Source: Telegraph
Sam Allardyce can turn it round at Blackburn Rovers but time is not on his side
Both at Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United, rarely did an Allardyce press conference begin within half-an-hour of its schedule time and wagers have already been placed as to how many minutes will have elapsed beyond 4pm before he is officially unveiled as the new manager of Blackburn Rovers this afternoon. [LNB]Yet when he sits behind his desk at Blackburn's Brockhall training ground for the first time on Thursday morning, only those inside the Rovers boardroom will know how they allowed the 54-year-old to arrive six months late for a job that could, and perhaps should, have been his in June. [LNB]When chairman John Williams was charged with identifying a successor to Mark Hughes following his departure for Manchester City at the end of last season, Allardyce was deemed as damaged goods by those supporters who bombarded message boards with vitriolic criticisms of a man who had narrowly missed out on the England job to Steve McClaren just two years earlier. [LNB]Allardyce's reputation for building success at nearby Bolton on the foundations of physical strength and uncomplicated football appeared to grate and his unsuccessful and brief stint at Newcastle last season only served to add to the perception that he had suddenly become yesterday's man. [LNB]The allegations labelled against him by a BBC Panorama investigation in 2006 hurt him deeply, to the point where he continues to refuse to speak to the BBC. The mud stuck and he found himself the victim of a whispering campaign that did little to help improve his prospects of returning to the game. [LNB]Williams at least afforded Allardyce an interview, during which he impressed the chairman with his blueprint, but Hughes' relative youthfulness and cutting-edge methods ultimately led Blackburn down the path of rejecting Allardyce in favour of the far-less experienced Paul Ince. [LNB]Ince's disastrous reign came to an abrupt end on Tuesday morning, however, and despite links to Graeme Souness, Allardyce now appears to have been the only candidate considered by Williams. [LNB]Better late than never, perhaps, but Allardyce will know well enough that time is not on his side to switch course and avoid the iceberg that his looming dead ahead. [LNB]He often complained bitterly of the restrictions of the transfer window during his time at the Reebok, but few operated within those constraints better than Big Sam. On one occasion, he somehow managed to sign three players – Pierre-Yves Andre, Salva Ballesta and Florent Laville – in the final hour of the window. [LNB]Those that have played under Allardyce regard him as a true "players' man", and many of Bolton's problems last season, under his successor Sammy Lee, stemmed from the vast majority of his Reebok squad still pining for their old manager. [LNB]Allardyce commands incredible loyalty from former players and staff, many of whom – such as Ian Marshall, Kevin Davies and Youri Djorkaeff – he rescued from a bleak future elsewhere and transformed them into crucial cogs in his Bolton team. [LNB]The task he faces at Ewood Park is arguably the toughest he has encountered in his managerial career, however. Blackburn sit five points adrift of safety with almost half a season gone. Allardyce cannot afford to lose track of time.[LNB]Big Sam's in-tray[LNB]1. Roque Santa Cruz: should he offload his out-of-sorts striker and bank £18 million for January window? [LNB]2. Happy Christmas: Victories against Stoke, Sunderland and Manchester City over the Christmas period would transform survival prospects. [LNB]3. January sales: Needs to repeat the transfer magic of his Bolton days. [LNB]4. Midfield: Must find replacement for injured ball-winner Steven Reid. [LNB]5. Be lucky: Paul Ince had bad luck with injuries. Allardyce cannot afford the same misfortune.[LNB]
