Source: Daily_Mail
Blackburn 1 West Ham 1: Big Sam dances to Samba's beat
Sam Allardyce has never cared much about criticism of his long ball philosophy and, with Blackburn fighting for their lives, he is not about to start now.[LNB]So as Rovers prepare for an eightgame run-in that will decide their future in the Barclays Premier League, who is Big Sam banking on as a source of goals?[LNB] Chris Samba[LNB] Blackburn 1 West Ham 1: Rovers frustrated as Neill puts body on the line[LNB]BLACKBURN NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB]WEST HAM NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB] Is it Champions League-winning striker Benni McCarthy? Or the £20million man, Roque Santa Cruz?[LNB]No, it's Samba - and that's not a reference to Brazilian football.[LNB]He may be the archetypal gentle giant off the field, but Allardyce believes 6ft 5in Congo centre back Chris Samba can play a huge part in keeping Blackburn up by terrorising his opponents at the other end of the field.[LNB]That was certainly the case at Ewood Park on Saturday when the man team-mates call 'King Kong' spent almost as much time in West Ham's half as his own.[LNB]It was Samba's massive presence in the visitors' box that saw the ball run loose for Keith Andrews to cancel out Mark Noble's opener, and he twice helped set up goals for El-Hadji Diouf that were ruled out for offside.[LNB]No wonder Allardyce will throw him up front at every opportunity in the final, desperate weeks of the season, even though Santa Cruz should be back from injury against Tottenham a week on Saturday.[LNB]'Chris Samba will strike fear throughout the Premier League with his aerial power,' said Allardyce, who always employed his big men to big effect at Bolton.[LNB]'I'm going to use it to its absolute maximum because it's something we will be renowned for.[LNB]'The opposition will worry every time they play us. I'll still use him up front when we get Roque back. He's a tremendous force.'[LNB]Samba is ready to answer his manager's call and said: 'I think I can do what he wants.'[LNB]Allardyce had no complaints about Diouf's efforts being ruled out but was unhappy referee Chris Foy allowed West Ham's goal to stand after replays showed Luis Boa Morte was offside in the build-up.[LNB]Noble marked his 100th appearance for the Hammers with an exquisite finish off the outside of his right foot and it was just as well because they were pinned back for long periods before escaping with another point in their quest for a European place.[LNB]Noble said: 'To try and do that was the only option I had. One out of 50 comes off and this one did.[LNB]'Maybe six months ago we would have lost that game. So it shows we are determined. If we can carry on, I'm sure we will sit in seventh place at the end of the season.' [LNB] [LNB]
