Pleased Sam got off to a winning start, but there is a lot of work to do. One swallow doesn't make a summer, but I think even Hartlepool would qualify from this group. Sam is in a no win situation.
Props to Allardyce for the subs, I'd have hooked Lallana but I was happy he took off Hendo and Kane, they were pathetic today.
Hideous game which I'm glad to say i just listened to on the radio whilst working. In fairness it was on paper our hardest game of the group and we were certainly the better side - overall Scotland must also be pretty confident of finishing in the top two as Slovenia, Slovakia and Malta is a gift of a group. Compare it for instance to group A: For a first game I was most concerned with seeing if our defence looked solid and if we had a cutting edge. There was clearly no cutting edge!
I'll never watch them again as long as Allardyce is in charge, not after his pathetic, weak as **** interview. About Wayne Rooney, he said "It's not for me to decide where to play Wayne Rooney, I can't tell Rooney where to play"
I read his interview, maybe he's done another since then but the one I read he said... "Sometimes he played a little deep, but I can't stop Wayne if he thinks that's the right position to go to play a little deep." It's right, your best players are going to dictate the game, Rooney dropped in when he needed to because Dier and Henderson are both void of any inspiration or invention in CM. What good is Wayne Rooney in the 10 role when Henderson and Dier are passing it back and forth to John Stones and Gary Cahill? I don't see an issue with his interview, just his ****ing awful team selection.
How? Sorry mate, but if it was anybody other than Rooney, I don't think you'd be saying that. I seen his interview, I watched him say that 'he can't tell Rooney where to play' It's a ****ing disgrace. He fell at the first hurdle.
I don't see an issue with what he's said because of what you said, because it's Rooney. Whether people agree with what I'm about to say or not is another matter but it forms the basis of my opinion. He's our best player by a ****ing mile, he's our captain, he's been a part of bigger games than Sam Allardyce has ever been a part of, many, many times, he has experience of playing at a club with a winning mentality, he's won everything. Of course if he said 'I can't tell Henderson where to play' then I'd be fuming because that piece of crap isn't even a footballer by comparison. The fact is, I know exactly what he means, and that's that he can't tell him to sit in the hole and not move, because he wouldn't listen, and why would he listen? That's amateur coaching. To get the best out of somebody like Rooney you have to let him feel the game and move where he needs to be, and more often than not he'll control the game that way. You see it is a cowardice approach, too ****ing spineless to stand up to Rooney, but I see it differently, that's all, you're right and I'm right, we just disagree.
Fair enough, you gave a good account as to why you think like that. I don't agree, but I'm happy to leave it at that. No player should be bigger than the team, and that statement tells me that Rooney is bigger than the team in that set-up. I don't blame Rooney, he didn't say anything. Allardyce should not be making them sort of comments though, it's idiotic.
I don't think it's a case of a player being 'bigger than the team' though mate, I think it's more a case of giving him a free-role to get the best out of him, maybe he could have said it better in hindsight, but he's never been the best at words has he? He's a bit of a 'say now, think later' type of man anyway. I just hope the guy has learned from that performance that names don't win games, I wanna see Vardy, Sturridge, Defoe or Rashford leading the line next time unless Kane is in blistering form, because he was useless last night, our worst player by a mile, he's shot to bits and we shouldn't be carrying him, especially when I have England -1 in my acca.
I hate the way he phrased it. By all means say that Rooney needs to be given the licence to play freely and go where he things he needs to but make sure it is clear that you are in charge and it is your decision that this is the correct way to get the best out of Rooney. The way he phrased it makes it sound like not only is it not his decision but that it's not him calling the shots: Don't say "I can't tell Rooney where to play": yes you really can and if you give the impression of not being in control then you will be rightly lambasted. Do say "Rooney plays best when given a free role": it's a decision that you have made. You can change it, you can alter it, etc. You can, if you decide, tell Rooney to do something else.
Can't see what changes to the team big Sam could make to be honest only 3 games into a new season no ones really standing out so he's played safe and chose the players who gave been there. I expected more changes in the next games when he has chance to see who's performing and who's not
I think Sam's comments on Rooney were based on the way Rooney micro managed the team.s performance. For all I never saw the game until later I could see the reasons for him going too deep. Sam has a bigger job to do than we could imagine based on player thinking.
Spoiler Alert: We qualify easily being unbeaten in the group (only a stale 0-0 draw with underdogs Slovakia at home to disappoint) then fall on our arses in the competition. Can we get back to proper football yet?
