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The football fraternity was in shock last week when Sam Allardyce was sacked from Blackburn Rovers. The question is: why? I mean, be honest, would you want Big Sam in charge of your club?

Admittedly, Blackburn are not performing as badly as West Ham, Wigan or even Everton just now - and they were unlucky not to squeak at least a point from their match against Bolton last week, but just because Allardyce's departure was unexpected, doesn't mean that it was wrong. The tabloids were just miffed that they didn't get wind of it first.

Don't get me wrong, Big Sam has done a great job at Blackburn, in terms of shepherding them away from the spectre of relegation that was haunting them when he took over two years ago. When Big Sam replaced Paul Ince, his new side beat Stoke 3-0, strung together a nine-match unbeaten run and secured seven league victories to ensure survival. The following season Rovers finished tenth. But isn't that what Allardyce does? He guides sides towards mid-table security through disciplined, direct and effective football?

Like Mr Wolf in Pulp Fiction, if you're in trouble he'll come and sort out your mess for you in double quick time, and if everyone does what they're told and doesn't mind having to take on 'brain detail' every once in a while everything will be ok. Rovers are now as long as 8.0 to get relegated this year. Indeed, West Ham, who are 1.61 for the drop, could do a lot worse than lure Big Sam to Upton Park. It wouldn't be pretty, but he'd probably save them from themselves. Everything would be ok.

But does that make him the next Alex Ferguson? Look at it this way, if you had just bought a modest, mid-table football club and had high hopes of taking it to the next level, would you want Allardyce in charge? I didn't see Roman Abramovich swoop for the former Bolton supremo when Claudio Ranieri was given his marching orders. And did Manchester City decide that Allardyce was the man to shake it up at Middle Eastlands.

Harry Redknapp, rallied to Big Sam's defence, by claiming that he is a victim of circumstance, forever misconceived as a guileless northerner, always straitjacketed by mean-fisted chairmen and small clubs. "He's top class at his job," said the Tottenham manager. "People who don't know him see this big northern ex-centre-half who they think is a big hammer thrower; well he's the brightest guy you could ever wish to meet. He is so far in advance in all the sports science and technology and preparing his teams, he is just amazing."

If he is so intelligent and ahead of his time, then his devotion to route one football is all the more criminal. This, after all, is a man who said, after England's 2-0 defeat to Spain last year, that the Three Lions would "never" produce players with the technical ability of David Villa, Fernando Torres or Xabi Alonso.

Sir Alex Ferguson also cried foul at his good friend's treatment, describing the decision to sack him as "absolutely ridiculous". "I've never heard of such a stupid decision in all my life," said the Manchester United manager, who doubtless enjoyed a nice glass of claret with Allardyce after his side - who are now in to 2.48 to win the Premier League, walloped Rovers 7-1 two weeks ago. "I don't know what they're doing up there, but, deary me, it confounds common sense."

Actually, I think it makes perfect sense. In an interview with Radio Five Live last week Blackburn's owner Anuradha Derai said: "We have a long-term vision. We want to take the club up to higher heights in terms of position, in terms of overall betterment of the club, in terms of development of younger players - the future.

"In that, Sam definitely didn't fit in. We don't want to be, all the time, in danger of being relegated - three points away, five points away. I don't think this team deserves that. This team has a lot of potential and we can see that."

In other words, they want Rovers to be more than just ok. As well showing a desire for attractive football, the new owners, the Venky's Group, also deserve credit for not rushing a new man in. They have decided that Allardyce is not for them and, while they window shop for an alternative, entrusted the short-term and possibly long-term future of the club to an ambitious coach, Steve Kean, who knows the players well and who, presumably, will not see free-kicks and corners as his side's sole source of goalscoring.

And those who believe that it is not possible for a smaller club to survive in the English top-flight while playing attractive football, should look no further than Blackpool, who have the same number of points as Rovers and are (2.962/1 to avoid relegation) or, better still, Bolton, who are four points better off and 4.9 to finish in the top six. Wanderers unquestionably owe a huge debt to Big Sam for what he achieved in his eight years at the club, but you won't find many Trotters fans eager to swap Owen Coyle for their former manager. They want their football to be OC not OK.


By Richard Aikman

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