Could Big Sam Be The Saviour?

Since the announcement of Sam Allardyce’s elevation from club manager to that of boss to the poisoned chalice (or the England football team as some prefer) many people have waxed lyrically about will this change, will that change, in fact will there be any difference at all?

The simple answer in all reality is that it has to! The F.A (in my opinion) have been rather clever (some may say for once, I’ll let you make up your own minds on that one!) in placing at the helm a man who has played in all divisions and also managed in a fair few of them as well. In other words, big Sam has knowledge of the game from the bottom up and if he says things have to change, then hopefully someone, in a suit and behind a desk in the F.A. will finally pay attention!

We have all seen the state of the game at “Grassroots” level and I’m not just talking kids football, but that of amateur teams and more pertinent to us, 5/6/7-a-side football. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some fantastic venues out there and it’s obvious which ones are looked after and which ones are not. However, I’m pretty sure I’m safe in saying that not one of these places would turn down a cash input from the F.A.

Of course, it’s not all about the money, but the sad reality is that a lot of the times it is. As it is with life, money makes the little things better and new nets, goal frames, pitches will always be needed and will always be appreciated by the people who play the game – you guys! It seems sadly misplaced that we can live in an era when a player can cost £84 million, yet areas can’t even get 0.01% of that fee for general repairs.

Maybe it’s me being too optimistic and a fantasist, but I would love it if someone, who can make a difference, actually listens to Big Sam when he speaks about how improvements need to start from the bottom up.