As expected, Leeds United named Sam Allardyce as the club's new head coach on Wednesday. The deal will apparently also include an interesting stipulation should the team avoid relegation. The Daily Mail is reporting that the Yorkshire club will pay Allardyce a base salary of about $627,000. There are only four games remaining on the […]

Leeds United have made another managerial change in an attempt to save their season. Sam Allardyce has been hired to lead the club in their final four matches of the current campaign. Previously, the Whites fired Jesse Marsch in February and appointed Michael Skubala on an interim basis. After two weeks, the club then signed […]

The stats are not terribly encouraging for West Ham United but perhaps it’s wise not to read too much into them. Amongst the ‘doom’ and ‘gloom’ there has been progress which the West Ham team can build on. The attacking element of their game seems more varied and dynamic, the all round team play appears […]

The yearly center-back crisis at Manchester United has arrived. A couple of seasons ago, in spite of having five center backs in Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Sir Alex Ferguson was forced to deploy Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick in central defense. For that reason, Manchester United has grown […]

Weather permitting it’s Gameweek 18, this roller coaster Premier League season is about to enter its crucial Christmas period. Three points going into the festivities will be a priority for all managers this weekend. Sam Allardyce can put is feet up on Saturday and watch the club that unceremoniously sacked him take on his potential […]

While a Patrick Vieira goal was enough to rescue a point for Manchester City against Blackburn a draw won’t be good enough to satisfy City’s ever demanding owners and fans. But expect more results of a similar nature as sides adjust to City’s new statute. City’s vast spending over the last few years has now […]

With Fabio Capello insisting that he won’t manage England past the 2012 European Championships, names are already been branded about as a possible successor to the Italian. But with the FA proudly boasting that their next manager will be English there is hardly a wealth of managers to choose from. Early contenders are Harry Redknapp, […]

There are green shoots of recovery around the Reebok Stadium, after several winters of discontent under Gary Megson. With Owen Coyle's arrival, suddenly Bolton Wanderers are playing football again and trying to win games, rather than bore teams to death and hoof it skywards. Megson's long ball banality has no place in modern football and […]

In his WSJ column, Gabriele Marcotti brings up the dearth of British managers at the top of English football. Seven of the 20 Premier League managers are foreign. Sir Alex Ferguson is the only British manager among the so-called “Big Four.” Manchester City dumping Mark Hughes for Roberto Mancini seems only to exacerbate this trend. […]

Ah, Gary Megson, never a manager to pass the blame on to anyone else for his own shortcomings, has decided that today he would announce that certain players are trying to destabilise the club. After watching Sundays performance, I don't blame them, they look a team with no self confidence, no belief and no faith […]

Well you've got to hand it to him, Gary Megson must have the thickest skin in professional football. I've seen him barracked by his own fans at 4 different clubs over the years and that's some going, even in the fickle world of the football supporter. At a Nottingham Forest game, I saw fans come […]

In October 1999 Sam Allardyce breezed into his office at the Reebok Stadium to take over a club at the foot of the first division table. Amazingly, he guided Bolton Wanderers to the play-off semi finals the same season as well reaching both domestic cup finals. The following season Wanderers finished in third place […]

Who else could have saved Blackburn so effortlessly? Sat second bottom of the Premier League, five points from safety with just 13 points from 17 games, Sam Allardyce succeeded Paul Ince as Blackburn Rovers' manager, and in less than 20 games he has made them all but safe – almost in second gear. He took Bolton […]

The question I am posing is looking purely at what the UEFA Cup means to clubs from the English Premier League. Judging by recent participants and how they have fared, it appears to feature very low on most Premiership clubs’ list of priorities. Before the profile of the European Cup was sufficiently raised and rebranded […]

It took a little time, but the Champions League Final is heading to Wembley Stadium. It took a little extra time, and a vote by parliament to exempt tax rules on players who would play in the final, for Wembley to get the final that will be played in 2011. What it also means is […]