Leeds’s run-in may pit Allardyce against two of his former clubs but first up would be Pep Guardiola, who once called him a genius
When Nicolas Anelka played for Sam Allardyce at Bolton the France striker described the training-ground environment as surprisingly reminiscent of Clairefontaine. Although Allardyce lacks the time necessary to transform Leeds’s weekday HQ near Wetherby into a mini mirror image of the French national football school, Javi Gracia’s old squad should expect the unexpected if – as scheduled – he takes training for the first time on Wednesday.
The 68-year-old has plenty of critics but a close examination of the former England coach’s often impressive body of work at, among other clubs, Bolton, Blackburn, Sunderland and Crystal Palace, indicates that Pep Guardiola was not exaggerating that much when he dubbed Allardyce “a genius”.
Written by Louise Taylor
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/may/02/could-sam-allardyce-the-anti-bielsa-cross-philosophical-chasm-at-leeds under the title “Could Sam Allardyce, the anti-Bielsa, cross philosophical chasm at Leeds? | Louise Taylor”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
