The appointment of Sam Allardyce as the new England manager was always likely to be controversial.
The former Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United and West Ham United boss is a bit of a Marmite manager – you either love him or hate him. And there have been many people making their opinions known from both sides of that fence in recent days.
Personally, I have to say I am a big fan.
I appreciate Big Sam may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially those misguided purists who think England’s only chance of success is to try and emulate Spain.
But Sam is a motivator. A no-nonsense, tactically-shrewd realist who is one of the best in the world when it comes to moulding a group of players into a coherent team.
And it is that spirit and attitude that has been missing from the England camp in recent years. A succession of managers have been so intent on sexing up English football, they have slowly eroded all those elements that once made England good: pace, strength, confidence, stamina, fearlessness, teamwork and a never-say-die attitude.
Big Sam will bring those back. And more to boot.
Most of the complaints about his appointment tend to focus on his playing style, but that is utter nonsense. At most of the clubs he has managed, the style of play was dictated by the quality of the players at his disposal.
When his squads consisted of bargain basement buys, he wasn’t in a position where he could rely on pretty football to get results. When he had skill in the team, like Jay-Jay Okocha, Ivan Campo and Youri Djorkaeff, the style reflected their talents.
And if you take a look at the statistics, they don’t back up the criticism that he is a one-trick pony. In his final season at West Ham the team played an average of 31 long balls a game. Last season under Slaven Bilic, they played 29. Now either Bilic is also long-ball merchant, or Big Sam has been unfairly labelled.
That’s not to say his England team won’t go long at times, because they will. But when England do go direct, it will either be because Allardyce has identified that as the opponent’s weakness or because we are losing a crucial game and time is running out. Either way it will be justified.
One of the things I find positive about the appointment is that Big Sam will bring to the table a natural ability to unite the dressing room. He commands respect and won’t suffer fools lightly, which is not the impression you got about Roy Hodgson. The ex-manager looked like he could be won over by a nice new pair of slippers and a couple of butterscotch sweets.
But Allardyce is in no way a tyrant either. One of the most often repeated tributes from those who played under him is that he is the sort of manager who makes you desperate to win for him. Again, I didn’t see much evidence of that with Uncle Roy.
He commands respect and won’t suffer fools lightly, which is not the impression you got about Roy Hodgson. The ex-manager looked like he could be won over by a nice new pair of slippers and a couple of butterscotch sweets
There is, of course, only one way for the new boss to silence the doubters and snobs who think he isn’t up to the required standard or that England deserve better, and that is by winning football matches.
If England get their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a good start, playing slick, attacking and effective football, then those who deem him not worthy will need to keep quiet.
I don’t want to sound too optimistic, as trying to combine ‘supporting England’ with ‘positive thinking’ has done me few favours in the past.
But I am quietly confident that the FA have made the correct choice and we now have the right man in the right job at the right time.
Worth every overpriced penny
If the word on the street is to be believed, then Paul Pogba will become a Manchester United player for the second time any day now.
The French midfielder is set to rejoin the club he walked away from in 2012 for a fee way in excess of €100 million, a pretty spectacular sum even in these days of over-inflated transfer fees.
That has inevitably led some people to question whether the 23-year-old is really worth that sort of money.
Generally speaking, probably not. But to Manchester United he probably is.
For the past few years the Old Trafford club have been crying out for a truly world class midfielder, an iconic player they can build the team around.
And Pogba, with his tireless running, tough tackling and flair for the spectacular, fits the bill perfectly. On the pitch he will be a very valuable member of the team.
But there is another reason why Pogba is worth that sort of money to United – buying him is a statement of intent. It tells the rest of the Premiership, and Europe for that matter, that United are determined to win their place back among the elite.
It tells their opponents they are no longer going to be messing around signing average Belgians with unfathomable hair, or injury-prone Germans who are past their best, but players who are capable of playing for any of the top five or six teams in Europe.
It tells the fans that the club understands they aren’t happy with how things have gone since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and that they are now trying to fix it.
And it tells Jose Mourinho that he has joined a club whose ambitions match his own.
In terms of a mere football asset, Pogba is probably overpriced. Somewhere around €70 million would be a more realistic valuation.
But for United, the difference signing a player of his quality will make to the moral of the fans and the manager, and the message it will send out to their opponents, means it is worth spending over the odds.
They just might want to take note of when his contract expires this time…
Your say
“In your usually very interesting and entertaining column, last Sunday you suggested that Uefa needs to do something to make the Euro games more attractive. You mentioned that perhaps one possible solution is to change the number of points awarded for wins and draws.
“I agree entirely with this idea. When discussing with friends, the ever-growing ultra-defensive tactics adopted by coaches of teams playing against superior opponents, I always express the view that in any league match, no points should be earned by either side when the game ends with no goal being scored.
“This should eliminate any incentive for a team to spend a whole game defending its goal in order to gain a point. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to express my views in writing.” John Bonett, e-mail.
I have to say I like the way John thinks. No points for either team if the game ends 0-0 might solve all sorts of problems. I’m sure there would be lots of opposition to the idea, especially from managers who have made their entire career out of not conceding goals, but it’s got to be worth a bit of thought.
sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade