Johnny Phillips: Big Sam’s back and set for his biggest challenge

Within minutes of his press conference beginning on Wednesday afternoon he had already written the following day’s back page headlines. Asserting that he was as good as Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola, the new Leeds United manager relished being back in the chair and spent over 45 minutes answering reporters’ questions at the club’s Thorp Arch training ground.

Allardyce knew such remarks would generate headlines and perhaps it was his own way of taking the players out of the firing line ahead of the remaining four games of the season. Certainly, he was happy being in that spotlight and his press conference was pure, unadulterated Big Sam.

Nobody has managed more Premier League clubs than Allardyce – nine in all – and he was keen to make the point that the dinosaurs are alive and well. Not that the 68-year-old needed to, given the recent exploits of Roy Hodgson and Neil Warnock.

It is a fascinating appointment and not one anybody saw coming. On 18 March a 4-2 win at Wolves gave new head coach Javi Gracia seven points from his first four games. When the full-time whistle blew at Molineux, sporting director Victor Orta rose from his seat in the directors’ box and screamed “Vamos, vamos, vamos!” in the direction of the home supporters, before heading down to the tunnel area to laud it up with the Leeds players as he often did after a win.

Gracia was Orta’s man, just as Jesse Marsch was before him, and Marcelo Bielsa before that. Bielsa was Orta’s great success but that is in the distant past now. The present is the wreckage of two failed managerial appointments and a squad littered with players who have not lived up to their price tag or are gripped with fear. At Bournemouth, the 4-1 defeat was shocking, with four totally avoidable goals leaving Leeds staring into the abyss as supporters sang, “You’re not fit to wear the shirt”. Patrick Bamford bravely faced the waiting media after the match and urged the fans to “Stick with us” for the run-in. Orta was nowhere to be seen.

April was a grim month; Leeds conceded 23 league goals, a Premier League record. And the first week of May hasn’t started too well either: Orta has gone and so too has Gracia. Leeds are onto their third manager of the season, who has been granted just four games to turn the club’s fortunes around.

Allardyce went off on a number of tangents during his entertaining press conference but perhaps none was more leftfield than his pop at the United Kingdom’s judiciary system. Long-time friend and assistant Sammy Lee is currently on jury service and Allardyce revealed that the judge in the case vetoed Lee’s attempts to excuse himself from the court to join in the fun at Leeds. “I find that to be very poor judgement,” Allardyce growled.

There is no arguing with Allardyce’s record when it comes to saving clubs from relegation. He pointed to such achievements at Sunderland and Crystal Palace which included some impressive victories in the final run-in. In the north-east he boldly converted 5ft7” Jermain Defoe into a lone target man. At Palace he managed to keep five clean sheets in six games to guide the team clear of relegation.

But never before has he been tasked with fixing a problem in just four games. With no Lee to call upon, Allardyce’s coaching staff includes Robbie Keane and Karl Robinson. The Irish striker spent a

fruitful spell at Elland Road over 20 years ago and has retained his affection for the club. Robinson was part of Allardyce’s backroom staff at Blackburn 15 years ago and has been out of work since losing his job at League One Oxford United earlier this season.

How much cut through they can achieve between now and the end of the season is debatable. This is not a squad that gives the impression of being ready to receive a massive kick up the backside or suddenly shape up into a tight-knit and cohesive defensive unit. It is far easier to imagine several of them simply shrugging their shoulders and carrying on as before.

Maybe that is the cynical view but having observed the team at close quarters last Sunday, it is difficult to find anything to cling to as the team heads into games against Manchester City, Newcastle, West Ham and Tottenham. It was a capitulation and the Leeds supporters knew it.

As Sean Dyche is discovering at Everton, it does not matter how well drilled players are, if they are not equipped with the tools to perform to specific instructions then there is only so much that can be done. Dyche has discovered that there is not the defensive capability he requires within Everton’s squad. Allardyce will find the same when he takes charge of Leeds’ first game.

So, the biggest task is the most important one: how to stop the ‘goals against’ column continuing to rise. There simply is not enough time to do any thorough work on the training ground. Allardyce will need to cajole and encourage before he does anything else.

What he has always succeeded in doing is making players feel better about themselves. Confidence is a hugely important asset. Big Sam has never fallen short in that department and if some of it can rub off on those around him then all is not lost.