a deal to purchase Leeds, the club have confirmed. ? pic.twitter.com/LUwihLXD6i

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 10, 2023

Clearly, the hiring of a new manager will be the first matter of business on the agenda, because until there’s a new man in place, players are hardly likely to commit themselves to the club, be they already there or potential signings.

There’s no time limit as to any new managerial arrival at the moment, though it does seem that there’s one name on the list which should be placed ahead of any other.

Daniel Farke is a two-time Championship winner, and is in a list that includes Carlos Corberan, Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard, according to The Athletic (subscription required).

If it’s pedigree in English football’s second tier that’s a pre-requisite for the post, Farke is a shoo-in, and given that he was recently sacked from Borussia Monchengladbach, he is also available.

At this stage, Leeds don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

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One important player has already said his goodbyes to Leeds United

Jason Pettigrove — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 15:34:12 +0000

The quicker that Leeds United get their house in order the better for all concerned, as the 2023/24 Championship season will come around in a flash.

In under a week’s time the summer transfer window will open for business again, and the Elland Road outfit really need to get their act together in terms of knowing who will be their new manager, in order that the squad can take shape at the beginning of the summer rather than the end.

Leeds are far too big a club to be languishing in the lower reaches of the English second tier, but that could well come to fruition if they’re unable to hit the ground running at the start of the campaign – for example because there’s still a chunk of transfer business to do.

Weston McKennie

After the short tenures of Jesse Marsch and Javi Gracia, as well as the lightning-quick four-game run for Sam Allardyce, it appears that the whites are no closer to appointing a full-time and long-term appointment.

In the meantime, one player has apparently already said his goodbyes at the club according to The Athletic (subscription required).

Weston McKennie signed on loan from Juventus and, had Leeds managed to stay up, the American’s loan may well have been made permanent.

As it is, he has left the club, and it’s entirely likely that a number of his first-team colleagues will be following him out of Elland Road before a ball has been kicked in the new campaign.

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Leeds United attacker left the club for good yesterday

Jason Pettigrove — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 14:56:19 +0000

Once it was confirmed that Leeds United were relegated to the Championship, it was always going to follow that changes were afoot.

The first of those came when manager, Sam Allardyce, left the club via mutual consent just four games after being handed the gig.

His inability to stop the rot at Elland Road, and the fact that he didn’t manage to win any of the four matches in charge, meant that his tenure with the whites was brief.

It isn’t clear at this point if owner, Andrea Radrizzani, may be heading off into the sunset too, given a recent purchase of Italian Serie B side, Sampdoria.

In any event, there’s bound to be a turnover in playing staff, some because the Yorkshire-based club just can’t afford to keep them anymore, others because they perhaps haven’t proved to be the players that the club thought they were, and even more because they’ve come to the end of their contracts and won’t be renewed.

The exodus has already begin it seems, with Bolton Wanderers noting that they’ve signed one Leeds attacker via their social media accounts.

?? Welcome to Wanderers, Ben Andreucci!

Ben joins our B Team squad after agreeing a two-year deal with the Whites ?

? https://t.co/cQTebaMeYQ #bwfc pic.twitter.com/Yi8R5ik5xo

— Bolton Wanderers B Team and Academy (@BWFCBandAcademy) June 7, 2023

The League One side have acquired young Ben Andreucci, and they note that he will go straight into the club’s B team.

He’s unlikely to be the last player out of the exit door either.

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