Sam Allardyce has accused rival bosses Jurgen Klopp and Erik ten Hag as talking "rubbish" as his Leeds side prepare for a pivotal clash in their quest for Premier League survival.
After overseeing the defeat at Man City last weekend, 'Big Sam' will take charge of his Leeds side at Elland Road on Saturday for the visit of Newcastle United. And his side dare not lose, having slipped to 19th and two points off safety.
But the Toon Army have their own ambitions, albeit at the other end of the table. Their Champions League charge was put on hold by a home defeat to Arsenal last week, after which boss Eddie Howe took aim at their opponents for slowing down play in the second half
The irony of Howe's complaints is time wasting is a tactic Newcastle have frequently been accused of themselves this season, a notion that radio presenter Laura Woods was quick to remind him of the following morning. But in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Allardyce himself brutally dismissed the accusations against his former club.
Asked about the jibes at Howe's men this season, Allardyce replied: "Who doesn't do it? Who complained?" When the name of the Liverpool boss was put to him: "He time wastes," came the next retort.
United boss Erik ten Hag was named as another complainant: "He time wastes, they all time waste last five minutes when they're winning 2-1, don't be daft, that's rubbish!" scoffed the 68-year-old.
Indeed, Allardyce then outlined why he felt any potential attempt to try and intensify games at the top level could prove dangerous: "We've all been talking about ball in play more than we do about time wasting, and whether ball in play can be improved," he said.
"The game is ferocious and quick enough as it is. Player fatigue and player injury - resources are strained more than ever before. So if you speed the game up even more and you increase the level of time they're on the pitch you're going to get more and more crippling injuries."
Whether the former England boss takes such a view if his side are trailing in the dying minutes on Saturday remains to be seen. But not done there, he also criticised current wage demands, claiming money was now dictating a schedule which meant less recovery time for Premier League stars, putting their physical well-being at risk.
