SAM ALLARDYCE clearly possesses an enviable command of the English language and was at his erudite best when he delivered his considered opinion on comments from Cameron Carter-Vickers following Celtic’s derby defeat at Parkhead on Sunday.
“Tell him to keep his f****** mouth shut,” offered the former England international supremo.
So, no shilly-shallying or sitting on the fence for the straight-talking, tell-it-like-it-is Allardyce, an individual who has been in charge of twelve club sides, including Bolton, West Ham, Newcastle and Everton, during his boisterous managerial odyssey.
Memorably, he took control of his country for one game and then left by “mutual consent”.
The bold Sam bettered that at his last club, Leeds United. He was appointed in early May 2023, lost three of his four outings and, following the Yorkshire club’s relegation from the top flight, was shown the Elland Road door.
That’s the sort of record that makes Wilfried Nancy’s 33-day escapade at Celtic – with six defeats in eight matches – look almost commendable.
What had Carter-Vickers said that triggered such a vehement response from the well-travelled soccer sage?
ON THE BALL…Cameron Carter-Vickers during Celtic’s 4-0 Premier Sports League Cup win over Dundee United at Tannadice.
Following the champions’ third reverse in eight days, the 28-year-old centre-back declared the team had “played a bit too random” and the players needed “a script and stick to it.”
The remarks were seen as tantamount to questioning a lack of tactical identity for the faltering Hoops and may even be viewed as a smokescreen from the player while attempting to shift responsibility from his own performance and that of his team-mates.
It should be pointed out that Carter-Vickers has played a mere thirteen times while Martin O’Neill’s hand has been on the Celtic tiller.
Following his injury and subsequent surgery after the Europa League encounter with Sturm Graz on October 23, the Southend-on-Sea-born defender, who has made 19 appearances for his adopted nation America, missed the Irishman’s double-header stint as an interim gaffer.
Brendan Rodgers bade an unscheduled and hasty farewell before the month was out, O’Neill stepped in ahead of Nancy’s now-you-see-me-now-you-don’t interlude that led to a swift comeback for the 74-year-old Irishman.
Maybe Carter-Vickers is finding difficulty in following the bouncing ball when the touchline veteran lays out his pre-match masterplan?
Possibly something has got lost in translation?
Either way, Allardyce, in his rather brusque manner, was clearly unimpressed and he conveyed his frank and unreserved observations while speaking on The No Tippy Tappy Podcast, a broadcast vehicle which obviously welcomes such candid viewpoints.
ONLOOKER…Cameron Carter-Vickers watches as Callum McGregor fails to prevent Dan Neil scoring the hosts’ third goal in Celtic’s Premier Sports League Cup exit at Ibrox.
Emphasising he was not a devotee of the Pep Guardiola school of deep thinkers of the beautiful game, Big Sam also opined: “This is what I’m talking about, this over-coaching crap — when you can’t think for yourself.”
I doubt very much if Oscar Wilde would have framed the critique in such primitive terms, but Allardyce didn’t leave much room for manoeuvre with what he was attempting to communicate to anyone willing to hang on his every syllable.
Just as well Big Sam wasn’t at Ibrox twelve days ago when Carter-Vickers allowed the opposition’s striker Ryan Naderi to relieve him of the ball out on the wing to set in motion the move that led to the first goal to open the way to a 3-0 gubbing.
During his halcyon football playing days, Sam was a snarling, no-nonsense centre-half. None of this Franz Beckenbauer stuff, waltzing through the lines with a shimmy here and a shimmy there to bring the ball out of defence and present problems for rivals.
Sam ignored the silky skills gifted to those of a very different pedigree as he hoofed the ball from one end of the pitch to another. The spherical object was black and blue by the time the robust defender was finished with it.
And heaven only knows how Sam would have reacted to Carter-Vickers’ lack of positional sense when Daniel Arzani netted Ferencvaros’ third and killer goal in the Hungarians’ 3-1 Europa League victory at Parkhead only four days after the debacle in Govan.
The tricky little Australian winger, who had spent two injury-interrupted years on loan at the Hoops from Manchester City earlier in his career, only had one thing on his mind when he picked up a pass midway in the Celtic half on the left.
It was the epitome of a swift counter-attack and it left Arzani with just Carter-Vickers to beat to get a clear sight of Viljami Sinisalo’s goal.
He raced in from the flank to confront the defender. The forward jinked to his right and, alarmingly, the Celt, instead of fronting him up, decided to turn and challenge with his right foot.
Head on, Carter-Vickers would have been facing his opponent and trying to win the ball with his left foot. He put himself in a position of turning to throw his stronger right foot in an effort to block the shot.
WRONG FOOT FORWARD…Cameron Carter-Vickers is caught out as Daniel Arzani fires in Ferencvaros’ third and killer goal in the Hungarians’ 3-1 Europa League win at Parkhead.
It was all too cumbersome and predictable and Arzani was presented with the opportunity of plonking the ball in the Celtic net and he didn’t fail as he launched a curling drive high past the flailing Sinisalo who couldn’t be blamed for expecting a little bit more protection from his colleague.
This was not textbook defending from Carter-Vickers and I suspect Big Sam may have had something to say about the lame attempt to shut down the danger.
By the way, I am not a fully paid-up member of the Sam Allardyce Appreciation Society and this is not a personal attack on a back-four operator who has more often than not made a solid contribution to the cause since he originally joined Celtic on loan from Spurs in the summer of 2021 during the Ange Postecoglou revolution.
The £6million handed to the London club for the player to make the switch permanent has been money well spent. However, he is not exempt from criticism.
Like Allardyce, I believe Carter-Vickers was attempting to deliver a sincere and honest consideration to the ills of the team that have been exposed too often this season.
Unlike Allardyce, the words were not presented in such a colourful allocution.
But Carter-Vickers may well be better served with a little bit of self-observation. As a professional, he will be aware he can offer a bit more in the forthcoming weeks and months of what could be yet another tumultuous campaign.
Big Sam would probably agree, with or without the fruity linguistic pronouncement.
ALEX GORDON
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