You often hear people saying that their whole life has been leading up to a particular moment. For Sam Allardyce, that moment arrives today.

As a footballer, Big Sam was distinctly unremarkable, having a decidedly average career that never hit any sort of heights. He has been more successful as a manager, proving himself a capable leader at teams like Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United and West Ham United.

But all of his football achievements, big and small, in the dugout and on the pitch, will pale into insignificance compared to how he will feel when he leads England out as manager for the first time this evening.

Although it is a job that comes with plenty of baggage, huge pressure and constant media scrutiny, there is no doubt that managing the Three Lions is still something every English manager dreams of. And Big Sam’s dreams will come true against Slovakia.

Frankly speaking, I was neither underwhelmed nor overwhelmed by the squad he picked for tonight’s game. So I suppose I was just ‘whelmed’ – and if that isn’t a word, it should be.

I was quite happy with his decision to call up Michail Antonio, agreed with his choice to keep Wayne Rooney as captain given the lack of alternatives, and thought his exclusion of Ross Barkley was madness. Some good, some bad and some inevitable.

One thing I didn’t like about his first squad press conference was the suggestion that the new management team would be trying to persuade youngsters of other nationalities to pledge their allegiance to England.

By getting his players to focus on their strengths and forget their weaknesses, he was renowned for sending out teams who didn’t fear anybody

I can’t think of a more negative signal for the England management to send out to players than essentially saying you aren’t good enough, so we’re going to give your place in the national team structure to a lad from Zaire who qualifies because one of his grandparents once bought a souvenir of Buckingham Palace.

But Allardyce’s mostly predictable squad selection and the misguided decision to announce plans for player headhunting will pale into insignificance once the teams take to the field in Trnava. Then all that will matter is whether or not Big Sam can finally get this generally talented England team to play like one.

And it is in this area, moulding a collection of skilful underachievers into a genuine force, where I think the new England manager will excel. Even at those clubs where he didn’t have an abundance of talent at his disposal – which is pretty much every club he has managed – he was able to craft a spirit and togetherness which raised the whole team to a new level.

Equally, by getting his players to focus on their strengths and forget their weaknesses, he was renowned for sending out teams who didn’t fear anybody. And that has been one of the most glaringly obvious problems with the England team for many, many years.

Time will tell, of course, whether Allardyce can translate his domestic achievements to the international scene, and there are plenty of his critics who say he can’t. I think he can and I think he will.

I am firmly of the belief that tonight will be a new beginning, not in some revolutionary way, but in a way that sees the England team getting back to basics. Basics that involve winning football matches however necessary.

Let’s see if I still feel the same way come 8 o’clock…

Leave me a loan

In this summer’s transfer window, English Premier League clubs spent a staggering £1.165 billion on new players.

This record spend comes on the back of the huge £5.1 billion television deal that came into effect this season.

Much of that spending had been carried out over the course of the summer, but there was still time for clubs to fork out another £155 million on deadline day, with deals including the rather bizarre return of David Luiz to Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur snapping up Moussa Sissoko from Newcastle.

But for me the real news of this transfer window wasn’t the permanent transfers – but the knock-on effect this spending is having on the loan market.

A few years ago the loan system was just a way of giving recently injured players some game time or young players some first team experience.

Now, however, it is almost a second industry in itself as the Premier League teams find themselves with increasing numbers of stars on their books that they don’t want to sell but can’t give regular football.

Just look at Chelsea loaning out a record 38 players over the summer. That’s three whole teams with a few to spare. And Manchester City said temporary goodbyes to the likes of Joe Hart, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony and Eliaquim Mangala.

Then, of course, you’ve got Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere. A full England international who has played 100 games for his club and 34 games for his country. And now he’s going to be spending the entire season with Bournemouth.

I appreciate he has been injury prone and he does need first team football. But a few years ago he was the sort of player a team wouldn’t let out of their sight, not ship off to another top-flight team; for a year.

But Arsenal have built themselves a huge collection of midfielders, so loaning Wilshere out is the only way of getting him some game time.

I can’t think of any other way of describing this new trend other than hoarding.

As clubs’ revenues continue to increase, they are ending up with bloated squads full of players they don’t really need, players that are investments for the future and players they have bought simply to keep them out of the hands of rivals.

Don’t tell me there isn’t something fundamentally wrong with modern football…

One day to remember

I don’t talk about cricket very often because I know it isn’t exactly hugely popular here in Malta.

But once in a while something happens in a sport, even those without a massive local following, that merits a mention.

And cricket had one of those monumental moments last week, with England beating the record for the most runs ever hit in a one-day international match.

Up until last Tuesday the highest ever One-Day International score was Sri Lanka’s 443 against the Netherlands in 2006. England managed 444 beating Pakistan this week. It may be only one run difference but its still a new world record. And, to be fair to England, you also have to look at the quality of opposition they faced as opposed to Sri Lanka’s.

Just to add further gloss to what was already a pretty incredible day for English cricket, a number of individual records also fell. Alex Hales became the highest ever English run-scorer in a ODI with 171, while Jos Buttler made England’s fastest ever 50 in just 22 balls.

A pretty good day all round. Well, not so good for Pakistan, I suppose; or Sri Lanka for that matter.

But England will be more than happy with their day’s work.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade