Sam Allardyce made headlines on his first day at Leeds United after arriving at Elland Road to replace Javi Gracia.
The 68-year-old held his first press conference in the Premier League since leaving West Brom back in May 2021, and proceeded to deliver some outstanding lines which went viral.
One comment in particular from Allardyce reached Gary Lineker, who shared his thoughts on Twitter.
What’s the story?
Well, the BBC Match of the Day host responded after Allardyce claimed he is just as good as Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta in his first press conference at Leeds.
The Dudley-born manager said: “I might be 68 and look old, but there’s nobody ahead of me in football terms.
“Not Pep, not Klopp, no Arteta, so, it’s all there with me. In terms of knowledge and depth of knowledge, I’m up there with them. I’m not saying I’m better than them but certainly as good as they are.”
After hearing what Allardyce said, Lineker simply described the comments as “brilliant” in response to footage from the press conference.
Sam Allardyce mind games at Leeds?
In our view, there may be some method to Allardyce’s words.
Everybody is now talking about the Englishman and his bold comments, which will potentially take the pressure away from Leeds players.
The spotlight is firmly on Allardyce now after a difficult week, in which the Leeds players were widely criticised for their display against Bournemouth, and also a video showing some squad members ignoring a young supporter.
Gracia was a quiet operator who rarely spoke as openly as Allardyce, so perhaps the old England boss is just what Leeds players need right now in order to focus on their relegation battle.
If he can get a result in his first game – a trip to Manchester City on Saturday – it would be a truly remarkable start to life at Leeds.
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