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Being a part-time sad act and a full time social media addict it's very rare that something on Twitter slips past me.
Ever since the speculation over Sam Allardyce leaving to take on the England manager's job arose I have seen some absolutely pathetic stuff out there on the internet with regards to Sam's credentials. It's almost as though certain sectors of the media want to see him fail before he has even started in his new role as the head of our national team.
Anyone who frequents Twitter will know exactly what I mean. In the last day or so I've seen major news outlets comparing him to Mike Bassett, I've seen countless articles discussing the fact he once said 'shit' in a press conference and I've seen plenty of messages bemoaning the style of football that they believe that Sam Allardyce apparently plays.
It's most definitely a case of 'the more you say it, the more true it becomes'. People branding Allardyce as a long ball merchant, going on like they're used to watching England play like Barcelona, are actual idiots. Anyone that watched Sunderland last season can attest that, though Sunderland didn't exactly play on the front foot in every game, we combined organisation with attacking intent in order to achieve results. It was simple, yet effective.
From January onwards, Sunderland scored more goals than the majority of teams in the league and, in Jermain Defoe, we had a player that sat right at the top of the league top scorers list.
In keeping clean sheets we played through our striker in order to score goals and gain points. Isn't that what football is all about? Having watched England bumble around without a clue during the European Championships I would admit that Sam Allardyce is EXACTLY what England need.
In 2 spells 8yrs apart I saw a very different @OfficialBigSam. A lot more relaxed but still organised & innovative. Good luck gaffer!
— Stephen Harper (@steveharper37) 20 July 2016
Unlike Hodgson, Capello and McClaren before him, Sam Allardyce will pick a structured, organised team and won't suffer fools gladly. Anyone with half a brain knows that England would benefit from a manager that brings those type of characteristics, yet all I see is complete snobbery from people that feel we are entitled to something better.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely detest the way that the FA and Sam Allardyce have gone about things in recent weeks, but I'm going to defend him on this.
We've just watched Portugal win a major trophy by adopting a 'win at all costs' mentality. Being organised and effective has trumped every other style in order to bring a trophy to a side that found a way to win.
Any Englishman who doesn't want to see that is deluded.
