After yet another debacle at the International stage England are running out of options to reverse the trend. The last win at a major tournament came 50 years ago when they won the FIFA world cup in 1966 since then it has been a down ward slide and despite having a very strong domestic league and some brilliant talent at disposal all these years they have not lived up to the expectations.
After their Euro 2016 elimination at the hands of minnows Iceland their current manager Roy Hodgson took the blame and quit the job since then speculations have been doing rounds as to who will take over this prestigious yet thorn crown. The FA has been keen to find the right man who could nurture the highly talented English youth team and guide them to International glory.
It seems finally there search has ended as reports by Sky Sports as well as the state Broadcaster BBC it is none other than 61 year old Sam Allardyce. A man who has made his reputation with mid table teams and having a reputation of being the man who has always come up the good and always able to avoid the relegation. He just did that this year with Sunderland when they were staring at relegation before he took over mid season.
Things that work in Sam’s favor is one he is players manager, he is no dictator. He knows what it takes to bring the best out of a player, he knows how important it is to keep a happy dressing room free of clashes and ego. He makes his players feel special. And its proven by him time and again once players begin to work for him, they are prepared to go the extra mile.
He is a go getter he goes out there to win though there is some criticism of his long ball tactics but it has also proved to be the winning strategy against big clubs. He is regarded among the top managers when it comes to tactics and his man management skills. He is a keen proponent of sports science and using technology and statistics in coaching his teams. He leads from the front and takes away the pressure from his team onto himself and therefore at times has to face the axe.
However there are certain question marks as well he has not managed a team full of big names West Ham, Sunderland , Newcastle are good teams but none of them has big names attached to it like in case of England. How good will his man management be is there to be see. Also he is more of a survivor than a winner for he hasn’t won any major trophy in his career.
The England job could well provide him an opportunity to defy the odds and win a major trophy which all of his predecessors have missed despite having a trophy laden portfolio to start with. With the next major tournament in 2018, Big Sam has plenty of time to get it right one can only wish him the best and hope he will finally be able to break the jinx and provide England a trophy at last.