Duncan Ferguson believes Sam Allardyce should have kept his job at Everton.
Blues legend Ferguson credited Allardyce with doing a "great job" at Goodison Park, praising his tactical ability and communication skills. Allardyce was appointed as Everton's manager in November 2017 after being brought in following the dismissal of Ronald Koeman.
But he was sacked the following May after a stint that saw him become the subject of fan resentment - particularly over the brand of football he maintained even after the initial threat of relegation at the end of Koeman's reign was banished. The latest ex-Blues boss to give a glowing appraisal of himself, Allardyce blamed his departure on the "politics" of the club.
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Ferguson, who left his role as assistant manager at Everton in the summer, spoke positively of Allardyce on the new podcast No Tippy Tappy Football. Allardyce is a co-host on the show, run by William Hill and Footy Accumulators.
Ferguson said: "Sam did a great job really to get the club in a good position. He was really unfortunate to lose his job and he shouldn't have lost his job. I've been a big backer of Sam for some time and we've always got on well.”
Ferguson added: “What I loved about Sam was that he was straight. He’s a straight fella, a straight talker and tactically very good. He knew his gameplan and communicated that with the players and we went and executed it. He knew exactly what he wanted. He communicated that with the players, the players liked him as well, they loved him. I think that's an important part of being a manager. There was no ‘BS’ with him and that’s what I liked. He was straight and the players liked that as well because they performed, didn’t they?”
Koeman's exit followed a dismal start to the 2017/18 campaign but, after David Unsworth's stint as caretaker manager, Allardyce inherited a side in 13th place. He oversaw an eight-placed finish but alienated fans in the process, Everton finishing the campaign with the fewest shots on target, fewest shots on goal and fewest chances created in the Premier League.
Allardyce is proud of what he achieved at Goodison Park, however. He said: "I have to say, in terms of turning things around, and nothing's ever easy in these situations, but it was the easiest situation we had. We shot up that league relatively quickly and ultimately, I was very, very proud at the end of that season that we finished eighth. In all fairness, we were all looking at each other saying, you know, how did we do that?”
Allardyce added: “I really couldn’t believe the opportunity I had to go all the way with Everton. And it was the first time I had the chance to do that since I think probably rebuilding Newcastle – which I didn't get the time to do because of a change of ownership. This was a rebuilding job at Everton to take them to a new stadium. But unfortunately, because of the politics of the club, that didn't end up being the case. I knew all about what a great club Everton were and I just wanted the opportunity and for the first time having big money to spend, I’d never had that in my life. So big money would have been ideal, but you know, these things happen and you move on.”
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