On the 11th of March 2016 when Newcastle recruited former Liverpool and Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez in a bid to save their season, it looked as if the Spaniard would bamboozle his fellow relegation strugglers (Sam Allardyce inclusive) but Allardyce is known for a lot of things, one of them being is relegation fighting and as a Sunderland manager then he fought victoriously for the black cats . That is why the one time English manager is never out of a job for too long. The days of Bolton an Jay Jay Okocha have come and gone but Allardyce's ability to outwit his opponent when it matters most to him has not changed, today ziccifoot takes a look at three things that endears 'Big Sam' to our hearts.
From Bolton To Crystal Palace, Through England
The 2-0 win against Middlesbrough in May 2003 completed Bolton's sweet escape in a very tense relegation fight and it laid the foundation for the tag Allardyce would go on to be associated with, at the end of the game Big Sam fulfilled his promise of dancing with Jay Jay on the pitch, who wouldn't dance to any tune knowing your club had just escaped demotion to second tier football. it was indeed a moment to savour for the Eastland club. 14 years on we have seen Allardyce pull off similar stunts at Newcastle United, West Ham United, Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland, a consistent feat that saw the former Bolton defender become the Country's national team manager albeit for just one game.
Ability To Bounce Back
Winners do not dwell on the past, they move on and every single time Big Sam is sacked he awaits the next and when it comes he executes it with finesse, after managing the England national team for just one game, it was obvious Big Sam might have soiled his name but the love for football took the big man back to London with Crystal Palace and the rest is what we're currently witnessing.
The Crystal Palace Story
On the 22nd of December 2016 Crystal Palace sacked Alan Pardew and made Sam Allardyce manager the next day, and one win in Allardyce's first eight league games must have cast aspersions over his reputation, of course it had to, but four wins on the bounce including a fantastic showing at the home of league leaders Chelsea put the Eagles in charge of their Premier League destiny, close to ten games remain in the league but with this new found drive and Big Sam's reputation you can count of Crystal Palace to beat the drop with some games to spare.
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