2023-05-03 15:42:02
LEEDS, England (AP) — Sam Allardyce took over the reins of Leeds until the end of the Premier League season on Wednesday following the relegation-threatened club sacked Javi Gracia.
Allardyce will lead in the Premier for the first time since his time with West Bromwich Albion during the second half of the 2020-21 campaign, when he was unable to keep them in the top division of English football.
This did not prevent Leeds from turning to Allardyce, recognized as a specialist in ensuring permanence, to replace the Spanish Gracia, who is leaving following a two-month tenure and with just three wins in the 12 games he has coached.
Leeds lost five of their seven games in April and conceded 23 goals in that period — the most in a month in Premier League history. Grace’s last game was a 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth on Sunday.
The team is 17th out of 20 teams, just outside the relegation zone by virtue of better goal difference. They have four games left to play.
According to the British newspaper The Times of London, Allardyce will pocket just over 3 million pounds (3.75 million dollars) if he keeps Leeds in the Premier.
This is his ninth mission as a coach in the top division and the sixth in which he has been hired in the middle of a season, setting records.
Allardyce’s four-game spell will begin with clashes once morest two of the top three in the table: Manchester City away and Newcastle at home. They will also have a visit to West Ham and close at home once morest Tottenham, who is fighting to qualify for the European Cups. Allardyce has previously managed West Ham and Newcastle.
It is a change that reflects the despair of Leeds. In a matter of a year they have gone from having a showy game coach, like the Argentine Marcelo Bielsa, to betting on Allardyce, recognized for his defensive pragmatism.
It’s been a chaotic week in Leeds as sporting director Victor Orta was sacked on Tuesday.
And it has been a chaotic season on the Premier bench. A record number of 14 coaches have been dismissed this season due to pressure to access the European cups or maintain permanence.
Six teams close the season with interim managers: Southampton, Leicester, Crystal Palace, Tottenham, Chelsea and Leeds.
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