Sam Allardyce remarked in his post match television interview that when Kevin Nolan’s early goal was ruled out this could have been a blessing in disguise, as who knows how Manchester City, with the players they have in their team, would have reacted to going a goal down so early in the match. I found this comment fascinating for several reasons.
The first thing that struck me was how Sam did not rant and rave during the interview, claiming “we were robbed.” Neither did he impugn the professionalism of the referee and his assistants. Instead, he took a very philosophical view and made the statement akin to why prod a sleeping tiger. This is alien to the way his peers such as Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger react to such decisions. We have all seen how all hell breaks loose when the referee makes such a major error during an Arsenal or Manchester United game.
Take for instance the Chelsea v Manchester United game last weekend where there were a number
of controversial decisions made by referee, Mark Clattenburg. After the game, the Chelsea contingent
vilified Clattenburg. They did not just focus their angst on his decision-making; they tossed other things into the mix as well. It is alleged that one of the Chelsea personnel that burst into the referees room post match, threatened to break both his legs. If this was actually said then this is taking a winning mental attitude too far and there is no room for this in football. This, however, is the basis for a future article, maybe.
The subject of a winning mental attitude leads me nicely on to my next observation regarding Sam’s
post match interview. Most, if not all, top flight managers are associated with having a winning mental attitude. So much so, most of them only see the incidents during a game, albeit positive or negative,that influences the outcome of the game from their own team’s perspective. Please do not think that I am suggesting Sam does not have a winning mental attitude, but during the interview he was clearly happy to accept one point for the draw despite the fact that if Nolan’s goal had counted, we would have picked up three valuable points in the Premier League survival battle. Also, who knows the effect the goal would have had on our team. It may have given us a confidence boost, inspiring us to score more goals and winning convincingly. I can always dream can I not?
At the start of this article, I stated how fascinated I was by the comments Sam made in his television
interview. His philosophical attitude raised concern at first, but after considering the interview further my assessment is that he is more than likely a realist unlike most of us fans.