One thing I learned from playing one season alongside Sam Allardyce is that he’s one of the most entertaining people you could ever have in a dressing room.
We played together for Huddersfield Town back in 1984-85 and Big Sam proved himself to be the king of sarcasm in our squad at Leeds Road.
Nobody escaped his wit, whether it was about a dodgy shirt, a new haircut or whatever, so I’ve always taken an interest in Sam’s interviews over the years.
When I see him with that tongue-in-cheek smile, I know that whatever people are complaining about – whether it’s the system he’s played or perceived long-ball game – I know he is laughing inside while he’s answering the questions.
So when he walked in front of the press after last Sunday’s match against Manchester United and declared West Ham couldn’t cope with United’s long-passing game, I couldn’t help but smile.
And I’m sure most of the journalists present and football followers watching were forced to giggle as well at the irony of Sam’s comments.
However, it seems that irony doesn’t stretch to Holland!
Louis Van Gaal’s response was a major surprise, because he actually took the trouble to prepare a ‘Rafa-style’ stats sheet to put to bed Sam’s claims – and this after everyone in the press conference I’m sure realised Sam was laughing while he said it.
At United right now, Van Gaal really does look like the emperor with no clothes.
He seems to be getting a very easy ride from the media while continuing with his arrogant ‘I know best’ responses to any question thrown in his direction, but I suppose it won’t hurt United’s fans to see they are sitting third in the table and are 1/2 favourites to get a top-four spot.
Performances from Van Gaal’s team at the moment, however, are so far below expectations it’s frightening.
They may have beaten Burnley 3-1 on Wednesday night but, when I looked at the stats after the game – and watched Charlie Nicholas on Soccer Special shaking his head about them – you have to think United have a lot of problems.
Burnley had more corners – eight compared with five.
Incredibly, Burnley also had more passes in the attacking third – 77 compared with United’s 75.
With all the statistics available these days, nothing can be escaped. No manager or player can hide away from the raw truth.
United right now look like the players haven’t got a clue what Van Gaal really wants, with all the changes in formation week in and week out, yet a Champions League spot has to be the very least the board expect.
Van Gaal may just be a lucky manager, though, because both Tottenham and Liverpool are about to go back into Europa League action and that will be a major test for their squads. It might just hand United that top-four finish.
