Episode Details

On this week’s episode of the Peter Crouch Podcast, Pete, Sids, and Chris are joined by one of football’s biggest characters… Sam Allardyce!

Big Sam gets stuck into everything from his playing days as a no-nonsense centre-half to the methods that helped make Bolton one of the most innovative teams in the Premier League. Sam explains how he embraced data, technology and set pieces long before they became staples of modern football, and why he still gets frustrated watching managers simply copy what everyone else is doing.

We also get into some of the huge names Sam brought to Bolton, including Jay-Jay Okocha and Nicolas Anelka, as well as his approach to building a dressing room full of different nationalities and personalities. Sam reveals how he convinced top players to take a chance on Bolton and why getting the culture right was just as important as what happened on the pitch.

There’s plenty on the other side of management too, as Sam opens up about his time at Newcastle, West Ham, Everton, West Brom and Leeds, including the realities of being brought in to save clubs from relegation and the frustrations of boards who refuse to invest when a team is on the verge of taking the next step.

And, of course, we had to talk about England. Sam looks back on the England job, the circumstances surrounding his departure and the changes he wanted to make at St George’s Park. He explains why the experience is something he says “he’ll never get over”, and what he believes could have happened had he been given the opportunity to continue.

Plus, there’s VAR, modern recruitment, data analysts, two-striker systems, mind games with rival managers, Arsène Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and plenty more from one of the most fascinating managerial careers in English football.

This is a big one. Big Sam is in the building.

Chumbawamba

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00:00 - The lads discuss their weekends and the bizarre “regards to your family” phenomenon

03:16 - Chris discovers he absolutely hates Halloween scare mazes

06:15 - Could the lads become scare-maze actors for a forfeit?

08:56 - Sam Allardyce joins the podcast and explains where “Big Sam” came from

10:13 - Sam on being a no-nonsense centre-half and learning to play football

14:22 - Sam’s biggest frustrations with VAR and how it is hurting football

15:35 - The rise of the set-piece coach

18:27 - Why Sam loves two strikers

21:15 - Kevin Davies, Bolton and the simple maths behind Sam’s success

23:39 - How Sam used data and technology before it became standard in football

27:16 - Bolton’s culture and signing global stars

29:14 - Jay-Jay Okocha and Anelka

33:17 - Newcastle, Mike Ashley and the beginning of Sam’s “survival manager” reputation

37:15 - West Ham, Champions League ambitions and why clubs fail to push on

42:04 - Sam on recruitment, data analysts and why scouts still matter

45:52 - The England job

48:02 - Sam’s mind games with rival managers

51:28 - The difference between building a club and saving it

53:25 - West Brom, COVID and why Sam regrets taking the job

56:45 - Sam opens up about losing the England job and why he’ll never get over it

59:01 - What Sam wanted to change with England

01:05:00 - Sam faces listener questions

01:06:00 - The chip shop meme

01:11:04 - Sam Allardyce leaves

01:15:00 - Paddy Power segment, Why The