Can Sam Allardyce Lead Everton To Their Envisaged Glory?

Everton might have sacked Ronald Koeman a long time ago yet this has done nothing to halt the slide as the club have only won twice in the post-Koeman era lossing five times  (nine games) across all competitions under David Unsworth who was the caretaker manager in that period. 

With the appointment of Sam Allardyce as the new manager on Thursday on an 18 months contract, Blue Merseyside fans will be experiencing mixed feelings given how the former Three Lions manager have not only stabilised his previous clubs and also his emphasis on dull, unattractive football. Languishing in 13th position in the league despite spending more than £100m this season on the likes of Michael Keane, Jordan Pickford, Sandro Ramirez, Gylfi Sigurdsson to mention but a few . 

The reason Allardyce's appointment is hailed as a masterstroke is his record of overachieving at his previous clubs . Under the 63-year-old Bolton Wanderers not only  won promotion to the Premier League in 2011 but also reached the League Cup final as well reaching the last 32 of the UEFA Cup. With a near perfect defensive record and ability to get the best from average players at his disposal , Allardyce was able to finish 6th and 8th with Bolton with the club getting relegated a two seasons after he departed . 

Having recorded only two clean sheets as well as conceding 28 goals in 13 league games , Allardyce is the perfect person to organise their defence and bring back the lacking stability since the days of David Moyes. What makes it better for the manager is the fact that from December 2nd to The New Year , Everton will be playing sides in the bottom nine of the league (Huddersfield, Swansea and Newcastle United to mention but a few). 

On the other side it is difficult seeing Everton play the sort of attacking football the fans are used to having watched the likes of Roberto Martinez and Ronald Koeman set-up their sides to attack . With attacking players like Tom Davies, Wayne Rooney, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Lookman it is difficult to decipher how they will fare under the manager dubbed the "Long Ball" specialist. 

For while Everton so much need Allardyce's stability and magic touch, the former Bolton Manager also needs Everton to re-assert himself in the game having been sacked for  making corrupt remarks as England manager despite been incharge for just one competitive game . 

Is Peter Bosz Or Hans- Joachim Watzke To Blame For Borussia Dortmund's Struggles?

Peter Boss is a haunted man right now having failed to win a single game in the UEFA Champions League as Borussia Dortmund have gained only two points despite playing five games so far in the competition (Real Madrid, Tottenham and Apoel). This is not all as the former Dutch international has won only one game across all competitions since September (11 games), the win coming against 3rd division Magdeburg in the German Cup with BVB 5th in the German Bundesliga eight points off leaders Bayern Munich.

So where did it go wrong for the former Ajax manager? Having started the season in an overly impressive form winning his first seven games of the season , Bosz presently seems out of depth with his team struggling to exert themselves in games . Having led a young Ajax to the final of the Europa League beating the likes of Schalke 04 and Lyon on the way, the Dutchman sets-up his side to play an exciting style of football which emphasizes mounting attack upon attack on the position and building from the back to the front mainly through the wings; a style which has failed him in BVB considering how it has magnalised the likes of Julien Weigl who only completed 14 passes in the 4-4 draw against Schalke 04 despite leading 4-0 until the 60th minute. Under former manager Tuchel, the German was the boss in midfield often building attacks and organising the midfield when the side is not in possession.

Under Bosz, BVD lack the fitness to see out games judging from the 17 goals conceded in the second half in their last 11 games across all competitions. Starting on the strong foot with waves of attack , BVB players tire even before the hour mark with opposing managers exploiting the weakness . Another area worthy of mention is the manager's decision to instruct star striker Emerick Aubameyang to drop deep to the no.10 position and retrieve the ball rather than his favoured  forward position , a strain on the striker's strengths.

Despite all these flaws one good thing with the Dutchman is his ability to promote youngsters, building them to become stars as well as the attacking vibe his team showcase on the field . Having overseen improvements in the games of the likes of Mario Gotze and Nuri Sahin after their stall as well as the re-emergence of  Yamelenko  it is clear that the Dutchman needs patience to get the best from his side.

One reoccurring question that must be answered by the club chairman Hans - Joachim Watze is the reason for the sacking of Thomas Tuchel who despite a limited squad having sold the likes of Matt Hummels reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-final as well as winning the German Cup. With a personality clash between the two men, Watze wanted to show off he was the boss by firing the German although the case of Sven Mislintat comes to mind. Mislintat was the club's chief scout having discovered the likes of Emerick Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele who moved to Arsenal to head their recruitment department in the summer despite pushing for Tuchel's sacking after the manager banned him from contacting the players and attending trainings .

BVB have clearly boxed themselves into a corner only they themselves will have the final say.

West Brom'S Alan Pardew: A Tale Of Two Contrasting Features.

West Bromwich fans were relieved to hear of the sacking of manager Tony Pulls some weeks back after watching him set-up his team in an ultra-defensive style playing a boring and labouring football and at the same time unable to get points. Yet what these fans did not realise was the appointment of a certain Alan Pardew some days ago? So who is Alan Pardew and is he an upgrade on Pulis?

Frankly the answer is a simple Yes and No depending on the context used. Having reached the FA Cup finals twice as a manager with the likes of West Ham and Newcastle, Pardew guarantees you plenty of entertainment but the problem lies in what sort of entertainment. With many controversies, the 56-year-old has worked wonders in some clubs taking Newcastle to a 5th placed finish in the 2011/2012 season with unknown players like Pappis Cisse, Demba Ba, Marveux , Yohan Cabaye and Hateem Ben Arfa as well as winning the Premier League Season Manager the same year. As if that wasn't enough the former Reading player took a newly promoted West Ham to finish 9th in the 2005/2006 season with mostly Championship players who won promotion with him the previous season .

Despite boasting all these records , Longeitivity s a word alien to the Englishman as he always hits rock bottom soon after reaching his heights with his previous clubs. Soon after finishing 5th in Newcastle, the Tyneside club went on a free fall finishing 16th the following season before he re-signed to take charge at Crystal Palace where he was sacked in December 2016 after losing eight of his last 10 games in South London. At West Ham the story was the same after he recorded the Hammers worst run in 70 years before his sacking In 2007.

With talent abounding in West Bromwich Albion despite the poor results of this season, Pardew is tipped to boost the morale and confidence of the club as the return to the winning ways of early last season . From James McClean, Matt Philips, Jack Livermore, Nacer Chadli, Jonny Evans, down to the veteran Gareth Barry, it will surely be an interesting adventure with the English man in charge. Having won only twice in 21 league games as well as having the 4th worst goalscoring record in the league , it should surely get better considering that Pardew is an attacking manager hence must help Venezuelan Salomon Randon and Robson Kanu rediscover their good form .

Only time will tell how the new union will end as season end will surely show a glimpse of what to expect.

Evergreen Wayne Rooney Reminds Everyone He Never Left.

David Unsworth finally bowed out in style as interim Everton manager having beaten West Ham 4-0 after he replaced Ronald Koeman a few weeks ago. While Everton played like a title contender on the night , it was England Legend Wayne Rooney who stole the spotlight delighting fans and reminding them he still has what it takes to play at the top level for a few years with his hat-trick on the night.

Although Everton are languishing in 13th position in the Premier League at present having lost seven games already this season (14 games already played); club captain Rooney is in top form having scored seven goals in his 12 league games since his return from Manchester United to the Merseyside in the summer. At 32, it seemed that Everton were making a critical mistake re-signing the same player who they sold for £25 million in 2004. Having lost a yard of the pace which made him so dangerous, Rooney's near perfect shooting and passing ability have enabled him to function deeper as a second striker or no.10 at this point in his career. Presently unable to start games every weekend , the former Three Lions striker showed his abysmal last season was mainly due to lack of game time and not the inability to perform. With Juan Mata, Henrik Mkhitaryan, Paul Pogba all better suited as the no.10's and Marcus Rashford, Zlatan Ibrahimovic as well as Martial all preferred upfront it was always difficult to get game time in Old Trafford last season .

In a young and attacking Everton side which  boasts such players like Carl Lewis, Tom Davies, Jonjoe Kenny, Lookman, Vlasic and Baningime, the second highest goalscorer in Premier League history (205 goals) have become a role model on and off the pitch as well as the one who dictates the pace of their game . While he might not be able to guarantee a 20 plus goals each season, evergreen Wayne Rooney has shown he can still cut it at the top level considering how this season as played out.

Nigeria Is Gradually Returning To The Top Under Little Known Gernot Rohr.

Gernot Rohr might have been an unknown coach in Nigeria despite the fact he led Bordeaux to the 1996 UEFA Cup final before losing to Bayern Munich,  yet the German has silenced his critics with the success he has so far enjoyed with the Super Eagles Of Nigeria having become the first African nation to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia as well as beating highly fancied Argentina 4-2 in a friendly on Tuesday.

At 67, Rohr did not have an impressive Resume when he was hired by the NFF in 2016 with with less fancied spells at the likes of Niger, Burkina Faso and Etoile Sahel. To buttress further, the German was not even considered good enough to manage the Syli Stars of Guinea shortly before his appointment in Nigeria , a decision which now looks folly considering the new heights the Super Eagles now enjoy under him.

Shortly before his appointment, the Super Eagles then African defending champions  were ranked 70th in FIFA World Ranking as in addition to their  inability to qualify for the  two  previous Africa  Nations Cup in Gabon  (2015) and Equitorial Guinea (2017) as well as having their coach Sunday Oliseh abandon them shortly before they must win game against the Pharaohs of Egypt for the Nations Cup Qualification.

Shortly after taking over, the German developed a highly productive scouting network which scouted Nigerians born abroad as well as those who left the country early to play in Europe. This was not enough as the average age of the national team has also been reduced from 29 years to 26 with many youngsters making their debuts under him (Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Ola Brown to mention but a few) . Despite being seeded in a difficult group for the World Cup (Cameroon - defending African Champions, Zambia and Algeria all of them one time African Champions) , the Eagles ended the qualification unbeaten gaining 14 points from a possible 18 as well as having a goal difference of 8 with second placed Zambia on 8 points and a goal difference of 1 in addition to qualifying for the World Cup with a game to spare.

Though there is still as much as six months to go before the World Cup, Rohr knows most of his players with the duo of Leon Balogun and William Troost-Ekong partnering near perfectly in central defence and Ola Aina/Elderson Echiejile and Shehu Abdulahi playing on the wings not leaving out John Mikel Obi, Ndidi Wilfred and Ogueyi Onazi in midfield as well as Kelechi Iheanacho, Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi in attack in a 4-3-3 formation not forgetting goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa who has been brilliant since taking over from the ever reliable and confident Carl Ikeme who is battling Cancer bravely at present .

Having come behind to win 4-2 against football mighty Argentina at full strength although Lionel Messi wasn't in the game, the fans of the Super Eagles must be forgiven for been super excited and joyous given how they team have gone from strength to strength under a low profile manager who is like a father to the players and who has given life back to a team that lacked confidence before his appointment.

Out Of Ideas And Struggling; Why West Ham Were Right To Sack Slaven Bilic .

As Slaven Bilic's 28 months reign as West Ham United's manager came to an end last week, the Croat might feel unfairly treated considering his record exploits in his debut season (2015-2016) yet a part of him will be sincere to accept that he lacked ideas and creativity when needed most soon after his first season in East London.

Having led the Hammers to a record sixth place finish in the 2015-2016 season (their joint best league finish in a century) as well as finishing ahead of the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool in addition to playing one of the best attacking style of football in the league with Frenchman Dimitri Payet pulling the strings in central midfield, it felt like the West London club would only go higher and challenge for the League title the next season. Fast forward to the end of the 2016-2017 season and West Ham flirted with relegation all season despite finishing 11th as well as collecting 17 points less from the previous season. This is not all as the Hammers also made the most individual mistakes that led to goals , lost most points from winning positions which is made worse due to the fact that Payet ended the season as their most creative player despite moving to Marseille in January. West Ham became a laughing stock in his second season unable to play with the attacking Vibe and creativity witnessed in his first season despite playing in their new Olympic stadium (more than 50,000 capacity). 

Despite the results of last season, Bilic was given a lifeline by the board likewise £45 million spent on new players Pablo Zabaleta, Joe Hart, Xavier Hernandez and record signing Marko Arnautovic who has received more red cards than goals so far . In total £100 Million has been spent by the club in player sigings  since his appointment with little or no success as the endless list of flops continues to pile up Sofiane Feghouli, Ashley Fletcher, Alvaro Arbeloa, Havard Nordveit, Simone Zaza, Robert Snodgrass and Gokhan Tore to mention but a few with only Dede Ayew impressing yet lacking match fitness and injured most of the time . As if things weren't bad enough, Bilic often times played Hernandez out of position often playing him on the wings with Andy Carroll the main striker. 

Though he is seen as fans favourite and one of the best managers of West Ham, it was not enough reason to keep him on the job considering how woeful the Hammers have been this season rooted in the 18th position five points ahead of bottom placed Crystal Palace as well as having lost six out of their 10 league games so far. 

Whether or not new manager David Moyes will do better is a topic for another as at present what is clear is that Slaven Bilic was on clearly out of his depth before his sacking in East London. 

52 Goals In 17 Games; Pep Guardiola's Manchester City Are Simply Unplayable.

Very few football managers have achieved half the feat or enjoyed half the success of Manchester City's Pep Guardiola (six league titles and two Champions League titles) yet one constant criticism that has trailed the Catalan is his inability to achieve success in a more competitive league with Bayern and Barcelona at the time having little or no competition in their leagues . Yes Manchester City have spent billions since the Qataris took over in 2008 winning the Premiership twice and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League yet there is no denying the fact that Guardiola has taken them further up than most expected.

Despite spending an excess of £160m last season, City under performed exiting the Champions League to a young Monaco side in the second round as well as finishing 3rd in the league last season. So what has changed this season?

While many of his colleagues favour a less expansive attacking style of playing trying to find a balance between defence and attack , Guardiola sets up his side with the mindset that attack is the best form of defence with City playing an all out attacking style as well as more than five attacking players starting most of his games this season (Sergio Aguero, Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling/Gabriel Jesus, Kelvin De Bruyne and David Silva). In total City have 31 points already this season (Premier League's best ever start much more than the sides managed by Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsenal's Invincibles and Jose Mourinho's Chelsea)  winning nine out of 10 games this season with the 1-1 draw against Everton the only exception.

Unlike last season where City won only two league games out of 10 against the league's top six (Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool), Guardiola's charges have already beaten Chelsea (at Stamford Bridge) , Arsenal and Liverpool this season as well as a 9 straight league games win which is a club record. So what has changed this season? The difference between both seasons is the inability of Guardiola's side to finish off chances last season , struggling to score goals despite controlling the game and creating loads of chances . Already City have scored an English record 52 goals across all competitions (17 games) , 38 goals in the league (10 games) as well as boasting a 23 games unbeaten record across all competitions (19 games league unbeaten run winning 16) all since last season. Since losing 4-0 away at Everton in January , City have lost just one game up until now and that was a 2-1 loss to Antonio Conte's Chelsea who won the League last season.

That is not all as City have averaged 3 1/2 goals per game this season with a goal difference of +31 in thier 10 league games with United (second) eight points and 13 goals behind them. With such points and goals this is Guardiola's best ever start which is remarkable considering he had earlier managed such sides like Barcelona and Bayern Munich which had such stars like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, David Villa, Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski and Frank Ribery.

If there was any doubt concerning Guardiola's ability, the Catalan has clearly silenced his critics  although it must be acknowledged that the season still has a long way to go, yet what must be noted is the likelihood of City becoming the most attacking Premier League side if they continue with their early season form.

How United's Jose Mourinho Is Stifling His Attacking Players With His Ultra Defensive Football Style.

When Jose Mourinho spent over £150m on the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Lindelof without releasing any regular senior team player the sky was expected to be his landing spot having won the Europa League and League Cup the previous season. Mourinho's new side would soon start the new season in an impeccable form scoring 10 goals without conceding against the likes of West Ham, Swansea and Leicester City with fans predicting an unbeaten campaign and Romelu Lukaku scoring goals for fun.

Fast forward to the moment and you realise how football can change in a short while  considering their is already talk of the Portuguese favouring a negative system with a star studded attack. So how did it get to this ? Having lost 1-0 away to Chelsea in Stamford Bridge on Sunday, it became clear that the United manager went into the game with a defensive mindset having started eight defensive players in his line-up. To illustrate better, United were so poor that striker Lukaku had only 24 touches in the whole game losing the ball 10 times . To make matters worse,  the Belgian striker was so starved of support that he failed to make a single touch in Chelsea's 18 yard box coupled with his one shot in the game and a mere 16 passes. While it might seem unfair to blame the manager for the Belgian's poor form (hasn't scored in his last seven games  across all competitions) it should  be noted that despite missing Paul Pogba (hamstring injury) , the manager has failed to start numerous attacking players like Juan Mata, Anthony Martial and Jese Lingard often going for a defensive 3-4-3 formation with only Henrik Mkhitaryan and Marcus Rashford the only attacking players in the starting line -up .

Going by statistics, Jose Mourinho's United has scored only one goal in 630 minutes away from home (10 league games)  in games with the league's top six (Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham)  . To make matters worse the Portuguese has failed to win away  against the top six in three years with his last win coming in the 2-1 Anfield defeat of Liverpool in 2014. What this entails is that the Portuguese employs the style of containing and suffocating his opponents away from home, with the mindset of getting a draw rather than going for a win despite the array of attacking players in his side. While this might have been condoned in Chelsea where he won the league in 2015, Manchester United is a club that have enjoyed success synanumously with their attacking flair and on-field results.

What is even more annoying to United fans is the attacking success and excitement their "Noisy Neighbours"- Manchester City seem to be enjoying under Pep Guardiola having scored 52 goals across all competitions already this season (17 games) as well as leading second placed United with seven points (+31 goal difference whIle United have +18).

While there is still 28 more league games to go before the end of the season, it might seem too early for criticism considering how United have positively evolved under the Portuguese, the fact still remains he sets up his team in a defensive style that stiffles and frustrates the attacking players in his side .