‘Great choice’ – McCoist reacts as contender for West Brom job pulls out of talkSPORT appearance
Ally McCoist believes that if West Brom do sack Slaven Bilic, Sam Allardyce would be a great choice to steer them away from relegation.
The Telegraph has claimed that Allardyce will get the sack in the next 24 hours and named Allardyce as one of the leading contenders for the job.
There’s already been pushback from West Brom fans over the appointment but McCoist thinks West Brom could do a lot worse than Big Sam.
Talking on the Breakfast show (talkSPORT, Wednesday, 8am), Natalie Sawyer said that they understood there would be a change of manager “today” and said that Allardyce had pulled out of a talkSPORT studio appearance due for this afternoon. She said, “Make of that what you will.”
McCoist said, “Clearly if they sack Bilic the priority will be to stay in the league.
“Big Sam’s got a great knowledge of the game. People call him a dinosaur, that’s ridiculous. I fully appreciate it’s a forward-thinking game that’s evolving but it would be incredibly naïve not to think the older guys are completely and utterly aware of the changes going on and are able to adapt their teams accordingly.
“He’s got the knowledge of that area of the league and the experience and he knows what it’s like to get a team to gel and get out of trouble.
“Of course it will be a sensible choice but it won’t get the approval of all fans. There will be an element of the support that’s not happy. But in terms of pedigree of getting teams out of trouble, Sam is a great choice.”
Prepare for the backlash
We don’t think that the West Brom fans are going to like this at all.
However, it does appear that it’s going to happen, with Allardyce pulling out of his media duties for today.
It’s obviously not a done deal yet but it looks like a very likely appointment.
Is Big Sam that bad? His stock has definitely fallen since he was (briefly) England manager back in 2016.
However, he does come with solid experience and his specific talents are getting clubs out of trouble.
However, we think it’s a disgrace how it’s been dealt with. Bilic was blindsided by the news last night after a brilliant point against Man City.
That would have left the team on a high but any morale they have built up will be shattered later on when the news drops.
Why can’t clubs do things the right way?
Big Sam will live or die on saving West Brom from relegation. if he can do that the fans will forgive and forget.
In other West Brom news, Owen Hargreaves awestruck by ‘talented’ Baggies ace
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