I don’t think he’s a striker anymore. I think I didn’t score in my first seven or eight games and then to go on and win the golden boot proves that it was just a matter of time.
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In another game played on the night, defending World Champions Germany rode on Thomas Mueller’s brace to carve out an easy 3-0 win over Norway at Oslo.
“I think it was possession for possession’s sake for the opening 45 minutes, rather than trying to break the opposition down”, Allardyce said.
“I know if I keep doing what I am doing I will score goals and that is what I am going to do”.
Peter Shilton’s haul of 125 caps is an England record, but Wayne Rooney is closing in on that tally.
“It was the most important thing in my England career”, he said.
“I think that he holds a lot more experience at global football than me as an worldwide manager”. That was maybe sub-conscious, players thinking: ‘I don’t want to be the one who gives that ball away.’ I could see that: ‘What if I make that pass?
“I must admit, he did play a little deeper than I thought he’d play”. But in the fifth minute of stoppage time at Trnava’s City Arena, Lallana squeezed a shot between Slovakia goalkeeper Matus Kozacik’s legs to get England up and running in Group F. Allardyce, nicknamed “Big Sam”, succeeded Roy Hodgson after England’s humiliating Euro 2016 elimination by Iceland.
New England manager Sam Allardyce got his England career off to the flawless start as Adam Lallana scored an injury time victor, against the 10 men of Slovakia who had former Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel sent off for a crude stamp on Harry Kane.
Allardyce shuffled his pack at half-time, switching Sterling and Lallana and pushing Rooney upfield, but it took the dismissal of Skrtel for the visitors to take the upper hand. Plus they are very young, as a squad we are really young and when we get criticised we hurt – we really do. He’s been a goalscorer all his life and I want him to do that again, but he reads a game as he reads it.
“I felt the stamp”. “He has had it at Manchester United, under many different managers, playing down the right, the left, centre-forward, in behind, centre midfield”.
“Yes, I’d like him to get forward a bit more”.
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“I haven’t asked what their biggest fear is”, he said.
