The Crystal Palace boss is getting the best out of his talented former outcasts.
Nicolas Anelka celebrates scoring Bolton’s second goal with manager Sam Allardyce
Early worries that Sam Allardyce had lost his magic touch have recently been extinguished by Crystal Palace’s stunning end of season form.
They have gone from relegation battlers to top-half candidates in just a number of weeks with impressive results against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all catching the eye.
Big Sam has inherited a great squad, of the type of players he loves working with.
At Bolton Wanderers he had a well-earned reputation for turning a troubled or outcasted talent back into a game-changer. Jay-Jay Okocha, Ivan Campo, Youri Djorkaeff and Nicolas Anelka spring to mind.
Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke celebrates scoring their first goal with Mamadou Sakho
At Palace he has similar players. Yohan Cabaye was not good enough for Paris Saint-Germain. Wilfried Zaha was cast aside by Manchester United. Andros Townsend ran out of time at Tottenham Hotspur. Christian Benteke lost his mojo at Anfield with Liverpool whilst defensive rock Mamadou Sakho was also cast asunder by Jurgen Klopp. The two celebrated a win over the Reds at the weekend.
Crystal Palace’s Yohan Cabaye
All four are now brimming with confidence as Allardyce asks them to do the things they can do better than any others.
Just like at Bolton, Allardyce is moulding a team of misfits and outcasts into a feared Premier League outfit.
When he left his Trotters role the project had seen Bolton sitting fifth in the Premier League table. Palace fans will hope for a similar trajectory.
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